Lifeboat part of Navy UDT-SEAL Museum

Lifeboat used in April hijacking of cargo ship off Somali coast to be part of National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum

Officials at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum reeled in a big catch Friday.

The museum got the nod to permanently display the 28-foot lifeboat used in the hijacking of the captain from the cargo ship Maersk Alabama in April.

The famous lifeboat will be unveiled at 10 a.m. Aug. 14 at the museum. Representatives from Maersk Lines Limited are scheduled to attend.

“I think it is dynamite for this community,” said Vero Beach resident and retired Navy SEAL Jim Watson.

According to Associated Press reports, Capt. Richard Phillips of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama cargo ship had been taken hostage by pirates off the Somali coast and held in a lifeboat. After one of the pirates pointed an AK-47 at Phillips, the commander of the nearby USS Bainbridge gave the command to shoot, killing three pirates on April 12. A fourth pirate is in U.S. custody.

“It is not often that we get something this timely and relevant to current events around the world,” museum curator Ruth McSween said in a news release.

Getting the lifeboat had been on the mind of museum executive director Michael Howard shortly after Phillips was rescued.

In April, Howard said he wanted the vessel or other mementos of the historic event.

“This is a treasure, and not only does it drive home what the SEALs are about, it puts thing is a modern context, which makes it more culturally relevant to our younger visitors,” Howard said in a news release.

Exhibits at the museum at 3300 N. State Road A1A in Fort Pierce show the history of the Navy SEALs and their predecessors, including the Underwater Demolition Teams, Naval Combat Demolition Units, Office of Strategic Services Maritime Units, and Amphibious Scouts and Raiders.