Cruise Liner Fends Off Somali Pirates
The Associated Press and ANSA news agency are reporting that an Israeli security team on board an Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack far off the coast of Somalia by opening fire on the pirates.
The dramatic confrontation was sparked when six men in a small skiff sped up to the MSC Melody late on Saturday, firing automatic weapons and trying to fix a ladder to the side of the ship.
A team of Israeli guards hired by the vessel’s owners immediately began firing back with pistols and spraying the attackers with fire hoses. It is believed to be one of the first times that a non-military ship with private security aboard has used firearms to deter a pirate attack.
“It felt like we were in a war,” said Commander Ciro Pinto, the Melody’s captain.
“They tried to put up a ladder with hooks. They were climbing up, so we reacted. We started firing. When they saw us firing they gave up and went off.”
The pirates chased the 670 ft-long ship for another 20 minutes, firing at it constantly. Part of the vessel was slightly damaged during the raid, in the Indian Ocean 200 miles north of the Seychelles and about 500 miles east of the Somali coast. The 36,500 ton Melody was carrying 991 passengers and 536 crew on a three-week cruise from Durban in South Africa to Genoa, Italy.
“The passengers meanwhile were inside their cabins,” Cdr Pinto added. “There are no injuries. Only two people with scrapes. Someone slipped, fell. Just a few light scrapes.”
The ANSA news agency reported that Domenico Pellegrino, head of the Italian cruise line, said the company hired the private Israeli security team because they were the tops in their field. Pellegrino told the news agency that all 1,500 passengers and crew aboard the Melody were safe, and credited Pinto for his “cool-headed” handling of the incident.
Since yesterday, the Melody was being escorted by a Spanish warship, the SPS Marques de Ensenada, as it sailed towards the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.
Pirates have attacked more than 100 ships off the Somali coast over the last year, reaping an estimated $1 million in ransom for each successful hijacking, according to analysts. A Greek ship was released on Saturday after a £1.3 million ransom was paid.
Dozens of warships from the EU, US and a handful of other countries are patrolling the waters of Somalia in a bid to deter the attacks. But the pirates are moving the focus of their operations further south, into the Indian Ocean.
Meanwhile, two Somali pirates were shot dead by coast guards when they seized a Yemeni oil tanker off the Arabian peninsula on Sunday.
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