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.
.
"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.
I like it.
And they do take American Express.
This was a failed Al Qaeda hostage taking operation.
Somehow I think the nude girl paintball hunt that someone was peddling in Vegas a few years ago may be a better seller...
Actually the bigger the boarding craft, the harder it is to hold steady enough to allow the boarding party to gain access to the ship.
LOL--what a wonderful display of the art of understatement.
That said; love the classic 'understatement' reportage here. . .i.e. the 'low-key/stiff-upper lip' Euro-think. . .
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.
'Just a bit'. . .for sure ;^)
If they were they would have already scoped out the ships defenses and wouldn't have been deterred by a loud noise.
I would think a few stand-by .50 cal mounts on the superstructure of those cruise liners would do wonders to discourage these scum from attacking such a vessel!!
How many luxury liners were attacked by "pirates" in recent history? Apart from the Achille Lauro?
Possibly. Good point.
You're right.
Heavy up the ammo so the bottom dwellers can feed off their bloated carcasses.
All it took was 4 heavily armed Pali terrorists to take over the Achille Lauro in 1985. They didn't want money or jewelry. They wanted the release of terrorists from prison:
http://www.specialoperations.com/Images_Folder/library2/achille.html
I thought it was a stated goal of the terrorists to hijack cruise ships. It could happen again...
These boats were most likely fiberglass hulled with and inflatable sponson. It is what are special forces use to do this type of operation.
Or, have a lot of hostages for ransom or videotaped slaughter.
Boats up to 60 feet long are attacked here routinely. That's a fact.
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