Posted on 11/05/2005 3:45:08 PM PST by george76
Seabourn Cruise Lines, whose luxury ship was attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean, will re-evaluate whether to continue cruises off the coast of Somalia following the attack...
"We don't know of any other time where a cruise ship has been attacked by pirates," she told CNN.
"They generally tend to (attack) tankers and freighters that have very small number of crew on board.
"We do know, of course, that the Indian Ocean is an area that we have to be more alert, and we were traveling through the area in a high state of alert," ...
the pirates were armed with machine guns and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
"The captain tried to run one of the boats over, but they were small boats, about 25 feet (eight meters) long," he said.
"Each one had four or five people on it, and (the captain) said he was going to do anything to keep them from getting on board."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
"I looked out of the window and saw a small boat with about five people in it about 20 yards (20m) away.
"One of them clearly had a rifle. Later I realised that two of them had rifles and one had some kind of rocket launcher.
"They were firing the rifle and then fired the rocket launcher twice. One of the rockets certainly hit the ship - it went through the side of the liner into a passenger's suite. The couple were in there at the time so it was a bit of an unpleasant experience.
'A bit scared'
"Fortunately they weren't hurt but you can just imagine what it would have been like if they had been standing up because obviously the cabin was very badly damaged.
"I only saw one boat, although the captain said there were two. At first I didn't know what was going on, but when I saw the rocket launcher I started getting a bit scared."
Mr Fisher said the cruise liner's captain made an announcement about 15 minutes later, saying: "Stay inside, stay inside, we are under attack".
"Then he told us to go the restaurant in the middle of the ship and wait.
"The atmosphere in the restaurant was a little tense. People were pretty good and they weren't panicking, but one or two were certainly looking nervous," Mr Fisher said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4410826.stm
Sort of reminds me of the final scene of "THE ISLAND"
The waters off the Somalian coast are considered the most dangerous in the world.
This week, the London-based International Maritime Bureau said it knew of 27 pirate attacks off Somalia since March.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/11/05/pirates-somalia051105.html
Ships will turn their firehoses on small boats if they are threatened. You can pretty much swamp and sink 'em that way.
I know, it's cruise ship. They have a security staff, and are trained to use firehoses to repel borders. That's boring old reality.
However, in my perfect world, I would much perfer that pirates were riddled with gunfire and rockets. That's pretty much what high-seas pirates exist for. Actually come to think of it, I would probably PAY to be on a cruise that was actually armed bait for Pirates in the Somali sea!
"Mr.Threepwood, Pirates in sight. Tell the crew to draw cutlasses, eye patches, and ensure they shout *Arrg!* in as loud a voice possible. Also, do turn on the Gabriel launcher on the canasta deck, I think we use it today.
Aye Aye Captain Killthemdead!"
If the UN is supposed to be an international organization, what are they doing to secure international waters?
Hoist the white flag and hose them with a flamethrower when they approach.
Not familiar with that one. But I do know you can reach out and touch somebody a looooong way off with a "ma deuce". Makes inflatables deflate real quickly too.
Most ports of call and most countries that flag cruise liners, tankers and freighters don't allow them to have any defensive fire arms aboard.
These rules are just nuts as the terrorists and pirates are out there and very bold. Maybe the ship owners ban arms as they hire multi national crews can't expect the low wages to ensure loyalty to the ship or captain.
What in the world was that shipping line thinking.
That line's cruises are VERY expensive.
"That Somalian coastline is so freakin' scenic, after all..."
Hmmmmmmk.....I know I will think twice before booking a cruise that takes me anywhere in, around, or near a "turd world country".
Very nice scene..
Religion of Pieces of Eight?
That may be one of the best solutions to the problem, George!
In June, a U.N.-chartered ship carrying 935 tons of rice for Somali victims of the Asian tsunami was hijacked by pirates, who held crew members hostage for three months before releasing them.
You forgot your sarcasm tag.
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