The Somali pirate standoff finally ends as Navy Seals shoot and kill three pirates and rescue captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama, who had been held for four days in an 18-foot lifeboat. New York Times: Right before his rescue, Richard Phillips, the 53-year-old captain of the Maersk Alabama, was being held in a 18-foot lifeboat in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia.