Seabourn Spirit
Ship Facts:
-Capacity: 208 guests
-Crew Capacity: 150
-Tonnage: 10,000
-Length: 440 feet
-Width: 63 feet
-Draft: 16.5 feet
-Speed: 18 knots
Posted on 11/05/2005 5:01:48 AM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
A LUXURY ship today narrowly escaped seizure by gunmen off the pirate-infested Somali coast when it sped off to the high seas amid a trail of gunfire.
The vessel was carrying at least 600 tourists from Europe destined to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, where it was expected to arrive Monday, Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme (SAP) told AFP.
"The captain made a distress call and later switched off the radio communication to avoid being traced by the hijackers," Mwangura said.
He said that the gunmen sailing in three boats later abandoned the chase as they could not venture into the high seas and that no one was injured in the botched hijack early today.
The attempted seizure came two days after the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the increasingly dangerous Somali waters hampered delivery of relief supplies to more than half a million people facing acute food shortage there.
Last month pirates in the unpatrolled waters off the 3700-kilometre coastline of the war-torn Horn of Africa country released two UN-chartered vessels, one of which had been seized in June, but several others and their crews remain in captivity.
At least 23 hijackings and attempted seizures have been recorded off the Somalia coastline since mid-March, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which has warned ships to stay as far away from the coast as possible.
The 22nd MEU is ready to sail and we have Marines and others on the horn of Africa. Wouldn't it be good to get some payback from these folks.
Argghhhhh!
Oh before I forget... Pirates cause global warming.... ;-)
Were these Amish pirates?
Argghhhh!
What cruise line was this?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4409662.stm
Cruise ship repels Somali pirates
Passengers were woken early in the morning by gunshots
A cruise ship sailing off Somalia has beaten back gunmen in speedboats who opened fire on it in an apparent pirate attack which terrified passengers.
At least two boats closed in on the Seabourn Spirit, reportedly firing automatic weapons and a rocket-propelled grenade.
(snip)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/05/upirate.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/11/05/ixportaltop.html
Pirate attack on cruise ship
(Filed: 05/11/2005)
A luxury cruise liner carrying British passengers has been attacked by pirates firing a rocket propelled grenade and machine guns.
The Bahamas-registered Seabourn Spirit was 100 miles off the coast of Somalia in Africa when the attack took place.
Passengers - including 18 British holiday makers - were woken by the sound of gunfire as two 25ft inflatable boats approached the liner. The occupants began shooting as they tried to board the liner.
There was only one casualty - a crew member suffered minor injuries from flying debris. The vessel had only minor damage.
The crew used an on-board acoustic bank to repel the attackers who left without managing to board the liner.
The attempted attack happened in an area notorious for pirate activity, leading to warnings to stay away from the coast where bandits board ships and demand ransoms.
The 10,000-ton liner is luxiourious - with huge suites, marble bathrooms and more than one crew member to each of the 302 passengers on board. Most of the passengers are believed to be American.
http://www.eitb24.com/noticia_en.php?id=102662
Pirate attack to cruise ship off Somalia
"Early this morning an attempt was made to gain access to the Seabourn Spirit while it was at sea," the company said in a statement. "The approach was successfully repelled."
Pirates in speed boats opened fire on a cruise liner carrying hundreds of tourists off the Somali coast on Saturday, but none of the holidaymakers were hurt, a shipping official and the ship's owners said.
"Gunmen in two or three speed boats opened fire on the Seabourn Spirit while it was about 70 nautical miles off Somalia," said Andrew Mwangura, programme coordinator for the Seafarers' Association in neighbouring Kenya.
"The captain managed to change the course of the vessel and speed away. Most of the passengers are believed to be Americans or Western Europeans. No one was hurt," Mwangura told Reuters.
The Indian Ocean waters off the Somali coast are classed as among the most dangerous in the world.
The 10,000-ton Bahamas-registered Seabourn Spirit was believed to be carrying about 300 passengers and crew from Alexandria in Egypt to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. Its owners, Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line, said the vessel had been rerouted to the Seychelles after the attack.
"Early this morning an attempt was made to gain access to the Seabourn Spirit while it was at sea," the company said in a statement. "The approach was successfully repelled." A company official contacted in Britain gave no more details, but said all on board were safe." "It is heading for the Seychelles now," she told Reuters.
