Captain didn't surrender to save crew, engineer says

[remedy1]

Source: tbo.com

Captain didn't surrender to save crew, engineer says

By HOWARD ALTMAN

[e-mail]


Captain Richard Phillips exchanging himself to pirates for the safety of his captured crew is one of the great stories of high seas heroism.

It was told in media reports and lauded on social network sites like Facebook, which has a fan page dedicated to him.

The story made the country feel good.

But it is untrue, according to crewmembers of the Maersk Alabama

"The captain was captured from the beginning," said chief engineer Mike Perry of Riverview.

The story of Phillips offering to exchange himself for the crew "is misleading," he said. "It is not an accurate portrayal."

Read more: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/apr/24/captain-didnt-surrender-save-crew-engineer-says/news-metro/

[DeepBlueC]

1. spoilsport

[Howardx]

2. whistleblower

[ohio2007]

20. journalists story spin.

Meanwhile, Mike Perry, who helped save the crew, reluctantly agreed to talk to the Tribune and News Channel 8.

To set the record straight.

To let friends and family, and the world at large, know that everyone aboard the Maersk Alabama played a role in the happy outcome.

[shadowknows69]

3. Don't worry, I'm sure the movie will still have the more exciting plot.

[BlackX-068]

7. You are WRONG....

for STATING the truth. HAHAHA!!!!

[Ian David]

8. In the movie, he will seduce the sexy female pirate captain.

And then Jessica Lynch will rescue him.

[Democracyinkind]

9. So far nothing has made me laugh so hard on DU as your comment. thanks.

[YDogg]

12. don't forget Poland

[rooboy]

4. LET'S ROLL!! n/t

[peace13]

5. Either way it wasn't the captain that started the story.

I believe that he was detained at the time. I hope these guys feel better. From what I saw of the captain, he landed in America and said that he owed it all to the Marines. Go figure.

[Chuckleberry]

21. Can we trust our media?

The NY Times and everyone else had reported the captain offered himself as a hostage.

If the denial today is true, the media has suffered yet another big blow to their credibility.
They do not attempt to corroborate claims immediately, if it makes their stories prettier.

[LisaL]

25. Well, if you did read the story, he did offer himself as a hostage.

He offered to go with the pirates to be exchanged for a pirate the crew has captured.

[underpants]

6. Mike, buddy, let it go. You are not going to come out of this on the right end

truth or not. Sad to say but that is the way it is

[Historic NY]

10. Freeper heads exploding. Not to take anything from the rest of the crew,

they are all hero's in my book.

[rcrush]

11. So what else did the media just pull out of their ass?

[TheMadMonk]

15. Well certainly not their fingers.

Still waiting for media coverage of the real news for the past, oh 30 years or so.

[Fumesucker]

17. I know you aren't thinking of their heads..

Because the media has had their heads stuck up their asses so far they have to open their mouths to see for decades now.

[SKKY]

13. Captain Philips, meet Jessica Lynch...

[tomm2thumbs]

14. is it true the crew tried to exchange the captain for a Klondike Bar™ ?

what would YOU do for Klondike Bar™ ? release your prisoner? unfortunately, the pirates had not seen the ads.

[Dover]

But what a great distraction from the illegal dumping and fishing that has dried up

the livelihoods and ruined the health of so many Somalians.

This reminds me a bit of that story about the young female soldier hero in Iraq...what was her name?
On edit: I see someone else above already made this comparison (Jessica Lynch).

All lies...but boy do we seem to have an appetite for them.

[Dover]

16. ..dupe post n/t

[No Elephants]

18. CNN made up a bunch of crap. Other media repeated it.. Film at 11. Phillips is still a

very decent guy, though. From the link in the OP:

Phillips had nothing to do with disseminating the story, said Perry and Wright. He was still a captive when it broke, they point out.

While Perry and Wright say they want to clear the air and correct erroneous information, they echo the sentiments of several crewmembers, including Cronan and Ken Quinn of Bradenton, contacted by The Tampa Tribune.

Phillips is a great captain who performed well above the call of duty before and during the emergency. His fast thinking, calm demeanor and life-risking heroics helped save the crew and the ship. To a man, they say they would go back to sea with him. In a heartbeat.

The problem, say Perry and Wright, lies not with the captain, but the media following the story.

"This crew battled for 33 hours with the pirates," Perry said. "No one wanted to give up until everyone was together again. It took everyone, not just one person. Not me. Not the captain, but everyone. Everybody is the hero in this story."

A detailed message left on Phillips' answering machine in Vermont was not immediately returned.

Beginnings of the tale

On the day the pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama, CNN Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence, reporting on Anderson Cooper 360, was one of the first to posit the idea that Phillips offered to get into the lifeboat to save the crew.

[Lasher]

19. Jessica Lynch

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 1:9

[Chuckleberry]

22. It makes you think: Did the sniper realy hit 3 targets with 3 bullets?

Who knows? After Jessica Lynch, Pat Tillman and this one, I'll be very wary of feel-good kick-ass stories.

[Badgerman]

24. I believe there were 3 snipers n/t

[ohio2007]

28. I suspect there were more then three snipers available nt

[PufPuf23]

23. The headline - my thought - Jessica Lynch

That was not an original thought.

Don't forget the Kuwaiti ambassador's daughter fauxly testifying before Congress about Saddam's soldiers and the incubator's before Gulf War I.

[LisaL]

26. He did offer himself up in exchange for a pirate.

Only the pirates didn't exchange him.

[ohio2007]

27. Cruise ship fends off pirate attack with gunfire ( hired security team takes action)

A cruise ship with 1,500 on board ? Somebody has got to have and release a video of that

Cruise ship fends off pirate attack with gunfire
By NICOLE WINFIELD – 4 hours ago

ROME (AP) — An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack far off the coast of Somalia when its Israeli private security forces exchanged fire with the bandits and drove them away, the commander said Sunday.

Cmdr. Ciro Pinto told Italian state radio that six men in a small white speed boat approached the Msc Melody and opened fire Saturday night, but retreated after the Israeli security officers aboard the cruise ship returned fire.


snip
Saturday's attack occurred about 200 miles (325 kilometers) north of the Seychelles, and about 500 miles (800 kilometers) east of Somalia, according to the anti-piracy flotilla headquarters of the Maritime Security Center Horn of Africa."It's not unheard of to have attacks off the coast of the Seychelles, we've even had some in the past month," he said. "But at the same time, it is a sign that they are moving further and further off the Somali coast," demonstrating a "definite shift in their tactical capabilities."

Pinto said the pirates fired with automatic weapons, slightly damaging the liner, and tried to put a ladder on board. But he said they were unable to climb aboard.

The commander said his security forces opened fire with pistols, and the ANSA news agency said the pistols had been kept in a safe under the joint control of the commander and security chief.

Cruise line security work is a popular job for young Israelis who have recently been discharged from mandatory army service, as it is a good chance to save money and travel.



This image shows the Italian cruise ship Msc Melody entering the port of Messina May 15, 2008. The commander of an Italian cruise ship says his crew successfully fended off an attack by pirates off Somalia, returning fire when the pirates attacked. Cmdr. Ciro Pinto tells Italian state radio that he ordered his security forces to return fire when six men in a small white boat opened fire on the Msc Melody on Saturday night April 25, 2009.
(AP Photo/Roberto Munao)
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