8th April 2009 was just an ordinary day for 53 -year-old Richard Phillips , Captain of the United States-registered cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama, as it headed towards the port of Mombasa.. 8th April 2009 was just an ordinary day for 53 -year-old Richard Phillips , Captain of the United States-registered cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama, as it headed towards the port of Mombasa.