Norfolk : Drugs were in the room where two former Navy SEALs were found dead aboard the Maersk Alabama, a ship that was the focus of a 2009 hijacking dramatised in the movie "Captain Phillips," a company spokesman has said.
Police from the African island nation of Seychelles have given no cause of death for Mark Daniel Kennedy, 43, and Jeffrey Keith Reynolds, 44. The Americans were security contractors who were found dead Tuesday in a cabin on the ship while berthed in Port Victoria in the Indian Ocean.
"We are saddened by the tragedy and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased men," Maersk Line Ltd. spokesman Kevin Speers said in a statement yesterday.
Speers said the Seychelles police report includes observations about the presence of drugs and paraphernalia in the room where the two men were found dead, although the type of drug is unknown.
Yesterday, police spokesman Jean Toussaint, noted that officials were awaiting autopsies and said, "As far as I know there is no evidence of physical trauma" on either man`s body. Speers said the Maersk Alabama was cleared to leave Seychelles following the onboard investigation and that it is already underway.
The Maersk Alabama is a Norfolk, Va.-based container ship that provides feeder service to the east coast of Africa and employs security contractors to provide anti-piracy services. The two men who were found dead worked for a Virginia Beach, Va.-based maritime security firm, The Trident Group.
In a statement posted on its website, The Trident Group President Thomas Rothrauff said there "is no immediate indication as to the cause of death, but the deaths were not caused by operational activity." Rothrauff wrote that the next of kin have asked that no further information be released and that their privacy be respected.
The Maersk Alabama`s owner, the Norfolk, Va.-based Maersk Line Ltd. Also has said the deaths were not related to security duties or ship operations. The ship has since left the African port. Speers statement says the company has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drugs and alcohol, and that based on past experience working with The Trident Group, it believes this is an isolated incident.
Still, the company is responding by requiring reviewing its personnel records to confirm that drug tests and background checks are current, among other things. Speer said The Trident Group will also implement a random drug testing program to increase the frequency it screens security personnel.
