What happened aboard the Alabama
On the afternoon of 7 April 2009, as the Alabama travelled down the east coast of Africa toward Mombasa, a small boat was spotted following her about six or seven miles off the stern. The emergency alarm sounded. Early the next morning a second, larger boat came on fast, and this time the pirates got aboard.
Most of the crew hid in the steering room — a swelteringly hot, dark space with no food or water — on the instructions of the first mate. Four pirates left the ship in a lifeboat with the captain. The crew waited through the night, expecting more pirates to come. The next day they were told the U.S. Navy was on its way; it happened to be in the area with NATO warships on an anti-piracy operation. Eighteen armed guards came aboard and rode with them to Mombasa, and a SEAL team took the captain off the lifeboat.
The hijacking of the Maersk Alabama was the first time an American ship had been taken by pirates since 1821.
Sent unarmed into pirate-infested water
The crew was unarmed and unprotected because of a contract Maersk Lines Limited held to deliver humanitarian aid and cargo to Kenya. Many companies at the time kept rules that crews and ships could not be armed, and simply hoped for the best when their ships crossed pirate-infested water. The UN, NATO and the International Maritime Organization had all issued warnings, recommending vessels in the Indian Ocean stay at least 600 nautical miles from shore.
Under the Jones Act, an American company must provide a seaworthy vessel — one suitable for its intended mission. If a company knowingly sends a ship into dangerous water, that duty does not shrink; it grows. As the firm put it at the time, for Maersk that meant doing more than playing Russian roulette with its crews. The crew faced AK-47s armed with spoons and a few small pieces of pipe.
The lawsuits, and how they were fought
Shortly after the crew came home, suits were filed against Maersk Lines Limited and Waterman Steamship Corporation, the company that contracted the crew out to Maersk. Nine of the crew members hired this firm, with Brian Beckcom taking the lead. Two suits were filed — one in Texas in 2009 and, after the defense fought to have that one dismissed, a second in Alabama in 2012, where Waterman was based.
The claim was that Maersk and Waterman had not done their duty under the Jones Act to protect the crew, and that they knowingly, intentionally and willfully sent their employees into pirate-infested water without adequate security.
The defense answered that the ship was maintained to industry standards. The industry standards in place in 2009 were essentially these: keep the doors locked, keep a lookout, and have a safe room. No weapons. No security guards. They were sending crews to gunfights armed with spoons.
Over a dozen depositions were taken. Dozens of motions were filed and answered. The defense fought hardest of all to keep the facts of the case confidential, particularly around the release of the film in October 2013 — and fought to drag the case out, hoping the film would move public opinion in their favor before any trial. The recoveries, and what was learned about the hijacking, remain confidential.
What the case changed
Most injury lawsuits do not change the world. This one helped end Somali piracy.
Piracy off Somalia had grown from subsistence raiding into organized crime; by 2011 pirates carried out 237 attacks on vessels, and global piracy was costing governments and business roughly $6.9 billion a year. Companies had responded largely by buying insurance that would pay the ransom.
After the Alabama, that stopped being enough. Navies stepped up coordinated patrols in international waters. Shipping companies began hiring independent security contractors to protect vessels and crews — and found their margins improved. By 2014 the number of successful pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean had fallen to zero.
What the evidence showed
- Nine of the crew of the Maersk Alabama hired this firm; Brian Beckcom was lead counsel.
- Suits were filed against Maersk Lines Limited and Waterman Steamship Corporation — Texas in 2009, Alabama in 2012.
- The claim: Maersk and Waterman knowingly sent their employees into pirate-infested water without adequate security, in breach of their Jones Act duty.
- The defense position was that the ship met 2009 industry standards — locked doors, a lookout and a safe room. No weapons, no guards.
- Over a dozen depositions were taken, and dozens of motions filed and answered.
- The defense fought to keep the facts confidential, particularly around the film’s release in October 2013.
- By 2014, successful pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean had fallen to zero.
What “industry standard” meant in 2009
The gap between those two rows is the case. Companies were sending crews to gunfights armed with spoons, and calling it the standard.
More from the record
Every case is different. Prior results depend on the facts of the individual case and do not guarantee a similar outcome.