Piracy off Somalia threatens shipping and has sabotaged the delivery of food aid to more than half a million hungry people in the region, the United Nations said on Thursday. Hijackers have commandeered two vessels used by the U.N. World Food Programme this year and ship owners now demand armed escorts to travel in the waters, the agency said.
This week, the London-based International Maritime Bureau said it knew of 27 pirate attacks off Somalia since March. The attacks have highlighted insecurity in Somalia, which has had no government to enforce law and order since warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
equip the cruise ships with some 50 cals and a couple of rocket launchers and charge extra for adventurous passengers that want to sink a pirate ship.
Sounds fscinating. Anyone have details of this?
I believe it's a bugle.
125 off-key karaoke singers belting out "Night Fever" at full volume?
Sounds rather ineffective to me since the pirates survived its use.
Very good idea. Lots would pay good money for this type of excursion.
An attack using inflatable boats? Not very bright, these pirates...
Old Order Mennonites pirates.
Who knew an acoustic bank wards off pirates? Does it only work against inflatable pirate boats?
http://www.cruiseweb.com/SEABOURN-SPIRIT.HTM
Seabourn Spirit. Some say a sense of proportion is the true measure of elegance. The intimate size of these luxury mega-yachts assures their exclusivity. Aboard these all-suite ships, your fellow guests number no more than 208 well-versed voyagers. The Scandinavian ambiance is inviting; mellow lounges, open-seating restaurants, a spa and a unique marina for swimming are just some of the amenities that enrich your days. It's hard to imagine a more pampered existence. Yet you deserve no less.
Seabourn Spirit
- Ship facts:
Tonnage: 10,000
Length: 440 feet
Width: 63 feet
Draft: 16.5 feet
Speed: 18 knots
Passenger Capacity: 208 guests
Crew Capacity: 150
Right after 9-11 it was disclosed that AQ had interest in grabbing a cruise ship for unspecified purposes.
Somalia would be a good place to do it, since there are many "normal" pirates to use for cover.
Sounds like a job for the boys in green - very, very similar to the shores of Tripoli.
Now that would be worth the extra charge!
It mystifies me that ships sailing through areas known for pirate activity continue to be unarmed.
What's upl with that? Would the cruise line would rather all the passengers be killed by pirates, rather than carry a single BB-Gun?
Pirate Academy...excellent. They could surely pick a great fight song, and their homecoming weekend would likely be a blast. Their motto could be "Arrrr..." or "We'll shiver your timbers."
Ship Facts:
-Capacity: 208 guests
-Crew Capacity: 150
-Tonnage: 10,000
-Length: 440 feet
-Width: 63 feet
-Draft: 16.5 feet
-Speed: 18 knots
"Arm" the ships with fire hoses. If unauthorized boat approaches, said boat is promptly swamped.
Kenya! I hope that they got their free snorkles!
For lions and tigers in Kenya, click here!
Mark
add to "reasons to bring democracy to Iraq" file
Now there's an image. LOL.
Where do I sign up?!
Mark
That would be more fun than the skeet shooting deck.
I agree... It could be a 'hunting' trip, that simply cruises back and forth off the coast of Somalia in a 'trolling' mode. Arm each passenger with the weapon of their choice. When the pirates approach, have at it. Highest 'kill number' wins a reward of some type.
High shooter could maybe get free tickets to a show or buffet. Could even throw in some tokens for the slot machines. Sign me up!!!
The new extreme adventure? I like it. It does sound exciting.
Sign me up! :-)
Pushing a lousy button. Where's the sport in that?
Looks like a failed Al Qaeda hostage-taking mission. Sponsored by the "Religion of Peace."
If you mount 3 or 4 50. cals on that boat and award anyone that sinks one of these boats a free cruise, the cruise lines would give away 2 cruises at the VERY most.
"The attacks have highlighted insecurity in Somalia, which has had no government to enforce law and order since warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991."
