Cruise ship escapes pirate hijack (Africa is such a great place {/sarcasm} )

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.

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)

Don't know the line yet, but here is more info.

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.

OK, got the whole story now.

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.

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