Richard Phillips

Richard Phillips captained the United States-flagged Maersk Alabama when it was boarded in April 2009. Phillips was held on a lifeboat for five days before a United States Navy operation brought the ordeal to an end. He had graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1979 and became captain of the vessel in 2009. A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, written with journalist Stephan Talty, recounts the boarding, the experience of Phillips’s crew and his family’s wait in Vermont. Grand Central Publishing later issued the account in paperback, retaining both Phillips and Talty in its author credit.