Without action by a currently deadlocked Congress, these cuts in the MSP “would devastate the pool of trained merchant mariners available for sea-going service and cripple the industrial capacity of the merchant marine,” explains MM &P president Don Marcus. Maritime Administration (MARAD) to warn ship owners that one-third of the vessels in this fleet, including the now-famous Maersk Alabama, face elimination from the program. But a projected budget shortfall, ranging from $ 25 million to $ 30 million. At a cost to taxpayers of $ 186 million annually, the MSP subsidizes a fleet of 60 commercially owned and operated ships. Even before this month’s federal government shutdown, sequester-driven budget cuts were scheduled to reduce funding next year for the Maritime Security Program (MSP). Utilizing similar teamwork, the real-life Phillips and members of his AFL-CIO-affiliated union, the Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM &P), are now rallying against a threat to their livelihood more serious than Somali pirates. On the 17, 000-ton Maersk Alabama, he notes, “the crew and I were ready for each crisis” because “we’d drilled for exactly those kinds of situations.” A Captain’s Duty, provides a vivid account of the teamwork and discipline required to survive at sea, amid the occupational hazards created by hurricanes, shipboard fires, container accidents, collisions, and, yes, armed assaults by would-be hijackers. Indeed, in his book and film-related interviews, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy graduate emphasizes the collective nature of freighter work, both on a day-to-day basis and in moments of danger on the high seas. “There was a ship with 19 crew members that this story is about, not just me … They acted bravely and acted properly … It would be a different story without their actions.” ![]() “I do not like the movie named after me, as it makes it out to be just me out there,” he told Destination Vermont, a travel magazine. Phillips himself has been exceedingly modest about his role in the Maersk Alabama drama. In Captain Phillips, it’s a toss-up who should get the hero’s garland - the film’s eponymous captain, his well-trained and fast-acting crew, or the Navy SEALs who rescued Phillips after the pirates took him hostage and tried to escape in a small boat. On October 11, Captain Phillips will get his second 15 minutes of international acclaim when Sony Pictures unveils a big-budget film based on his book. Four years after his near-death experience off the coast of Africa, America’s most famous maritime union member has had to settle for Tom Hanks instead.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |