Trials Upcoming for only Surviving Pirate
On April 8, 2009, four Somalia pirates attempted to hijack a United States ship named the MV Maersk Alabama, which was headed for Mombasa, Kenya. The ship’s crew fought back against the four pirates. During the skirmish, the 53-year-old captain of the ship, Richard Phillips, surrendered himself to ensure the safety of his crew. The ship’s crew had also captured one of the pirates. They offered to make a trade to get their captain back. However, the pirates did not honor the deal and took off in one of the ship’s lifeboats.
On April 9th, a standoff began between the USS Bainbridge, the destroyer ship sent to the scene, and the lifeboat the pirates were using. Communication was established between the ships, but negotiations failed. On April 10, Phillips jumped off the lifeboat in an attempt to escape, but stopped when shots were fired and he was recaptured.
It is thought that the pirate’s strategy was to meet up with other ships, which were also holding hostages, and then go back to Somalia. However, the captain was successfully rescued on April 12 after his life was considered in danger. Snipers killed three of the four pirates. The remaining pirate, Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, was aboard the USS Bainbridge trying to negotiate. He was taken back to New York for trial. However, there were problems determining his age. His parents said he is 16, but he has said he is as old as 26. It was determined by US officials that he was at least 18.
He was brought to New York because there is an FBI office there that has handled similar cases in the past. Abduhl Wal-i-Musi is being charged with several things, including piracy and hostage taking and could receive a life sentence.
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Wow, I didnt know that pirates existed anymore. This event is so random. What are the chances of a United States ship just sailing one day and getting raided by Somalian pirates?(especially these days). I believe that it was very unintelligent for the captain of the ship to just surrender himself to the pirates. I am sure that onboard the US ship were weapons that they could have defended themselves with and droven away the pirates. I hope that Abduhl Wal-i-Musi gets sentenced to jail. This article was very interesting. Good choice Fish.
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