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AIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Police on the island nation of Seychelles say that two former U.S. Navy SEALs found dead aboard the ship Maersk Alabama died of respiratory failure and were suspected to have had heart attacks, possibly from drug use.

Drugs were in the room where two former Navy SEALs were found dead aboard the Maersk Alabama, a ship that was the focus of a 2009 hijacking dramatized in the movie "Captain Phillips," a company spokesman said Thursday. Police from the African island nation of Seychelles have given no cause of death for Mark Daniel Kennedy, 43, and Jeffrey Keith Reynolds, 44. The Americans were security contractors who were found dead Tuesday in a cabin on the ship while berthed in Port Victoria in the Indian Ocean. "We are saddened by the tragedy and our thoughts are with the family...

Listening to domestic-extremist/right-wing-AM-radio, heard a news report about 2 guards being found dead on the Maersk Alabama in Seychelles. The report identified the guards as 'former Navy SEALs'. Tragic. If it's posted anywhere, I can't find it and it's not indexed in search engines yet. I can't say with certainty whether it was Bloomberg news or Fox News, as this station mixes it up and I didn't catch that.

It’s made for Hollywood: the story of an average American family man, captain of a cargo ship in dangerous waters, his vessel overtaken by armed Somali pirates demanding ransom, saving his crew by allowing himself to be removed from the boat and taken hostage. All of this is the basis for “Captain Phillips,” starring Tom Hanks as the titular, real-life hero. The only problem, say some members of the real Capt. Phillips’ crew, is none of it is true. Capt. Richard Phillips, they say, is no hero, and the film is one big lie. “Phillips wasn’t the big leader like...

Law: American heroes are arraigned for allegedly punching a terrorist in wartime. What happens to Tiger Woods isn't vital to our country's future. What happens to Matthew McCabe, Julio Huertas and Jonathan Keefe is. People are more likely to recognize the names of Tiger's alleged bimbo eruptions than the names of these three Navy SEALs we sent into battle. They are not household names in a nation consumed with Climate Gate, the public option and the antics of billionaire athletes. An administration consumed with apologies has said the architect of 9/11's massacre, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, must be given all the...

The Maersk Alabama, a U.S. flagged cargo vessel, is now a veteran of not one, but two attacks by Somali pirates. The first, back in April, although ending well (except from the perspective of the pirates), was a horrid ordeal. The crew, using kitchen knives [Correction: I have just been informed that it was pocket knives, rather than kitchen knives, that the crew used--my apologies for the mistake] as their weapons, staged a fighting retreat to a secure compartment. There, they endured terrible (and potentially fatal) conditions: for 13 hours, in 130° heat, without drinking water or ventilation, they waited...

Richard Phillips, the ship captain toasted as a hero after he was taken captive by Somali pirates, ignored repeated warnings last spring to keep his freighter at least 600 miles off the African coast because of the heightened risk of attack, some members of his crew now allege. Records obtained by The Associated Press show that maritime safety groups issued at least seven such warnings in the days before outlaws boarded the Maersk Alabama about 380 miles off the shore of Somalia. A piracy expert and the captain's second-in-command say Phillips had the prerogative to heed the warnings or not....

Yesterday, Somali pirates attacked the commercial cargo ship Maersk Alabama. This time, however, an armed security team successfully thwarted the attackers. Last April, Somali pirates successfully attacked the Alabama, kidnapping ship’s Captain Phillips and holding him hostage until Navy SEAL snipers killed the captors. In 2008, Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, commander of the U.S. Navy’s fleet in that area, specifically warned that the Navy “can’t be everywhere” and that “shipping companies have to take responsibility for their own ships.” It appears that after the last near-tragedy, Maersk took the warning seriously. But the story also highlights media bias against self-defense....

MANAMA, Bahrain, Nov. 18, 2009 – The U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama’s security team repelled an attack from suspected pirates this morning 560 nautical miles off the northeastern coast of Somalia, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command officials reported. Four suspected pirates in a skiff came within 300 yards of the Maersk Alabama and used small-arms weapons in an attempt to board the ship. The ship’s security team responded with evasive maneuvers, long-range acoustic devices and small-arms fire, causing the suspected pirates to break off their attack. The acoustic devices emit a high-pitched sound that can be painful to human ears. "Due to...

