Columbia Pictures has released the first trailer for “Captain Phillips”, the Paul Greengrass-directed action thriller starring Tom Hanks.

The film is the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. Thomas Smith Group, the exclusive Maersk Agents in Malta, provided continuous assistance throughout the filming. Thomas Smith was in fact responsible for any cargo movements; daily coordination with the Port of Valletta in view of the vessels' movements in and out of the port; water provision; waste removal; provision of tugs, pilots and mooring men.  Several pre-production meetings with the Marine coordinator and local Maritime vendors were critical to the success of the various shoots in Maltese waters. Dan Malone, Marine Coordinator on the set of “Captain Phillips” thanked Thomas Smith Group for the professionalism and attention to detail given throughout the filming in Malta. “We couldn't have done it without you! I was particularly impressed with your hands on approach to the day-to-day ship operations. Rarely does a company provide that kind of service. Every morning and every evening, not to mention weekends, your staff was on the pier making sure operations ran smoothly.”