Posted on 04/26/2009 10:41:50 AM PDT by dennisw
An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack far off the coast of Somalia when its Israeli private security forces exchanged fire with the bandits and drove them away, the commander said Sunday.
Cmdr. Ciro Pinto told Italian state radio that six men in a small white boat approached the Msc Melody and opened fire Saturday night, but retreated after the Israeli security officers aboard the cruise ship returned fire.
"It felt like we were in war," Pinto said. None of the roughly 1,000 passengers and 500 crew members were hurt, Melody owner Msc Cruises said in a statement issued by its German branch.
Domenico Pellegrino, head of the Italian cruise line, said Msc hired the Israelis because they were the best trained security agents, the ANSA news agency reported.
Civilian shipping and passenger ships have generally avoided arming crewmen or hiring armed security for reasons of safety, liability and compliance with the rules of the different countries where they dock.
Saturday's exchange of fire was one of the first reported between pirates and a nonmilitary ship. International military forces have battled pirates, with US navy snipers killing three holding an American captain hostage in one of the highest-profile incidents.
Saturday's attack occurred about 200 miles (325 kilometers) north of the Seychelles, and about 500 miles (800 kilometers) east of Somalia, according to the anti-piracy flotilla headquarters of the Maritime Security Center Horn of Africa.
Pinto said the pirates fired with automatic weapons, slightly damaging the liner, and tried to put a ladder on board. But he said they were unable to climb aboard.
The commander said his security forces opened fire with pistols and the ANSA news agency said the pistols had been kept in a safe under the joint control of the commander and security chief.
Eat lead ye scurvy dogs!!
Are they saying that they protected themselves? Shame on them.
Doing the job an American President just won’t do.
Seems a good honest pirate can’t catch a break anymore.
The anti-pirate security teams could come on board when a ship enters the danger zone and then disembark when the ship moves on to safer seas.
This reminds me of a true instance when a Pan Am Flight Steward hit a hijacker with a fire ax (those were the days) and did not kill him.
Why carry a pistol to a fight with pirates armed with RPGs and AKs?
Sink the B@stards!
Armed guards on that cruise ship? Oh SNAP!
Probably not as bad as it sounds to have pistols with a generous supply of ammo, a relatively stable deck with good cover as opposed to a pitching deck.
Added advantage of pistol is always with you concealability in case pirates somehow get abord undetected at night, etc,,,. Its better that you dont know who is the security men are until its too late.
Not to speak of the missed profit from the videos of Pirate encounters.. The videos could be sold for big bucks.. Some one is missing a capitalist opportunity..
How long before some UN high comissioner calls for their arrest and trial for war crimes?
You got the high ground...that and a few weapons and bingo....dead Somalis.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.