Modern-Day Pirates Climb Aboard in the Film Captain Phillips

by Kevin Faber

Pirates may be iconic images from the past, but did you know they are active in the modern world? You did if you have seen the movie Captain Phillips, a 2013 biographical thriller film starring Tom Hanks.

Plot

Hanks stars as Captain Richard Phillips, who takes command of the MV Maersk Alabama. His voyage starts in the Port of Salalah in Oregon and heads for the Guardafui Channel in Kenya. The unarmed vessel set out on a journey that undoubtedly included standard practices — a freight audit, perhaps, routine security procedures and the like. Still, the voyage was not destined to stay mundane.

Phillips and First Officer Shane Murphy, played by Michael Chernus, become aware of pirate activity off the Horn of Africa. They decide to conduct a practice drill and enact strict security procedures.

Phillips observes that the vessel is being followed during the drill. Two skiffs with Somali pirates are near them. Phillips knows they are listening to their radio activity, so he pretends to call a warship. This gesture is enough to cause one skiff to turn around. The other one loses its engine power while trying to steer through the ship's wake.

A crisis is averted for a while, but the next day the skiff returns. The pirates are heavily armed. Despite heroic efforts from the MV Maersk Alabama crew, they manage to secure a ladder onto the ship and board. Phillips directs the team to hide in the engine room. Phillips and other crew members are soon being held at gunpoint by the pirates.

The pirates do not want the $30,000 from the safe, as Phillips had offered. They have orders to hold the ship and crew for ransom. They want millions of dollars from the shipping company.

The crew manages to thwart the pirates' efforts through broken glass and powerline cuts. They overpower Abduwali Muse, the head pirate, played by Barkhad Abdi. Muse's right-hand man, Nour Najee, played by Faysal Ahmed, refuses to disembark on a lifeboat without Captain Phillips. Najee manages to drag Phillips on the lifeboat with the pirates and launch it.

The pirates do not fare well on their journey. They ran out of the plant-based amphetamine they were eating. They also lose contact with the mother ship. Scuffles ensue, and Najee tries to talk the other pirates into killing Phillips.

Fortunately for Phillips, the lifeboat is intercepted by the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge. The Navy crew has orders to prevent the pirates from reaching the Somali coast by whatever means is necessary. They manage to get the lifeboat under tow. Negotiations begin, and Phillips attempts an escape, but he is recaptured by the pirates and beaten.

Muse is convinced to board the USS Bainbridge, but the other pirates maintain control of the lifeboat. Phillips believes his fate is sealed. However, the Bainbridge suddenly stops the tow. The pirates lose their balance, and skilled sharpshooters take them out and rescue Phillips.

Reviews

The movie opened at the 2013 New York Film Festival. It was praised for its direction, production values, screenplay, and performances by Hanks and Abdi. Reviewers concur that the movie is thrilling and intense with superb acting.

The film was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, although it did not win any. Abdi won a British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. The movie was also nominated for six Academy Awards, although it did not go on to win any of those either.

If you are interested in learning more about modern-day pirates and relish a good action movie, Captain Phillips may be a film you would enjoy.