The lesson from an unsuccessful pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden this week was simple: Guns talk. The Maersk Alabama, the American-flagged ship infamously attacked by pirates in April, was attacked again Monday when Somali pirates opened fire on the ship in an attempt to board it. But the pirates didn't get far this time, after a four-man security team aboard the ship fired back, thwarting the attack. It's the first time a large cargo ship with an armed security team aboard is known to have repelled an attack, says Vice Adm. William Gortney, who commands the Pacific region...

... private guards on board the U.S.-flagged ship repelled the attack with gunfire...

About an hour ago, the Associated Press reported that the crew of the US-flagged merchant vessel Maersk Alabama repelled a pirate attack off the coast of Somalia.  This is the same ship that was boarded by pirates last April.  At that time, the captain of the ship was taken hostage and was held by pirates in a lifeboat for five days.  The incident ended when US Navy SEAL snipers simultaneously killed all three pirates aboard the lifeboat in a nighttime action.  This time, the pirates never got aboard the ship. What was the difference?  Guns.As the AP report makes abundantly clear,...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- The Maersk Alabama, the American-flagged ship captured briefly by pirates in April, came under fire again early Tuesday morning off Somalia's coast, but evaded the attackers...

NAIROBI, Kenya — The EU's anti-piracy force says that Somali pirates have again attacked the Maersk Alabama, the U.S.-flagged ship hijacked last spring. The EU Naval Force says pirates fired automatic weapons at the ship, but that guards on board the craft fired back and thwarted Tuesday's attack.

A US sea captain whose dramatic rescue from pirates made headlines across the globe earlier this year is to be the subject of a new Hollywood film. Richard Phillips, a 53-year-old father of two who secured the safety of his cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, by offering himself as a hostage to Somali pirates, has sold his story to Columbia Pictures. Phillips was held for five days off the coast of Somalia last month before US navy snipers shot dead three of the four men who had imprisoned him on a lifeboat, an action authorised by president Obama. The fourth...

President Barack Obama met Saturday with a US cargo ship captain who was held hostage by Somali pirates last month before a dramatic high-seas rescue by US Navy snipers. Obama hosted Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips and his wife, Andrea, in the Oval Office for a visit that had not been publicly announced by the White House. Phillips was also due to attend Saturday's White House Correspondents Association dinner, an annual meet of Washington's press corps elite, politicians and celebrities. Obama is set to host the event.

The U.S. cargo ship captain and a crew member who were taken hostage by Somali pirates have been honored at New York's City Hall by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The mayor presented keys to the city to crew member William Rios and Capt. Richard Phillips and joked about Friday's baseball game at the New York Mets' Citi Field. The mayor says he was going to give the men tickets to the game but decided against it because the Mets are playing the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Americans received a special gift this Easter Sunday with the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage for several days after his ship, the Maersk Alabama, was raided by pirates. The raiding of the Maersk created an international crisis and an around the clock media sensation. People around the globe were riveted to their TVs, praying and hoping for Capt. Phillips' safety as the U.S. Navy moved massive vessels into the area. In the end, the brave Captain freed himself and well-trained U.S. snipers took out three of the four pirates. The obvious question that was seldom...

Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama says, 'And I don't mean a security guard. I don't mean a mall cop. I mean someone who's sufficiently trained.' His boss disagrees.Reporting from Washington -- The freed captain of a merchant ship attacked by pirates near Somalia last month called Thursday for military protection and armed crew members to thwart attacks in dangerous waters. Capt. Richard Phillips, skipper of the Maersk Alabama, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that it was the "responsibility of the U.S. government" to protect any ship flying an American flag, through military escorts or onboard squads of...

With all the back-and-forth between Somali time and D.C. time, a lot of people let this slip through the cracks (including me). The "SEAL pals" email circulated by Rear Admiral Lou Sarosdy (USN ret.) claimed that Obama did not authorize SEAL teams to assist in the rescue of Captain Philips until 36 hours after these resources were requested by the captain on the scene. In their rebuttal campaign last week, anonymous Pentagon sources claimed that the USS Bainbridge did not arrive at the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama until Friday April 10th. It actually arrived on scene at 4:00 AM...