Captain Phillips Tells National Press Club U.S. Maritime Matters

Commentary from Denise Krepp

Photo from left to right: Denise Krepp, Steve Werse,Secretary Treasurer of IOMM&P, Captain Richard Phillips

The new movie about Captain Phillips and the Maersk Alabama crew opens this weekend. As part of the movie roll-out, Captain Phillips spoke with reporters yesterday at a National Press Club event. He talked about the pirate attack and current threats to the U.S. maritime industry, including proposed cuts to the Maritime Security Program and cargo preference. The maritime industry should leverage the movie to educate the American public and press about maritime workers, their lives, and their importance to local communities.

&lt;p&gt;The majority of Americans have never been to sea and they don&amp;#39;t understand that a mariner&amp;#39;s life is dangerous. Pirates have been attacking U.S. merchant ships since the end of the American Revolution.&amp;nbsp; Barbary pirates kidnapped U.S. mariners on the Maria and Dauphin, held them ransom for years, and then ultimately forced the U.S. government to pay for their return. The economic cost to the new nation was so great that our forefathers specifically authorized Congress in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution to define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas. We punished the pirates by re-establishing the Navy to fight them off the shores of Tripoli.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Today&amp;#39;s pirates, as the crew of the Maersk Alabama know, are equally as dangerous. These men are poorly educated, highly armed, and desperate to earn millions of dollars in ransoms. The Telegraph reported this week that almost 100 hostages are currently held by Somali pirates. This number includes the crew of the Malaysian flagged MV Albedo who have been held in captivity for almost three years. No one has paid their ransom and they won&amp;#39;t be returning to their families until the pirates are paid.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The U.S. government did not pay the Somali pirates for Captain Phillips&amp;#39; return. Rather, Navy SEALs killed them. One of those that survived, Abduwali Muse, was taken into U.S. custody and tried for piracy. He was sentenced to 405 months in prison for his role in the attack. His capture and sentencing did not deter other Somali pirates. They are still sailing the high seas looking for more victims.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Despite all of the danger surrounding pirates, Captain Phillips told participants at the National Press Club event yesterday that &amp;ldquo;if you don&amp;#39;t want to deal with piracy then you don&amp;#39;t belong in the merchant marine.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; This sentiment has been shared by his fellow mariners for over 200 years ago. Pirates didn&amp;#39;t&amp;nbsp; stop U.S. mariners from sailing in risky Mediterranean waters then and they won&amp;#39;t stop U.S. mariners today.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;What will stop U.S. mariners is the current Administration&amp;#39;s policy regarding the U.S. maritime industry.&amp;nbsp; The Administration is proposing to cut several vessels from the Maritime Security Program.&amp;nbsp; The MSP program, according to the International Organization of Masters, Mates &amp;amp; Pilots, directly supports approximately 2,700 U.S. mariners and an additional 5,000 shore-side jobs.&amp;nbsp; Men and women will lose their jobs if these cuts occur.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;During the National Press Club event, Captain Phillips and Captain Werse, IOMMP International Secretary-Treasurer fielded questions from several major press entities &amp;ndash; the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bloomberg, and WUSA to name just a few. The reporters wanted to know what would happen if MSP&amp;nbsp; ships were cut. Captains Phillips and Werse bluntly told them that flags of convenience would fill the gap.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Captain Phillips also reminded the press&amp;nbsp; about why the Maersk Alabama was sailing so close to Somalia in April 2009 &amp;ndash; food aid. The crew was transporting U.S. grown crops to starving people in Africa. The Administration and many in Congress now want to stop this program.&amp;nbsp; They simply want to send cash.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;National and local news outlets should be encouraged to ask the same tough questions that Captains Phillips and Werse answered yesterday about the the threats to our industry. The newspapers, television and radio stations, and bloggers should ask the Departments of Transportation and Defense about how many vessels will be removed from the MSP program if the budget cuts occur and what will happen to their crews. Is the U.S. government willing to provide financial assistance when they lose their jobs and help out local communities who will lose revenue when the MSP vessels are no longer home ported in their areas?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Similarly, the press should ask the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development for an explanation on the proposed food aid changes. President Obama praised Captain Phillips for his bravery and courage after he was rescued. If Captain Phillips and others like him are willing to risk their lives to transport much needed food then these agencies need to explain to them and the American public why cash is the new preferred Administration option.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;K. Denise Rucker Krepp is a homeland security, transportation, and energy expert who began her career as an active duty Coast Guard officer in 1998. After September 11th, Ms. Krepp was part of the team that created the Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class=&quot;p2&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;