Another graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy was the captain of the container ship Maersk Alabama when it was attacked again today by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
Four pirates in a skiff came within 300 yards of the ship at 6:30 am local time, but the crew repelled the attack by making Evasive maneuvers and firing several warning shots, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Navy. No injuries have been reported.
The current skipper of the Maersk Alabama is Captain Paul Rochford of Barrington, RI, according to the Maritime Academy. Rochford graduated in 1979 and was a Classmate of Richard Phillips, the Vermont resident taken hostage in a similar attack last spring.
"This is a great example of learning lessons," said Rear Admiral Richard Gurnon, president of the Maritime Academy. "A security team fired warning shots. Prior to [the attack on the Maersk Alabama last spring], merchant ships, particularly American merchant ships, did not have small arms aboard."
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