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Africa Horn
Italian cruise ship beats off pirate attack
2009-04-26
An Italian cruise ship used guns and a firehose to beat off an attack by pirates off the east African coast, the vessel's captain said Sunday. Pirates also freed a Yemeni-owned tanker, the Sea Princess II, Sunday, a Kenyan maritime official that monitors growing piracy off Somalia told Reuters.

Commander Ciro Pinto of the MSC Melody, which has a capacity of 1,500 passengers and crew, said his ship was slightly damaged by firing from the pirates. The ship came under attack when it was 200 miles (320 km) north of the Seychelles and 600 miles (960 km) off the Somali coast. "They started firing like crazy at the ship," he told Italian television Skytg24.

Pinto said pistols were handed out to security staff and they opened fire on the pirates when they tried to clamber up the sides of the ship. "They tried to put up a ladder with hooks. They were climbing up, so we reacted. We started firing. When they saw us firing -- we even sprayed them with water with the firehose -- they gave up and went off," Pinto said.

The sea gang followed the Melody for another 20 minutes, firing at it all the while, Pinto said. "The passengers meanwhile were inside the cabin. There are no injuries. Only two people with scrapes," the captain said. "Someone slipped, fell. Just a few light scrapes."

"Having weapons on a passenger or merchant ship is dangerous. They should have used other means to shake off the pirates."
Although the ship's action may have saved the Melody from capture, the Kenyan maritime official said it only endangered the lives of passengers. "Having weapons on a passenger or merchant ship is dangerous. They should have used other means to shake off the pirates, like a loud acoustic device," said Andrew Mwangura of the Mombasa-based East African Sea Farers Assistance Program. He was referring to a device that can produce a deafening sound to deter pirates when directed towards their vessel. "Only military ships should have weapons on board."
Posted by:Fred

#20  Maybe a fire hose that actually shoots fire would work too.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2009-04-26 20:50  

#19  Hey! They're shooting at us! They can't do that!
Posted by: tu3031   2009-04-26 19:21  

#18  A sub-editor at the Australian Daily Telegraph, Tim Blair's paper, was on the ship.

When my comment there gets out of moderation, you'll see that I was expressing the faint hope that the crew returned fire. I didn't know they had. Awesomely awesome. I still would have preferred they use grape shot, though.
Posted by: Angie Schultz   2009-04-26 19:00  

#17  Only military ships should have weapons on board, all others pay cash.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418    2009-04-26 15:54  

#16  Pirates aren't terrorists, because they don't have any ideology other than "money money money". Terrorists use violence against civilians as a way to remove governments.
Posted by: gromky   2009-04-26 15:40  

#15  The ship came under attack when it was 200 miles (320 km) north of the Seychelles and 600 miles (960 km) off the Somali coast.

This is far from the Somali coast but the piracy map someone posted weveral weeks ago showed incidents I have never heard reported off both coasts of South America, the western side of Africa, Indonesia, and even the Mediterranean, if I remember correctly. I consider pirates terrorists and these should alert us to burgeoning hot spots.
Posted by: Thealing Borgia 122   2009-04-26 14:22  

#14   The ship came under attack when it was 200 miles (320 km) north of the Seychelles and 600 miles (960 km) off the Somali coast.

Wow - is this as far off the coast as any attack has been to date? The next step may simply be to come ashore as a raiding party in some unsuspecting port - it will be interesting if that is called an "invasion" or simply a "Somali voluntary coast guard land action".
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division   2009-04-26 14:06  

#13  Ok, the cruise ship's security personnel were Israelis, hired specifically to provide security to the cruise ship. I'm surprised there aren't some dead pirates, but maybe they were just trying to scare them off, not kill them. Also note that the pistols were handed out ONLY after the ship had come under attack, and were probably turned in when the danger was over. I can see a HUGE business for security personnel going aboard ships at Suez, getting off in the Seychelles or Maldives, then getting picked up in the Seychelles or Maldives for the trip back to Suez. As long as the security personnel aren't Arabs, it'll work.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2009-04-26 13:56  

#12  Still, from a purely spectator point of view, it would have been awesomely cool if the Somali pirates had taken a cruise ship with 1,500 passengers. There would have been much excitement and it would have probably been a breaking point, hopefully resulting in raids on pirate bases.
Posted by: gromky   2009-04-26 12:58  

#11  Loud acoustic device ...

Posted by: Zorba Craising6734   2009-04-26 12:50  

#10  Italian ship captain: Israeli security officers drove Somali pirates away
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2009-04-26 12:50  

#9  A very reasonable summation, gromky. And as for Idiot of the Day Candidate Mwangura, I'd say a pistol qualifies as a "loud acoustic device".
Posted by: SteveS   2009-04-26 12:45  

#8  When they saw us firing they gave up and went off

Oh, you mean they gave up when the situation became hazardous? You mean the whole reason they've been pirates in the first place are that we've been being huge pussies who refuse to defend ourselves?
Posted by: gromky   2009-04-26 12:38  

#7  "Having weapons on a passenger or merchant ship is dangerous. They should have used other means to shake off the pirates, like a loud acoustic device," said Andrew Mwangura of the Mombasa-based East African Sea Farers Assistance Program.

...and life member of the Police Chiefs Fraternal Order whose position on private ownership of firearms matches the Program's.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-04-26 12:27  

#6  phil_b - how 'bout cruise ships providing skeet shooting facilities for passengers. Of course if someone accidently confused boarding pirates and skeet targets ...
Posted by: DMFD   2009-04-26 12:27  

#5  They tried to put up a ladder with hooks. They were climbing up, so we reacted.

Oil from the kitchens' deep friers would have been appropriate as well. Would leave nice 'markers' as well for any future pick ups.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-04-26 12:24  

#4  It was an "our thing" cruise, phil_b.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2009-04-26 12:07  

#3  A lot of countries have severe penalties for ships with firearms onboard entering their ports. I'm really surprised a cruise would have weapons.
Posted by: phil_b   2009-04-26 11:54  

#2  Sure. But put him on the sympathizer-list as well.
Posted by: Pappy   2009-04-26 11:48  

#1  Can I nominate Mwangura for "Idiot of the Day"?
Posted by: Parabellum   2009-04-26 10:47  

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