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Africa Horn
Cruise ship passengers to fly past pirates
2008-12-10
A German cruise ship planned to evacuate passengers in Yemen and fly them today to the next port of call to avoid possible encounters with pirates off the coast of lawless Somalia.

Several other cruise operators said they also would shift or cancel tours that would have taken clients past Somalia, as nations and companies around the world debate how to confront the piracy. The European Union said its anti-piracy mission would station armed guards on vulnerable cargo ships, the first deployment of military personnel during international anti-piracy operations. That deployment will not cover cruise ships. After the German ship drops off the 246 passengers in Yemen, they will fly to Dubai and spend three days at a five-star hotel before rejoining the ship in Oman.
Posted by:ryuge

#13  Mrs. Ret has coerced me into taking a cruise this spring, so to get back at her i sent her the story from a couple of weeks ago about the Aussie ship outrunning the pirates and the obligatory gunfire / waterhose exchange. she still hasn't forgiven me for that, but i think if i suggest that we can have 'skeet practice' as discused above, i might be able to bag out of the damn thing. at least for 26 years when i went on a cruise i got paid to do it........
Posted by: USN,Ret.   2008-12-10 23:48  

#12  And I thought adventure cruises was called the NAVY. Silly me.

'Course the difference between the German Navy and the Cruise Line: Navy drinks are on the house.

Skunky Glins reporting for duty, Sir!
Posted by: Bigfoot Snuper4563   2008-12-10 21:21  

#11  I can offer systems that you could easily operate from a chaise lounge. The pirates would not have a chance. An M240 can make swiss cheese of a small boat very quickly.
Posted by: remoteman   2008-12-10 19:26  

#10  "You could make this like an "adventure tourism" cruise and make some serious coin. Choice of weapons, instruction in chosen weapon."

Hell, I'd sign up for that cruise! Even pay extra. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2008-12-10 18:38  

#9  Actually I have a scoped Match M1A that needs exercise. Good Match ammo, spotter, ect. would work well in daylight. Would need night vision upgrades though.

At least with the passengers offloaded there will be plenty of crew to stand watch 24/7.

Posted by: tipover   2008-12-10 16:38  

#8  I have to hope Iowahawk is working on this ...
Posted by: Steve White   2008-12-10 15:14  

#7  I envision many different packages. For example, I have not had the chance to use Greek Fire for example. Others may have a certain purchase they have not yet had a chance to use.

And instead of them being "Q-Ships", it would be "R-Ship Cruise Lines".
Posted by: swksvolFF   2008-12-10 14:43  

#6  Would that be a BYOG cruise?
Posted by: ed   2008-12-10 13:03  

#5  Steve, that would be happy hour. Could even set it up in a comfy chair, operate the water cannon by remote, bottle of Reisling chilled in a bucket sittin there. The controls for our rig's front monitor is just like my PC control stick for flight games. Wife would even enjoy it, she could make a batch of her ham chowder for the pre-game and pour the boiling soup over the side if the pirates do get a line on. I think its a great idea.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2008-12-10 12:21  

#4  Really. You could make this like an "adventure tourism" cruise and make some serious coin. Choice of weapons, instruction in chosen weapon. It'd be fun to see pirates cruise up to a fat, happy target and have like 500 people unload on them with everything from blunderbusses to bazookas.
Posted by: tu3031   2008-12-10 11:49  

#3  I like your idea Cornsilk; I've always wanted to try a Barrett .50. That activity could make for an interesting cruise.
Posted by: Glenmore   2008-12-10 11:49  

#2  I've never operated a water cannon before, but I suppose I could try. What prizes are they offering? Does it interfere with happy hour?
Posted by: Steve White   2008-12-10 11:39  

#1  How about adding a new amenity? Instead of skeet shooting, you could win prizes for picking off the pirates.
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie   2008-12-10 10:22  

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