Richard E. Hicks, the head cook on board the once hijacked ship the Maersk Alabama, is suing the owner of the ship for safety violations. Hicks is suing for $75,000 in damages plus improved safety measures. Read more see photos and video below.
Maersk Alabama During Hijacking
Maersk Line Limited and Waterman Steamship Corp. are being sued by a crew member of the Maersk Alabama for his ordeal during the Somali pirate hijacking. Richard E. Hicks the head cook on board says that the owners of the ship knowingly put sailors in danger.
Back on April 8th, Somali pirates took control of the ship, holding the ships captain hostage for five days until U.S. Navy Seals ended that little fiasco with a few well placed sniper shots. Richard E. Hicks says that the company should allow the crew to carry weapons, as well as send the ships through safer passages.
The Maersk Alabama, according to Hicks, had previously been attempted to be boarded by pirates on two other occasions that week. From the AP:
“We’ve had safety meetings every month for the last three years and made suggestions of what should be done and they have been ignored,” Hicks said. “I’m just trying to make sure this is a lot better for other seamen.”
Richard E. Hicks has worked for 32 years as a merchant seaman, but says that he may not go back. His family is not looking forward to him returning to sea either; that is the stated reason that Hicks is asking for $75,000 in damages from the company who owns the Maersk Alabama.
The lawsuit was filed in Houston, as the two companies who own the Maersk Alabama do most of their business in Texas.
Maersk Alabama Crew - Video