Two US men found dead

Two US security officers have been found dead in the Seychelles on a freighter made famous in the Somali pirate hijacking film Captain Phillips.

Two US men found dead on ‘Captain Phillips’ cargo ship

Two US security officers have been found dead in the Seychelles on a freighter made famous in the Somali pirate hijacking film Captain Phillips.

The men, identified as Jeffrey Reynolds and Mark Kennedy, were discovered in a cabin on the Maersk Alabama on Tuesday.

The cause of death is currently under investigation by US authorities.

Both deceased, aged 44, were employed by Trident Group onboard the ship, which had been hijacked by pirates in 2009 and later dramatised on screen.

Trident was founded in 2000 by former US Navy Seals and it recruits from among former special forces operatives, though it is not clear if Mr Reynolds and Mr Kennedy once belonged to any elite unit.

Coast Guard investigates

Their bodies were reportedly found by a member of the 24-person crew while the ship was berthed in Port Victoria in the Indian Ocean, US media report.

A post-mortem examination has been scheduled to determine cause of death, local police said.

The security contractors’ deaths were “not related to vessel operations or their duties as security personnel”, Kevin Speers, a senior director for Maersk Line Limited, said in a statement to CNN.

The US Coast Guard has reportedly opened an investigation into the matter as the Maersk Alabama is a US-flagged ship, a state department official told the media outlet.

The vessel made headlines in 2009 when it was hijacked by Somali pirates, leading to a five-day standoff.

That incident ended when Navy Seals aboard the USS Bainbridge killed three pirates holding Captain Richard Phillips in a lifeboat.

Actor Tom Hanks later played Captain Phillips in the 2013 film of the same name.

Source: BBC.