Crew Member of Pirated Vessel Sues Ship’s Owner

A crewman on the United States ship that was hijacked by African pirates earlier this month has filed a $75,000 lawsuit against the owner of the ship and another company for knowingly putting him and other sailors at risk.

Richard E. Hicks, 53, of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., worked as a cook on the Maersk Alabama, the cargo vessel that was taken over by armed pirates off the coast of Somalia on April 8, 2009. After five tense days, during which the ship’s captain was held hostage in a smaller boat tethered to the Maersk, Navy SEAL snipers shot and killed three armed pirates and rescued the captured captain, who was released unharmed.

Hicks and other crew members remained on board the Maersk during the standoff.

According to Hicks, the ship’s owner, Maersk Line Limited of Norfolk, Va., and Waterman Steamship Corp., the Mobile, Ala. company that provided crew members for the vessel, failed to improve safety on board ships sailing through the area, which has been plagued by pirate attacks for years.

Hicks is seeking improvements to vessel safety measures, including armed security guards or guns for crew members to use themselves in the event of pirate attacks, and $75,000 in damages, since he claims the hijacking ordeal has forced him to switch careers.

Hicks said he hopes his lawsuit, the first associated with the pirate hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, will “bring more attention to the shipping industry and the dangers in pirate-infested waters.”

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