Maersk's First Mate Rips Limbaugh for Race-Baiting

Attempted takeover repelled by guards

(AP) - Somali pirates today attacked the Maersk Alabama for the second time in seven months, but guards on board the US-flagged cargo ship repelled the takeover attempt. When pirates attacked with automatic weapons early this morning about 350 nautical miles east of the Somali coast, guards on board the craft fired back, thwarting the attempted hijacking. A spokesman for the EU Naval Force called it "pure chance" that the Maersk Alabama had been targeted twice. More»

(NEWSER) - The Navy is questioning the crew of the Maersk Alabama and members of its own SEAL unit about $30,000 that went missing from the hijacked cargo ship, the New York Post reports. The money was taken by the pirates during the hijacking attempt but was not recovered after they were killed or captured. “We don't comment on the details of an ongoing investigation,” said a spokesman from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. More»

Freed pirate hostage calls for tougher ships, better armed crews

(NEWSER) - Military guards or military detachments on board ships are the best way to keep American shipping safe from piracy, Capt. Richard Phillips told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. Phillips, freed by the US Navy after being held hostage by pirates last month, said better-armed crews and tougher vessels would also help deter pirate attacks, the Hill reports. More»

Says Maersk owner refused to arm sailors or provide security

(AP) - A member of the crew on the US-flagged ship hijacked by African pirates sued the owner and another company today, accusing them of knowingly putting sailors in danger. Richard E. Hicks alleges in the suit that owner Maersk Line Limited and Waterman Steamship Corp., which provided the crew, ignored requests to improve safety measures for vessels sailing along the Somali coast. More»

(AP) - The sole surviving pirate from an attack on an American cargo ship off the Somali coast will be tried as an adult after he was portrayed today as the brazen ringleader of a band of pirates who shot at the ship's captain and bragged about prior acts of piracy. The bravado that authorities say Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse displayed as the first pirate to board the Maersk Alabama had evaporated by the time he entered a federal courtroom to face a piracy charge that carries a mandatory life prison sentence. More»