The film is based on the true story of the MV Maersk Alabama, a container ship that was sailing from Salalah, Oman to Mombasa, Kenya in 2009. On April 8, 2009, the ship was hijacked by four Somali pirates who had set out from the coast of Somalia in a small boat. The pirates, led by Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse (played by Barkhad Abdi), demanded a ransom from the ship's owner in exchange for the safe release of the crew.