By Kathy Kurtz Ferrari
Staff Writer
4/30/09
While international headlines filled with stories of Somali pirates off the coast of Africa may seem remote to residents on this side of the world, one former Milton resident has firsthand knowledge of the dangers of navigating those same dangerous waters.
Dan Davis grew up in town, moving here from Quincy in 1969. He attended Pierce Middle School and graduated from Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood in 1975. From there he headed to Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where he learned the ways of seafaring and leadership required of a ship’s captain. He graduated in 1979 and began working as a merchant marine, working his way up to captaining ships containing cargo destined for faraway ports of call.
Some of those waters include those same dangerous shipping lanes traversed by his fellow Mass Maritime graduation classmate, Richard Phillips. Phillips was the captain of the Maersk Alabama who was recently held hostage after an attack by the Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
“There for the grace of God go I,” Davis said, while he prepared at his Florida home for his next shipping assignment.
Davis has captained similar ships for Maersk through those same waters throughout his career but had never felt an imminent threat from the renegade pirate groups.
“We thought we were in a good position on the shipping routes we took because we were south of where the activity had been,” he explained. “Now they’ve expanded their range, apparently. That is exactly the same place we travel but we never thought they would be operating that far south.”
The cargo on the ships Davis and Phillips pilot consists mostly of grains, such as winter wheat, which are part of the United Nations World Food Programme. The grains are usually loaded in ports around Galveston, Texas, and New Orleans, and shipped to countries like Kenya and Mozambique. According to Davis, it takes about a month from port to port. Crews usually work several months out at sea and then have breaks between jobs. Davis worked those routes for seven-and-a-half months last year.
“You see a lot in those places. It’s different. You realize they are really hurting over there,” he said.
But in the next breath, he explained that the Somali pirates are well organized and have been in operation for a long time.
“This isn’t just a random act. These people are organized. They’re like a corporation,” he explained. “They know where the ships are; they’re provided arms and they go find them.”
Many are wondering how a large ship the size of the Maersk Alabama can fall victim to a few criminals in a small craft.
“What happens is that those small boats are fast, so you can’t outrun them. Our ship is heavy with cargo, so it may only sit 10 or 15 feet above the waterline,” he said. “They throw lines and grappling hooks up on deck and climb aboard. When you are faced with 20 or so guys with guns, or if they have rocket-propelled grenades, there are not many options.”
Davis added that he does have two shotguns in his office, but there are many liability issues involved with carrying weapons on board.
“The only real defense we have is to keep a sharp lookout, increase our speed, or turn a fire hose on them,” he added.
Since the incident involving Phillips, Davis has been interviewed several times by media outlets such as Fox TV. He feels Phillips did what he had to do, and because of his actions 19 crewmen arrived home safely.
“You can call him a hero or whatever you want,” Davis said of Phillips, whom he occasionally sees at various Mass Maritime alumni events, or in a port here and there around the world. “But he probably didn’t have a lot of options. You don’t know how you’re going to react in that situation.
“If that had been me, I probably would have told them I was just a cabin boy and gone and hid in a closet!” he joked.
But he added that the ongoing pirate situation isn’t any laughing matter.
“This hasn’t stopped,” he said. “Ideally you’d like to see more military presence.”
In the meantime, Davis has headed back out to sea, this time on a route across the Atlantic to northern Europe.
“It’s a little safer,” he said. “I don’t think anyone would want to go over to Africa if they have an option. Unfortunately there are not a lot of options. You go as you can. I have to do what I have to do.”
A few years ago, he did make a diversion in his career for a brief time. He worked as the captain of a luxury cruise ship carrying passengers throughout the Hawaiian Islands. According to Davis, the job was a dramatic change from his prior experience, as he had to take a pay cut and work substantially more hours. In the end, the need to support his family in the Jacksonville, Fla., area – his wife, Mary Ellen, and children, Danny, Brian and Katie – found him heading back to the other side of the world.
“Let me tell you, there’s a big difference between Maui and Mombassa!” he chuckled.
Davis is the brother of John Davis, Milton park commissioner and owner of Cahill Davis Group. Anyone familiar with the Davis brothers knows that a sharp sense of humor runs in the family. One can only hope that Dan Davis will never need to use his to charm pirates.