US ship captain thanks rescuers on return home
Mr Phillips was held hostage for over a week.
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Saturday, 18, Apr 2009 10:31
Richard Phillips, the captured captain of cargo ship the Maersk Alabama who was held captive by pirates for over a week, has returned to the US.
Mr Phillips arrived back in Vermont to a hero's welcome and thanked US Special Forces, the Navy Seals, for enabling him to be rescued.
US Navy seals shot dead three pirates onboard the ship before rescuing the 53-year-old ship captain, who was hailed as a hero for giving himself up to the pirates in exchange for his crew at the time of the hijacking.
Speaking upon his return to the US, he said: "I'm just a bit part in this story.
"I'm a small part, just a seaman doing the best he can, like all the other seamen out there.
"The first people I want to thank are the Seals. They are the superheroes, they are the titans. They are impossible men doing an impossible job, and they did the impossible with me," he said.