Captain Phillips is a fairly accurate retelling of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, but the movie doesn’t make it clear how long Richard Phillips and the ship’s crew were held hostage by the Somali pirates. The true story of Captain Phillips saw Somali pirates hijack an American ship for the first time in almost 200 years. By the end of Captain Phillips, the crew of the Maersk Alabama and Captain Phillips made it out mostly unscathed, but they still had to endure a torturous experience. Captain Phillips is one of the most intense thrillers based on a true story, but the true story was even more intense.

The hijacking of the Maersk Alabama was an incredibly stressful and traumatic event for everyone on board the ship. They were likely fearing for their lives during every minute of their captivity, and every minute probably felt like a lifetime. Because of that, the timeline of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama and the amount of time both the crew and Richard Phillips spent in the captivity of Somali pirates is incredibly important. Unfortunately, Captain Phillips minimized some parts of the true story, and the real length of the hijacking is even more devastating than the movie made it seem.

The Crew Of The Maersk Alabama Was Held Hostage For One Day

The Somali pirates attacked and boarded the Maersk Alabama on April 8, 2009. While they quickly took the crew stationed on the bridge hostage, they were never able to capture the crew members who hid in the engine room. Instead, the pirate sent to capture them, Abduwali Muse, was injured and captured by the crew. After the crew tried to exchange Muse for Captain Phillips and the rest of the bridge crew, the pirates took Phillips hostage and left the Maersk Alabama on a lifeboat, since their skiff had sunk during boarding.

The pirates left the ship the same day they boarded, so the crew of the Maersk Alabama was only held hostage for about a day. Then, on April 9, the U.S. Navy ship USS Bainbridge answered the Maersk Alabama‘s distress calls and came to their rescue. Since none of the crew members were injured during the hijacking, they were given a detail of soldiers to act as armed protection and told to continue their voyage to Kenya (via Encyclopedia Britannica).

Captain Phillips Was Held Hostage On The Lifeboat For Four More Days

While the crew of the Maersk Alabama was only held hostage for a day, the same could not be said for Richard Phillips. The pirates took Captain Phillips with them as a hostage when they escaped on the lifeboat, so he was in their captivity for much longer. The pirates took Phillips the same day they boarded the Maersk Alabama, April 8, and Phillips wouldn’t be freed until the pirates were killed by Navy SEALs on April 12. In total, Captain Phillips spent five days as the Somali pirates’ hostage: one with the rest of the crew, and four on his own in the lifeboat.

How Many Crew Were On Board The Maersk Alabama Cargo Ship When It Was Hijacked

The Maersk Alabama was a large cargo ship – over 500 feet long – and it required a fairly big crew to sail and operate it. As such, the Maersk Alabama had 20 crew members and Captain Phillips, meaning there were 21 Americans on board during the hijacking (via Encyclopedia Britannica). Luckily, all 20 of the crew members were completely unharmed, and Richard Phillips fully recovered from his physical injuries. All of them likely had some mental and emotional trauma to deal with after the five days depicted by Captain Phillips, though.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica