Crew Says Heroic Capt. Richard Phillips Really 'a Villain'

(April 19) -- A captain hailed as a hero after being held hostage by Somali pirates for five days is now being accused by former members of his crew of endangering the ship, the New York Post reports.

Last year, Richard Phillips, then the captain of a U.S.-flagged ship, the Maersk Alabama, was freed after being held captive for five days by pirates off the coast of Somalia. Phillips details that harrowing experience in a new book, "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs and Dangerous Days at Sea."

Peter Kramer, NBC / AP

Richard Phillips, former captain of the Maersk Alabama who was held captive by Somali pirates, is under fire from some crewmen.

But several former members of the Maersk's crew have come forward to question the captain's heroism. They say Phillips was partly to blame for taking the ship, despite warnings, into pirate-infested waters and then failing to properly secure the ship.

"He endangered our lives," chief engineer Mike Perry told the New York Post. "He's not a hero -- he's a villain."

The Post wasn't able to reach Phillips for comment.

The crew members' gripes also seemed aimed at the captain's newfound fame. Phillips' dramatic rescue by Navy SEALs, who killed several pirates, brought public attention to him and even a Hollywood deal.

In the meantime, as piracy off the coast of Africa continues to grow, a top U.S. military official warned last week in an article by the American Forces Press Service that commercial ships can't always count on the military to protect them.

"We could put a World War II fleet of ships out there, and we still wouldn't be able to cover the whole ocean," said Adm. Mark P. Fitzgerald, commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa and of NATO's Allied Joint Task Force Command Naples.