Two Dead on Captain Phillips' Ship [Updated]

By The Maritime Executive 02-20-2014 02:18:00

Update: February 20, 2:15 p.m.

Seychelles police have identified the deceased as Jeffrey Reynolds and Mark Kennedy. The men, both 44, worked for Trident Group, a Virginia-based maritime security services firm. The men were former Navy SEALs.

A statement from a Maersk Line official said that the security contractors boarded the vessel on January 29, and that their deaths were "not related to vessel operations or their duties as security personnel." Maersk Line contracts with Trident Group in accordance with U.S. Coast Guard security directives.

Contracted security is part of anti-piracy protection plans to safeguard crews and vessels, confirmed the Maersk rep. The Maersk Alabama is persistently in high-risk areas since she provides feeder service to the east coast of Africa.

The ship has since left Port Victoria, the Seychelles capital.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman also confirmed the men were U.S. citizens. The Coast Guard is involved in the investigation because the Maersk Alabama is a U.S.-flagged ship.

The bodies were found by a colleague who had gone to check in on one of the men in a cabin at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Seychelles police said.

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Two maritime security officers have been found dead on the Maersk Alabama container ship, police in the Seychelles confirmed on Wednesday.

The vessel, infamous for its high-profile 2009 hijacking portrayed in the movie "Captain Phillips," was moored in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. The men, who are Americans, were found dead on Tuesday. Local police said they were part of a 24-member crew that arrived on Sunday and were expected to leave Tuesday.

Reports state that the two men were working as security contractors aboard the Alabama, employed by the Trident Group. The company said families of the two contractors have been notified and requested that their names not be released.

Autopsies will be carried out this week in order to identify the cause of their sudden and mysterious deaths. The police are also currently investigating the possible circumstances which led to the death of these two former Navy SEALs.

A U.S. Coast Guard official said they had been notified about the deaths of two U.S. citizens. An investigator from Coast Guard Activities Europe is engaged in a Coast Guard examination, but due to the nature of the investigation, no further details were given.