Plot

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is - through director Paul Greengrass's distinctive lens - simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.—Sony Pictures Entertainment

When a cargo freighter passes just outside Somalian waters, some men in a motorboat approach the freighter and start shooting at it. The Captain, Richard Phillips deduces they're pirates so he tries to keep them off the ship but fails. They come on board so Phillips instructs the crew to hide. The pirates go to the bridge and tell Phillips they want money and when Phillips offers what they have which is about $30,000, the leader has his mind set on getting millions. He plans to take the crew hostage and hold them for ransom. But since they are hiding he goes off to find them. Eventually the crew captures the leader. His companions who have Phillips, demand they be allowed to go in the lifeboat. They let them but they keep Phillips. They try to go to Somalia but the U.S. Navy arrives and tries to stop them even if it means losing Phillips.—rcs0411@yahoo.com

Captain Richard Phillips (Hanks) and his crew are carrying freight around the Horn of Africa when four Somali pirates forcefully take over their ship, the MV Maersk Alabama. While Phillips' team follow his orders to hide until they hear him give the safe word, the captain and a few essential crew members remain on the bridge as the heavily armed pirates make their way up to seize control of the ship. But the interlopers soon discover something that sends them into a furious rage: After effectively shutting down the ship, Phillips explains that the Maersk had malfunctioned when the crew pushed it too hard in an attempt to evade the attackers. In order to appease their leader, the ruthless Muse (Barkhad Abdi), Phillips offers them the $30,000 that's been locked in the ship safe. But that isn't enough, and Muse demands that Phillips help him search every corner of the ship to root out the terrified crew. When that plan fails, the pirates agree to take the cash from the safe and flee in the Maersk's lifeboat. At the last minute, however, they kidnap Phillips in the hope of supplementing their take with a sizable ransom -- a decision that leads to a tense standoff with the U.S. Navy, who would sooner see the lifeboat sunk with Phillips inside than allow it to reach Somalia..

Assigned the dangerous task of taking the unarmed container ship, Maersk Alabama, from Oman to Mombasa, Kenya, the American navigator, Richard Phillips, and his crew see their worst fear come true, in 2009. Off the coast of Somalia--for the first time in maritime history--an opportunistic gang of armed-to-the-teeth Somali pirates seize the American vessel, demanding millions as ransom, dragging Alabama's men, the brazen pirates, and the U.S. Navy in a five-day cat-and-mouse game. As the Navy SEALs of the USS Bainbridge are on standby, Captain Phillips' ship approaches Somalia. Will they get out of there alive?—Nick Riganas

On Mar 28th, 2009, Richard Phillips lives in Underhill, Vermont. He is married to Andrea (Catherine Keener). They have 2 kids Dan (John Magaro) and Mariah (Gigi Raines). Richard reaches Oman to take command of his ship. Shane Murphy (Michael Chernus) is the first officer, Mike Perry (David Warshofsky) the chief engineer, Ken Quinn (Corey Johnson), helmsman, and crew members John Cronan (Chris Mulkey), William Rios (Mark Holden), Ian Waller (Angus MacInnes), Ethan Stoll (Louis Mahoney) and Andrew (Vincenzo Nicoli).

Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) takes command of the MV Maersk Alabama, an unarmed container ship from Port of Salalah in Oman, with orders to sail through the Gulf of Aden to Mombasa, round the Horn of Africa. The ship is carrying 2400 tons of commercial cargo and 200 tons of food aid, 166 tons of freshwater, 250 metric tons of fuel loaded. Wary of pirate activity off the coast of Somalia, the captain orders strict security precautions on the vessel and carries out practice drills. All orders all the pirate cages and the door to be properly locked.

Somalian pirates are based in the village of Eyl. Pirate Muse is ordered into the sea by his boss, a local Somali faction leader. His gang includes Hufan (Ibrahim Maalim), Assad (Mohamed Ali), Adan Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman), Walid Elmi (Mahat M. Ali) and Nour Najee. The pirates use a natural stimulant called Khat to maintain their high energy levels and desire to put themselves into danger. Most ships travel across the Somalian basin in a protected convoy, but Muse notices that the Alabama is travelling alone.

During a drill, the vessel is chased by Somali pirates in two skiffs; Phillips succeeds in outrunning them when one gives up after hearing Phillips on the radio calling for immediate military air support (a bluff) and the other loses engine power after running into the rough water Captain Phillips created with his ship's propellers. The skiffs retreat to their mother ship. Muse is livid and orders a ladder to be welded together and the engine to be fixed before the following morning.

