Ship's cook sues Maersk for US$75,000 plus for pirate attack

 

THE chief cook of the Maersk Alabama, the victim of an April 8 armed attack in Somali waters, has filed a lawsuit against his former employer and the operator of the ship, saying the two companies had failed to protect him from pirates.

Richard Hicks filed the suit in a Houston court against Maersk Line and the Waterman Steamship Co, after claiming he suffered severe injuries when he was taken hostage, held in the engine steering room and thrown about during a struggle with one of the pirates.

He said his damages are in excess of US$75,000 and reserved the right to increase the amount, saying he has suffered physical pain and mental anguish and that there is a reasonable probability that he may suffer loss of earning capacity in the future, reports American Shipper.

The hostage taking ended after Capt Richard Phillips gave himself up as a hostage to persuade the pirates to abandon the Maersk Alabama in a lifeboat.

Three of the pirates who held the captain were killed by US Navy snipers during a standoff five days after the initial attack. A fourth attacker, who was receiving medical treatment during the hostage negotiations, has since been charged with piracy and other crimes in Federal Court and is jailed in New York awaiting trial.

According to The Associated Press, Mr Hicks is calling for shipping companies to improve safety for ships by providing armed security or allowing crew to carry weapons, an idea that groups such as the International Chamber of Shipping opposes for fear of escalating violence.

But US Army General David Petraeus, who turned around the War in Iraq with the troop surge, recently advocated that ships hire armed guards to fend off pirates themselves and not rely on naval forces, while testifying at a congressional hearing.

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy has seen a 10-fold rise in the first quarter and with ransoms being met in the Gulf of Aden as pirates see a business with assured returns.

Gen Petraeus called for armed shipboard guards to be posted and concertina barbed wire strung along gunwales and rails, suggesting the removal of boarding ladders and placing less reliance on naval forces, Bloomberg reported.

Source: Transportweekly