On April 8, 2009, four Somali pirates boarded the U.S. flagged container ship, Maersk Alabama.
[revad1]
The ship departed from Salalah, Oman and was en route to Mombasa, Kenya and was captured roughly 300 nautical miles southeast of the Somalian port city of Eyl.
The crew managed to capture one of the pirates after Captain Phillips was taken hostage on one of the ships lifeboats. They attempted to make an exchange for Phillips but were unsuccessful.
Four days later, U.S. Navy SEALs marksmen opened fire on the pirates after noticing that Phillips life was in immediate danger as an AK-47 was being pointed at his back. All three were killed, each from a single .30 caliber bullet to the head.
[revad2]
