Maps of Movies

Captain Phillips (2013)

Where Captain Phillips says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

A story told almost entirely at sea: the Somali waters were played by the Mediterranean off Malta.

Scenes and places

Setting out from Salalah

Phillips takes command of an unarmed container ship and sets out for Mombasa, knowing the route runs past pirate waters.

Set in Port of Salalah, Oman — The port where Phillips takes command of the unarmed container ship Maersk Alabama, bound for Mombasa. Google Maps · Apple Maps

The Omani port on the Arabian Sea from which the voyage begins.

Pirates in the wake

During a drill Phillips sees two skiffs closing in. Knowing the pirates are listening, he bluffs a call to a warship.

Set in Guardafui Channel, off the Horn of Africa — The sea lane off the Horn of Africa that the ship is ordered to take; Phillips spots two skiffs following during a drill. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A busy shipping lane at the tip of the Horn of Africa.

Filmed at Off the coast of Malta, Mediterranean Sea — The film was shot at sea off Malta, not in Somali waters; no more exact point is given. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The pirates climb aboard

Four pirates reach the ship by ladder and storm the bridge. Phillips offers the safe's cash, but their orders are for far more.

Set in MV Maersk Alabama, at sea — The container ship's deck and bridge, where four armed pirates come aboard by ladder.

A real container ship type standing in for the Maersk Alabama.

Filmed at Alexander Maersk, off the coast of Malta — Nine weeks of filming took place aboard the container ship Alexander Maersk, identical to Maersk Alabama; the Wikipedia text gives only 'off the coast of Malta' for where. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Hiding in the engine room

The crew hides below as the pirates hunt for them in the dark, using glass and a power cut as defences.

Set in Engine room, MV Maersk Alabama — The lower decks where the crew hides while the pirates search the ship.

A below-decks space in a container ship.

Adrift in the lifeboat

Phillips is forced into the lifeboat and the pirates head for Somalia, with tempers fraying as the khat wears off.

Set in Lifeboat, heading for the Somali coast — The enclosed lifeboat in which the pirates take Phillips toward Somalia.

A five-ton fiberglass lifeboat; the film's was re-created from the real boat on display at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum.

The destroyer arrives

A US Navy destroyer intercepts the lifeboat. Its captain is ordered to stop the pirates reaching Somalia by any means.

Set in USS Bainbridge, at sea — The US Navy destroyer that intercepts the lifeboat and is ordered to keep the pirates from reaching the coast.

The film's destroyer was played by USS Truxtun, a sister ship of USS Bainbridge.

Characters

• Richard Phillips — Captain of the unarmed container ship Maersk Alabama.
• Abduwali Muse — Leader of the four Somali pirates who board the ship.

Questions answered on the map

• Where was the Somali sea of Captain Phillips really filmed?