SEBASTIAN ABBOT
Associated Press
December 3, 2008 at 11:57 AM EST
MUSCAT — Passengers on a luxury cruise liner attacked by pirates in the dangerous waters between Yemen and Somalia said Wednesday they were surprised by the assailants' boldness and described hearing the “Pop! Pop! Pop!” of the pirates' rifles firing at the ship.
Sunday's attack on the nearly 600-foot long American-operated M/S Nautica in the Gulf of Aden was the latest evidence that pirates have grown more aggressive, viewing almost any ship on the water as a potential target. But the attack lasted only five minutes and the ship with about 650 passengers and 400 crew members on board sped away quickly and was not seized.
“We didn't think they would be cheeky enough to attack a cruise ship,” Wendy Armitage, of Wellington, New Zealand, told The Associated Press shortly after disembarking the ship for a daylong port stop in the Omani capital of Muscat.
“It was very minor really,” she said of the attack. “But it was a surprise that they attacked us, and they did fire shots.”
No one on the ship was injured, and the vessel was able to speed away from the pirates. The attack happened on Sunday.
In about 100 attacks on ships off the Somali coast this year, 40 vessels have been hijacked. Thirteen ships remain in the hands of pirates along with more than 250 crew members including a Saudi supertanker filled with $100 million worth of crude and a Ukrainian ship loaded with 33 battle tanks.
International warships patrol the area and have created a security corridor in the region under a U.S.-led initiative, but attacks on shipping have not abated.
The cruise liner was travelling from Rome to Singapore, a route that most directly must pass through the dangerous strait between Somalia and Yemen.
During the assault, pirates fired eight rifle shots at the ship, according to its operator, Oceania Cruises, Inc. But the captain ordered passengers inside and accelerated quickly, leaving the pirates far behind in their 20- to 30-foot speedboats.
“I couldn't see them shooting, but I heard them hitting the ship, ‘Pop! Pop! Pop!”' said Clyde Thornberg, on vacation from his home in Bend, Ore. “It wasn't really scary because the captain announced for the safety of everybody to get inside and get down, and by that time he was pouring on the coals to the ship and was outrunning them.”
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16 comments:
It is sorta hard to believe that there are pirates that attacked passengers on a luxury cruise ship but, it makes sense. There was a pirate ship which attacked passengers... what do you think that the passengers thought about this ( please answer my question with an opinion of yours). Do pirates have something against other civilized people? I am not sure. Well, it was great that noeone on the ship was injured and that they got away from the pirates but this can be a problem. Are pirates coming back? I do not think that I will ever be going on a cruise that goes through the dangerous waters between Yemmen and Somalia.
i forgot how brutil and how many modern day pirits there still are
im glad that no one got hurt but it is hard to believe pirates attacked. i think the pirates will come back and next time they might do something worse. i will never go on a cruise to those dangerous waters i don't want to be in the middle of an attack im glad im wasn't there.
There are pirates? i thought it was a thing of a past, a fantasy. From now on i recomend anyone going on a cruise to hire bodyguards. But seriously, are pirates real?
whoooooooooooooooooo!!
fortunatly, no one died
i hope that this never happens to any cruise again
wow that was very scary for the people on the ship and i would not like to be on that ship.
hihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi
I didn'yt know there were still pirates in the oceans it is hard to believe but the other hard thing to believe is that they attack a luxury cruise ship.
This is bad that Pirates are attacking these beautiful cruise when people are trying to enjoy there self on it. Lucky lee not one got hurt. The Captain did a good job of tellling the people on the crusie to say put.
As my colleague Braden Noxon has been said it is often overlooked that pirates exist in the present day. " Modern " pirates are as cruel, as mean and as random as pirates were previously. Even worse, they have modern day technology to assist them
it is terrible that the pirates attack the passengers on the ship. i think the pirates scared the pseengers, and the passenger will not go no the ship again
wow, that was an amazing story. I saw this tv show discovery channel that was about the biggest ship traveling through the indian and pacific oceans (some dangerous seas, filled with pirates.) for protection they put on some water canons to keep the pirates away.
it is funny to think that there are pirates but it is also terrible
Re reading this article using a new perspective I find that it is surprising that the pirates would try to attack a cruise ship. A CRUISE SHIP!! That is an awfully gutsy move and I find that this show that the pirates aggression is growing.
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