Trial Delayed in Alabama Lawsuit Over 2009 Pirate Drama off Somalia

Alabama, 02 Dec 2013 (SDN) -– An Alabama judge has delayed the trial over a lawsuit filed after Somalian pirates took over a U.S. cargo ship in 2009. A civil lawsuit filed by crewmembers from the Maersk Alabama was set to go to court Monday in Mobile. But court officials say the lawsuit is now headed to mediation and could end without a full-blown trial before jurors.

Crew members are suing Maersk Line Ltd. and the Mobile-based Waterman Steamship Corp. over the 2009 pirate attack that was dramatized in the recent movie “Captain Phillips,” starring Tom Hanks.

The lawsuit contends the ship was sailing too close to the Somalian coast when pirates boarded and took it over on April 8, 2009.

Maersk denies the claims. Court documents show Waterman had chartered the ship from Maersk.

Source: AP