Back on the Alabama the crew knows that the pirates will return and are afraid. Most of them say that they don't get paid enough for the risks of the job. Richard counters that this is what they signed up for on the Somalian Basin route. He promises to follow the union rules and offload unwilling crew at Mombasa, but before that, there is nothing that can be done.

The next day one of the skiffs returns with four heavily armed pirates led by Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi); they are carrying a ladder they had hastily welded the night before. Despite the best efforts of Phillips and his crew, the pirates board and take control of the Maersk Alabama, capturing Captain Phillips (he was in the bridge) after he cuts the ship's engine power and tells the crew to hide in the ship's engine room. Phillips offers Muse the contents of the ship's safe ($30,000), but under orders from his boss Muse's plan is to ransom the ship and crew in exchange for millions of dollars of insurance money from the shipping company. Muse is livid when he cannot get the ship underway, and he demands that Richard produces the ship's crew to follow Muse's commands. Muse guesses that the crew is hiding in the engine room and controlling the ship from there.

Shane manages to cut the ship's emergency power, plunging the lower decks into darkness. As Muse, the pirate captain, attempts to search the engine room, the crew members overpower him. The Alabama crew negotiates with the other three pirates on the bridge via radio. Richard is also on the bridge with Bilal who has badly injured feet (he cut his feet on glass shards planted by the crew intentionally as they knew that the pirates are bare foot). Richard talks to Muse and offers him the ship's lifeboat, since the pirates don't have their skiff anymore, along with $30,000 in the ship's safe. The crewmen arrange to trade Phillips for Muse and the ship's lifeboat for the pirates to escape. But the pirates take Muse & force Phillips onto the lifeboat and launch it, intending to hold the captain for ransom.

As the lifeboat heads for the shore, tensions flare between the pirates as they run low on the stimulant herb Khat, lose contact with their mother ship, and are later intercepted by the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge. Richard uses the first aid kit to treat Bilal's foot. Muse is under orders from the faction leader to bring Richard as he is their only card to earn some money after the botched ship hijacking. Muse reveals that he hijacked a Greek ship last year and earned $6 million. In the meantime, the Bainbridge's captain Frank Castellano (Yul Vazquez) is ordered to prevent the pirates from reaching the mainland by whatever means necessary. This means that Richard is dispensable if there is a chance of him reaching the mainland. Castellano sends food and supplies to the lifeboat and asks for proof of Richard's life. Muse produces Richard, who tells Castellano that he is in seat 15. Richard knows that the US Navy is not there to negotiate. Najee is not happy with the way Muse is leading the negotiations and wants to act tough. Muse demands $10 million for Richard's release.

Once additional U.S. Navy ships arrive (The USS Boxer and the USS Haliburton), Phillips attempts to negotiate with Muse, who asserts that he has come too far and will not surrender. Richard says that the Navy will sink the lifeboat rather than let it reach Somalia.

That night, Phillips is able to escape and swims towards the Navy ships. The navy cannot identify the swimmer as Phillips, and therefore they take no action. The pirates fire shots at him; he swims back to the lifeboat. The further agitated pirates are also unaware that a SEAL Team has parachuted in to intervene. Muse stops Najee from killing Richard.

A SEAL helicopter buzzes the lifeboat, pushing the pirates into a state of panic. Muse holds Richard at gun point and displays him to the helicopter, to get them to withdraw. While three SEAL marksmen get into positions to fire a simultaneous shot at each of the pirates on the lifeboat, Castellano and the SEALs continue to try to negotiate with the pirates, eventually taking the lifeboat under tow. Castellano says the elders of Muse's tribe are also on board to help with the exchange. Eventually, Muse agrees to board the Bainbridge, believing he will join his clan elders in negotiating Phillips's ransom. In the lifeboat, one of the more agitated pirates, Najee (Faysal Ahmed), catches Phillips writing a goodbye note to his wife. When he tries to take the note away, Phillips attacks Najee, but is quickly restrained and beaten.

Najee decides to take full control; the pirates tie Phillips up and blindfold him, and the Bainbridge crew stop the tow. As Phillips is about to be executed, the three SEAL marksmen finally get three clear shots and simultaneously kill the pirates. On board the Bainbridge, Muse is taken into custody and arrested for piracy. Phillips is rescued and treated. He is in shock and disoriented, but he thanks the rescue team for saving his life.

Richard returned to his family on April 17th, while Muse was convicted of piracy and is serving a 33 year prison sentence in Indiana.