The Common Enemy of Humankind
The expression hostis humani generis, “the common enemy of humankind,” was apparently coined by Cicero in the first century B.C. to describe the “pirate” states of the eastern Mediterranean with which Rome was almost constantly in a state of war. The legal implications that Cicero intended from his formulation are quite different than those it implies today, but the modern understanding of what it means to be hostis humani generis has been pretty firmly established since the eighteenth century. That was the period when the great English jurist Sir William Blackstone wrote that as a pirate “has renounced all the benefits of society and government, and has reduced himself afresh to the savage state of nature, by declaring war against all mankind…all mankind must declare war against him…by the rule of self-defence.”
The general acceptance among European states that pirates were common enemies of humankind had ramifications not only for courtroom trials of accused pirates but for military action as well. Western navies, especially those of Great Britain and the United States, were deeply engaged in anti-pirate operations well into the nineteenth century, and the officers of both navies understood themselves to have not only a right but an obligation to take offensive action against pirates wherever on the high seas they found them. In fact, on a number of occasions, naval forces landed in other countries—including territory under the sovereignty of other European rulers—to clean out pirate sanctuaries.
Excerpted from: http://vatican.usembassy.it/policy/Events/Terrorism2004/McMillan.asp
Pirates my eye. I'll bet they were Muslim terrorists looking to kill a few hundred Americans and Europeans to so solidarity with the terrorists in Paris.
From the Notices To Mariners (281800Z OCT 2005): Maritime Administration Advisories:
2005-3 SOMALI PIRACY
TO: OPERATORS OF U.S. FLAG AND EFFECTIVE U.S. CONTROLLED VESSELS AND OTHER MARITIME INTERESTS THIS MARAD ADVISORY ON PIRACY OFF THE COAST OF SOMALIA ORIGINATED FROM THE NATIONAL MARITIME INTELLIGENCE CENTER, OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
1. THE NATIONAL MARITIME INTELLIGENCE CENTER (NMIC) ADVISES THAT TWO MORE AT SEA MERCHANT VESSEL HIJACKINGS ON 18 AND 20 OCTOBER OFF THE EAST COAST OF SOMALIA, DEMONSTRATES PIRATES ABILITY TO CONDUCT AT SEA HIJACKINGS FROM AS FAR SOUTH AS KISMAYO (02 S) TO AS FAR NORTH AS EYL(08 N), AND OUT TO A DISTANCE OF 170 NM.
2. ALL VESSELS ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN AT LEAST 200 NM FROM THE EAST COAST OF SOMALIA. ALL MERCHANT VESSELS TRANSITING THE COAST OF SOMALIA, NO MATTER HOW FAR OFFSHORE, SHOULD INCREASE ANTI-PIRACY PRECAUTIONS AND MAINTAIN A HEIGHTENED STATE OF VIGILANCE. PIRATES ARE REPORTED TO HAVE USED PREVIOUSLY HIJACKED SHIPS AS BASES FOR FURTHER ATTACKS.
3. ANOTHER REPORTED PIRATE TACTIC HAS BEEN TO ISSUE A FALSE DISTRESS CALL TO LURE A SHIP CLOSE INSHORE. THEREFORE, CAUTION SHOULD BE TAKEN WHEN RESPONDING TO DISTRESS CALLS KEEPING IN MIND IT MAY BE A TACTIC TO LURE A VESSEL INTO A TRAP.
4. VICTIMIZED VESSELS REPORT TWO TO THREE 6 TO 9 METER SPEEDBOATS WITH 3 TO 6 ARMED MEN PER VESSEL ARMED WITH AK-47S AND SHOULDER LAUNCHED ROCKETS, OPENING FIRE ON THEIR VESSELS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN ORDER TO INTIMIDATE THEM INTO STOPPING.
5. TO DATE, VESSELS THAT INCREASE SPEED AND TAKE EVASIVE MANEUVERS AVOID BOARDING WHILE THOSE THAT SLOW DOWN ARE BOARDED, TAKEN TO THE SOMALI COASTLINE, AND RELEASED AFTER SUCCESSFUL RANSOM PAYMENT,OFTEN AFTER PROTRACTED NEGOTIATIONS OF AS MUCH AS 11 WEEKS.
6. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING THIS ADVISORY, CONTACT THE MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF SHIP OPERATIONS, CODE MAR-613, ROOM2122, 400 7TH STREET, WASHINGTON, DC 20590; TELEPHONE 202-366-5735, OR BYE-MAIL TO OPCENTR1.MARAD@DOT.GOV.
(281800Z OCT 2005)
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