Posted on 11/06/2005 7:39:59 AM PST by aculeus
IN MARITIME circles it is regarded as the pinnacle of luxury - a boutique ship that offers its passengers a lifestyle which, like private jets, the top suite at the Ritz and Krug champagne, is reserved for the privileged few.
But in the early hours of yesterday morning, as guests slept in their spacious en-suite cabins complete with sea views, marble bathrooms and mahogany dining rooms, a band of armed pirates was preparing to storm aboard the Seabourn Spirit.
Passengers, some of whom had paid more than £19,000 for the 16-day voyage, were woken at 5.30am when the attack began 100 miles off the coast of Somalia, in the Indian Ocean.
Armed men on board two 25ft inflatable boats fired live bullets and rocket-propelled grenades as they tried to climb aboard the liner. Terrified passengers reported a series of explosions as the pirates fired on the luxurious 10,000-tonne cruise liner.
But despite the onslaught by the heavily armed bandits, the 200-man crew managed to scare them off using a loud acoustic boom to imitate the sound of an explosion.
None of the 302 passengers, 20 of whom were British, were injured, although one crew member was slightly hurt by flying debris from a ricocheted bullet.
The ship was rated as the most luxurious in the world earlier this year by Condé Nast Traveller and has previously boasted passenger lists including Bill Gates and Donald Trump.
Solicitor Norman Fisher, 55, from Hampstead Garden Suburb in north London, was on board working when captain Sven Erik Pedersen announced over the ship's PA system: "Stay inside, we're under attack."
The passengers were told to go to the restaurant as the sound of the grenade and gunfire filled the air.
"I heard what sounded like a crack from outside at 5.50am," said Fisher.
"I looked out of the window and saw a small boat with about five people in it about 20 yards 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.
"At first I didn't know what was going on, but when I saw the rocket launcher I started getting a bit scared."
Fisher said the captain tried to ram one of the boats in an attempt to capsize it and stop them getting on board.
"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," he added.
"The captain came in at about 6.30am and explained what was going on and said he was reasonably confident we had lost them. Of course, he got a massive round of applause.
"It was all a very surreal experience - not the kind of thing you expect on a cruise."
The guests, mainly wealthy Americans, were 13 days into a 16-day voyage which had taken them via Jordan, Egypt and the Red Sea. They were due to visit Mombasa in Kenya, where an exclusive safari awaited them.
Barman Richard Fuller, who worked on board, said the passengers were kept inside while the crew attempted to repel the bandits. He said the atmosphere on the ship was still tense.
He said: "A lot of the guest are still nervous. One of the crew suffered minor injuries while he was on deck watch duties. He was hit by a bit of debris but he is all right."
Another passenger, Edith Laird from Seattle, said one of the grenades launched at the ship hit a cabin just a few doors away from where she and her daughter had been sleeping.
In an e-mail sent from the ship, she said: "My daughter saw the pirates out our window.
"There were at least three RPGs that hit the ship, one in a stateroom four doors down from our cabin."
Passenger Mike Rogers of Vancouver said: "The captain tried to run one of the boats over, but they were small boats, about 25ft long.
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"There's some minor damage done to the ship. I believe one of the grenades actually went off in one of the cabins, but everyone on board is fine."
Carol Marlow, a spokeswoman for the Miami-based company Seabourn Cruises owned by US cruise giant Carnival, said the ship was sailing in an area it had sailed many times before and was adhering to international maritime safety regulations.
She said: "All the passengers and crew are safe. The ship's crew immediately initiated a trained response and, as a result of protective and evasive measures taken, the occupants of the small craft were unable to gain access to the ship.
"The ship has diverted so we are now heading to the Republic of the Seychelles rather than Mombasa. We felt that was a more appropriate measure in the light of what has happened.
We were concerned about that when we went on a cruize in Oct 2001 and some wanted to cancel but we went through with it.
We had a real scare out on the rough seas on a wave-runner when we encountered a GIANT shark. We actually jumped the shark with my passenger hanging on for dear life! (Ok, a little embellishing but there really was a shark in the water...)
I was wondering the same thing. No openings or ladders of any kind when at sea and it's a long way up the side of the ship.
Actually a Phallenx(sp?) weapon system would do the trick...
"Burrrrrrrrrrppp....Where'd they go?"
These cruise outfits should start offering a "Danger Cruise"? Advertise a cruise off the coasts of these 3rd world rat holes where piracy is a common occurrence. In the event of an attempted boarding, you get to man your own deck mounted 50-caliber machine gun with 2000 rounds of ammunition. Extra ammo will cost you more of course. I would sign up for that.
MK-19 All the way!
Or a fiddy will do
Ever notice that for all the bullets fired by the A Team (former special forces) No one ever got shot.
I think it should be yo ho ho and a bottle of Perrier
Leni
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