--- description: Cause of death unknown for pair who worked as security officers onboard the Maersk Alabama title: Americans Dead on 'Captain Phillips' Ship image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc3ce94fabd36214/698682f8810bbb9b65c902eb/captain-phillips-ship-death.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Mystery](/tag/mystery/) ## Mystery Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Two Americans Found Dead on 'Captain Phillips' Ship by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 20, 2014 10:08 AM CUT  U.S.-flagged container ship, Maersk Alabama, sails into the Kenyan coastal sea port of Mombasa, November 22, 2009. U.S.-flagged container ship, Maersk Alabama, sails into the Kenyan coastal sea port of Mombasa, November 22, 2009.Joseph Okanga—Reuters by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 20, 2014 10:08 AM CUT Two American security officers, hired to deter pirates from the Maersk Alabama container ship, have been [found dead](http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/19/world/asia/seychelles-maersk-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp%5Ft1 "undefined") onboard the vessel, the Seychelles police said Wednesday. The two former Navy SEALs were discovered Tuesday as the ship moored at the island nation’s capital Port Victoria. A senior director at Maersk said their deaths were not related to the vessel’s operations or their duties as security personnel. “It’s bizarre,” said Tom Rothrauff, president for Trident Group, the Virginia-based maritime securities services firm the Americans worked for. “Of course, it’s a shock. They’re all great guys. I’m absolutely clueless as to what happened.” In 2009, Somali pirates attempted to hijack the Maersk Alabama in an incident that inspired the movie _Captain Phillips_. Later, the ship was equipped with armed personnel, who foiled two subsequent attacks in 2009 and 2011. \[[CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/19/world/asia/seychelles-maersk-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp%5Ft1 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/8929/two-americans-found-dead-on-captain-phillips-ship/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/8929/two-americans-found-dead-on-captain-phillips-ship/"},"headline":"Two Americans Found Dead on 'Captain Phillips' Ship","datePublished":"2014-02-20T10:08:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:27:14.379Z","description":"Cause of death unknown for pair who worked as security officers onboard the Maersk Alabama","url":"https://time.com/8929/two-americans-found-dead-on-captain-phillips-ship/","keywords":["Mystery","Dead"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc3ce94fabd36214/698682f8810bbb9b65c902eb/captain-phillips-ship-death.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc3ce94fabd36214/698682f8810bbb9b65c902eb/captain-phillips-ship-death.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S.-flagged container ship, Maersk Alabama, sails into the Kenyan coastal sea port of Mombasa, November 22, 2009.","caption":"U.S.-flagged container ship, Maersk Alabama, sails into the Kenyan coastal sea port of Mombasa, November 22, 2009.","creditText":"Joseph Okanga—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/mystery/","name":"Mystery"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/8929/two-americans-found-dead-on-captain-phillips-ship/","name":"Two Americans Found Dead on 'Captain Phillips' Ship"}}]}] ```