Police: 2 Americans found dead on Maersk Alabama -- 'Captain Phillips' ship


(CNN) -- Two American security officers have been found dead on the Maersk Alabama container ship, police in the Seychelles said Wednesday.
The vessel was moored at Port Victoria in the Indian Ocean archipelago. The men, both 44, were found dead on Tuesday. CNN first learned about the incident on Twitter.
"A postmortem will be carried out this week in order to establish the cause of their sudden deaths," police said, adding that the police investigation is ongoing.
The Maersk Alabama was targeted by Somali pirates in an attempted hijacking off the east coast of Africa in 2009. The 2013 film "Captain Phillips" is based on the incident.
The two men worked for Trident Group, a Virginia-based maritime security services firm. The company's president, Tom Rothrauff, said the men were former Navy SEALs.
"It's bizarre. Of course, it's a shock. They're all great guys," Rothrauff said. "I'm absolutely clueless as to what happened."
Kevin N. Speers, a senior director for Maersk Line Limited, said in a statement that the security contractors boarded the vessel on January 29, and that their deaths were were "not related to vessel operations or their duties as security personnel."
Maersk Line Limited contracts with Trident Group in accordance with U.S. Coast Guard security directives, Speers said in the statement.
"Contracted security is part of anti-piracy protection plans to safeguard crews and vessels," Speers said. "In Maersk Alabama's case, she is persistently in high-risk areas since she provides feeder service to the east coast of Africa. The vessel was cleared to complete cargo operations, and she is now at anchor awaiting further instructions."
Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Tremper said the U.S. Coast Guard had been notified about the deaths of two U.S. citizens and is investigating, but "due to the nature of the investigation, that will be about all that we can provide right now."
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed the men were U.S. citizens. The Coast Guard is involved in the investigation because the Maersk Alabama is a U.S.-flagged ship, Harf said.
Police said the ship arrived in the Seychelles on Sunday with a 24-man crew and had been expected to leave Tuesday.
The bodies were found by a colleague who had gone to check in on one of the men in a cabin at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Seychelles police said.
In April 2009, four armed pirates attempted to hijack the Maersk Alabama 380 miles off the coast of Somalia. After the crew sank the pirates' vessel and foiled their efforts to take control of the container ship, the pirates took the ship's captain, Richard Phillips, hostage on a lifeboat. The incident ended three days later when Navy sharpshooters killed three of the pirates and captured the fourth. Phillips was unharmed.
The ship was attacked by pirates again later that year, but armed security personnel fought them off. Another attempt by pirates to board the ship, in March 2011, was thwarted when security personnel fired warning shots.

CNN

Comments

  1. Hey Alain, does it makes wide and free publicity for the Seychelles? Hopefully the authorities do not bungle up the autopsy, the world is waiting for the cause of death.

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  2. The world is waiting?

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  3. QUARTRE experts i hope have not destroy forensic evidence on the crime scene as the good in doing due to their unproffesionalism.

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  4. PP investigators conducted an Autopsy-- iwonder what thre purpose of them doing an autopsy when the cannot even conduct a simply basic investigation in petit crimes.

    The world is watching and awaiting the a outcome of the investigation.What i afraid though is the unproffesisionalism of Pp investigators ,who might even tarnish you country's image not just becuase of the crime taking palce here but the inability of Pp investigators to delvier a high standard and proffessional investigation.Else our land will be not only the poster for the world on this case,but incompetency of our police forces.In a words,we will enjoy a double advertisement one for the crime and the second for incompetency of our police forces which would make Seychelles the laughing- stock of the world.

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  5. This is indeed very very bad news for Seychelles.
    Last month a Canadian Naval officer was found dead in a hotel room.
    What is happening in Seychelles under James Michel?
    International news agencies are on to the story and they will likely be sending journalist here.
    While they are here, they can ask Michel and Rene what is all this reconciliation about, since Rene is the ANTI-thesis of Nelson Mandela and a shame for all of Africa.
    Seselwa Unite For Sesel Pou Seselwa!

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  6. US must get tough with this crook call Michel and his gang of criminals.

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  7. You are telling about evidence!how can they find evidence even a lego they can not put togethere!!like you say there are just gona destroyed evidence by not being proffersional.

    Johnny

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  8. Indeed there are strange happenings on that tiny island, it's not surprising they are using the saying 'Seychelles sa!'
    After joining my fellow journalists here on the island of Mahe, I have made my own conclusion that drug traffickers are pushing some dangerous and illicit drugs around. One gets to hear more about sudden deaths involving Canadian and Americans because they are foreign nationals but what about Seychellois? How many have died and certified as natural causes such as kidney failure etc..?. Seychelles have neither testing facility for toxicology nor qualified toxicologists, and the police I understand is zero in this domain of investigation. Bet you the person who sold the drug to the Canadian in the Hotel is the same individual who made contact with the American sailors. There you go Commissioner Quatre and Minister Morgan, don't be so dumb, follow this lead.

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  9. Is it drug traffickers or al Qaeda? Brought to the islands by Khalifa people.

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  10. The reporter was right after all! It has been confirmed that Drugs were found in the cabin where two US security workers were discovered dead on the ship made famous in the movie Captain Phillips. But their post-mortem examination results have not yet been released. If this makes Scully also famous, it is very bad for Seychelles.
    Please Mr. Reporter, tell us more of what you think and hear whilst you are on the island.

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  11. CIA come on the island lots is going on this little island in Indian Ocean terrorists mafia human trafficking ect.

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  12. Who supervise the growing and trafficking of Heroin in Afghanistan if not the CIA?

    Nikol Roz

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