Sailor Sues Maersk Over Safety

Good for him. When companies provide little security for civilians working in dangerous areas, it says that "we'd rather you get killed than you kill someone else."

With safety, companies love to overdo "cheap" safety, but are out to lunch on safety than may be expensive or involve some political risk. They'll give you hardhats, safety glasses, make you sit in meetings, and put up tons of signs. That's cheap and easy. Providing armed security or arming crewmembers is much more difficult.

HOUSTON (AP) — A member of the crew on the U.S.-flagged ship hijacked by
African pirates sued the owner and another company Monday, accusing them of knowingly putting sailors in danger. Richard E. Hicks alleges in the suit that owner Maersk Line Limited and Waterman Steamship Corp., which provided the crew, ignored requests to improve safety measures for vessels sailing along the Somali coast.
Hicks was chief cook on the Maersk Alabama. Pirates held the ship's captain hostage for five days until the U.S. Navy rescued him. Hicks' lawsuit seeks at least $75,000 in damages and improved safety.
Officials for Norfolk, Va.-based Maersk Line and Mobile, Ala.-based Waterman said their companies don't comment on pending litigation.
Hicks asked that the two companies improve safety for ships by providing armed security or allowing crew members to carry weapons, sending ships through safer routes, and placing such safety measures on ships as barbed wire that would prevent pirates from being able to board vessels.
"We've had safety meetings every month for the last three years and made suggestions of what should be done and they have been ignored," Hicks said. "I'm just trying to make sure this is a lot better for other seamen."