ORLANDO, Fla. – Capt. Richard Phillips, the merchant mariner whose cargo ship was seized by Somali pirates, said Wednesday he might never have survived the experience were it not for teamwork and some of the leadership skills he had picked up in his years as a "floating CEO."  

Among others, the most germane, if not classic, lessons of the experience, he said, is that people are often much stronger than they know, that the only time all is lost is when we choose to quit, and that a focused, professional team can overcome almost any problem.

Phillips' ship, the Maersk Alabama, was boarded by a band of four Somalis in the Indian Ocean in March 2009. The story was made into a film last year. 

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