Hollywood already riding to the rescue

Now he has a PR firm to represent him in recognition of his new celebrity status.
Should he choose, Capt Phillips could make big money after appointing Creative Artists Agency to “help him navigate book and film offers”.
No one should begrudge Capt Phillips the opportunity to benefit from his ordeal and the publicity he has already generated could help draw attention to the plight of those still trapped on hijacked ships and facilitate a solution to the piracy problem that is showing no signs of receding.
But contrast the case of Capt Phillips, who is now on three months’ leave while he ponders his future, with that of other officers who also were just doing their job, notably the master and chief officer the Hebei Spirit, both thrown into jail after their anchored tanker was holed by a barge that had broken free.
Piracy and the criminalisation of seafarers are two of the scourges of shipping today, and require a concerted effort by all sectors of the industry to both address the issues and also to explain to the outside world what is happening.
The maritime industry on its own cannot find an answer.
Piracy requires political and naval intervention.
Criminalisation has to be tackled through international understanding between different jurisdictions.
But what shipowners from around the world can do is to pull together through their industry bodies, notably the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Shipping Federation (ISF), that were holding their annual meetings last week, to address these and many other issues.
The ISF was celebrating its centenary at a dinner in Greenwich and there were plenty of reminiscences.
But what is clear is that this venerable association still has a vital role to play – albeit perhaps with a little help from Hollywood if Capt Phillips sells his story.