U.S. Sailor Sues Mobile Co. Over Pirate Attack

Alabama Attack Officials for Norfolk Va. based-Maersk Line and Mobile Ala.-based Waterman both said their companies don't comment on pending litigation.

by Associated Press

Published: Tue, April 28, 2009 - 8:57 am CST Last Updated: Tue, April 28, 2009 - 9:01 am CST

(AP) A crew member of an American-flagged cargo ship hijacked by African pirates on Monday sued the owner of the vessel and the company that provided the crew, accusing them of knowingly putting sailors in danger by ignoring risks.

Richard E. Hicks, the chief cook on board the Maersk Alabama, alleges in his lawsuit that Maersk Line Limited, which owns the ship, and Waterman Steamship Corp., which provided the crew, ignored requests from sailors to improve safety measures for ships traveling through pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast.

Hicks asked the two companies to improve safety for ships by providing armed security or allowing crew members to carry weapons, sending ships through safer routes, and placing such safety measures on ships as barbed wire that would prevent pirates from being able to board vessels.

"We've had safety meetings every month for the last three years and made suggestions of what should be done and they have been ignored," Hicks said. "I'm just trying to make sure this is a lot better for other seamen."

Hicks also asked that the two companies pay at least $75,000 in damages, saying he doesn't know if he will ever work on a ship again.

"My family is not looking forward to me going back out to sea. But I'm not sure if I'm going back. I'm still nervous, leery. I might find something else to do," said Hicks, who has worked 32 years as a merchant seaman.

Officials for Norfolk, Va. based-Maersk Line and Mobile, Ala.-based Waterman both said their companies don't comment on pending litigation.

"We think (the companies) should be more concerned about the personnel on their ships than the profits the companies make," said Terry Bryant, Hicks' attorney. Both companies do business in Texas, which is why the suit was filed in Houston, he said.

Pirates took over the Alabama on April 8 before Capt. Richard Phillips surrendered himself in exchange for the safety of his 19-member crew. The captain was taken on a lifeboat and held hostage for five days before U.S. Navy SEAL snipers on the destroyer USS Bainbridge killed three of his captors and freed him.

My family is not looking forward to me going back out to sea. But I'm not sure if I'm going back. I'm still nervous, leery. I might find something else to do.

Richard E. Hicks, Maersk Alabama cookHicks said crew members have been trained on what to do if pirates or others threaten the ship.

"We need more than training," said the 53-year-old who lives in Royal Palm Beach, Fla. and has two grown sons. "I never thought nothing like this would ever happen."

Hicks said pirates had tried to board the ship two other times that week, but the Alabama had managed to outrun them. But on April 8, as Hicks was preparing food for the crew, the ship's alarm rang and the captain announced the ship was being boarded by pirates.

Hicks and the other crew members went to their designated safety room, which was the engine room, and they waited there for more than 12 hours in 125 degree heat.

"I didn't know if I was going to live or die," Hicks said.

The crew managed to take a pirate hostage, wounding him with an ice pick, and attempted to use him to get back Phillips.

But the bandits fled the ship with Phillips as their captive, holding him in the lifeboat until the SEAL sharpshooters rescued him.

"He did a hell of a job saving us," Hicks said of Phillips.

But Bryant said the Maersk Line and Waterman share the blame for putting the crew at risk.

"We want to bring more attention to the shipping industry and the dangers in pirate-infested waters," he said.

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Wait4Me Says:

Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 6:09 am

Another deadbeat trying to cash in on a situation he put HIMSELF in. As for taking care of the pirates. The US should station an aircraft carrier in the area, when a ship calls in a says pirates are attacking or closing in fighter jets patrolling the area come in a blast the small boat out of the water, after a couple weeks of surprise fighter jet attacks the pirates will not want to go near a boat in the open water. This would also eliminate the need for convoys, many ships, or placing our soldiers in harms way. Smart bombs on dumb boobs.

atbman Says:

Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 5:36 am

After this I don’t think he will have to worry about going back out to sea. Nobody is going to hire him.

framkly Says:

Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 9:42 pm

If a bank teller gets robbed on the job at gun point, should she sue the bank?
Was Richard E. Hicks hurt? What are the $75,000 in damages?

ickthus Says:

Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 4:11 pm

We have to many laws. The sea is international law. What could work are convoys like WWII in the North Atlantic. Let war ships (any nation) run escort. The shipping lines already work together on shipping schedules for port and dock space. why not a convoy schedule. These schedules are how the pirates are looking for high value targets anyway.

Mom2AngelBaby Says:

Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 3:45 pm

I say maybe the U.S. should make it a law that ships like in this case be armed/protected before there out to sea. Do I think they should be compensated NO, as the rest of you they knew the chances they were taking when they boared the ship. Great1 used a very good example! Another example is swimming in open waters..you know whats out there in the sea ...so if you get bitten by a shark should you sue the state your living in or the place the water is running through..NOPE..thats just a chance you take. If anybody where compensated it should be the guy who was held hostage! For heavens sakes he was only a moment away from death..

ickthus Says:

Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 3:20 pm

When you are told you are going into a war zone or trouble spot (pirate zone, one of many) company policy is set. Take it or leave it. Has always been so. I have worked out side the country a few times.

Great1 Says:

Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 3:14 pm

What safety equipment did he request and why was it denied? And why did he get on the boat knowing he didn’t have the safety equipment he requested? If you have a car and you know the wheel is about to fall off but you get in it and go anyway and the wheel comes off, do you have a right to sue somebody? Shouldn’t you wait until the car is repaired? If he was so concerned with his safety then he shouldn’t have got on the boat.

jlb1198 Says:

Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 2:52 pm

The only reason I think he has a right to sue is because the request for more safety equipment were ignored.

Great1 Says:

Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 1:52 pm

I am not protected from the unforseen. I only knew the current risk and there is no way to be protected from all of them. It’s just luck I have never been hit. I have friends that weren’t so lucky but they didn’t turn around and sue. This guy has no right to sue the company he worked for. If he wasn’t willing to take the risk then he should have stayed home.

Sirk Says:

Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 1:41 pm

The captain should have let the pirates have the one that wants to sue. He ought to be thanking God that the captain went in his place and saved his sorry butt. Of course maybe his family wanted him to die so they could sue and could have tried to collect millions more.

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