[catmando]

WORLD
Cruise liner fends off pirate attack

By CNNRadio's Matt Cherry and Amanda Moyer
Saturday, November 5, 2005; Posted: 4:41 a.m. EST (09:41 GMT)

Somalia

(CNN) -- A luxury cruise line will re-evaluate whether to offer future cruises off the coast of Somalia after pirates attempted to attack one of its ships early Saturday.

The modern-day pirates were in two small boats and carrying machine guns and a rocket-propelled grenade when they attempted the attack on Seabourn Cruise Lines' "Spirit" about 5:35 a.m. local time Saturday, Deborah Natansohn, president of the cruise line, told CNNRadio.

The ship was carrying 150 passengers and a crew of about 160.

The ship, she said, immediately instituted its emergency response system. "The occupants of those boats did not succeed in boarding the ship and eventually turned away ... our captain and crew did a terrific job taking responsive action."

Passenger Mike Rogers of Vancouver, Canada, said the pirates were shooting and sending rockets at the boat.

"The captain tried to run one of the boats over, but they were small boats, about 25 feet long," he told CNNRadio affiliate CKNW in Vancouver.

"Each one had four or five people on it, and (the captain) said he was going to do anything to keep them from getting on board."

The captain, however, did not hit the alarm button to alert passengers of the emergency, Rogers said.

"He announced it over the speakers, because he was scared people would run up on deck, and he didn't want people on deck because they would have been shot."

The cruise ship eventually outran the pirates' boats, Natansohn said. One person suffered minor injuries, she said, but did not elaborate.

"There's some minor damage done to the ship," Rogers said. "There's no water right now, for instance, in some places, and I believe one of the grenades actually went off in one of the cabins, but everyone on board is fine."

The boat is now en route to the Seychelles Islands, Natansohn said.

On Thursday, the United Nations' World Food Programme warned that hijackings off the coast of Somalia were restricting the delivery of needed food assistance to the country.

"The southern Somali coastline is one of the most dangerous in the world," the WFP said on its Web site.

"In recent months, WFP's operations in Somalia have been sabotaged by the hijackings of two vessels carrying relief food. Ship owners are now demanding armed escorts to travel in these waters."

Natansohn said efforts were underway Saturday to locate the pirates. "We have notified U.S., Canadian and Australian authorities, because most of our passengers come from those three countries, as well as local authorities in Africa."

"Seabourn 'Spirit' has offered itineraries in that part of the world before, but we'll obviously be looking at the incident to determine what to do in the future," she said.

Rogers said, "we're always looking for adventure, but this is probably a little more than we would normally look for."

[Codger]

more information from BBC

"The Bahamas-registered ship was hit by bullets but not, apparently, by the rocket-propelled grenade.

It used an on-board loud acoustic bang to deter the gunmen, making them believe they were under fire."....................

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4409662.stm

[Arniev]

If these Somalian pirates are brazen enough to attack a cruise ship, what more smaller vessels like private yachts. KEEP AWAY FROM SOMALIA!!!

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Please refer to the following Travel Advisory from the U.S. State Department:



Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520

This information is current as of today, Sat Nov 05 2005 10:18:04 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time).
SOMALIA

July 21, 2005

This Travel Warning is being issued to remind Americans of continued concerns about the security situation in Somalia. This supersedes the Travel Warning of December 14, 2004.

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Somalia, including the self proclaimed “independent Republic of Somaliland”. Inter-clan and inter-factional fighting can flare up with little warning, and kidnapping, murder, and other threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners can occur unpredictably in many regions. There is no U.S. Embassy or other U.S. diplomatic presence in Somalia.

There have been attacks against foreigners in the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland" in northern Somalia. The Sanaag and Sool Regions in eastern Somaliland, bordering on Puntland (northeastern Somalia), are subject to insecurity due to potential inter-clan fighting. There have also been several fatal attacks against international relief workers, including Westerners, throughout Somalia and Somaliland. In addition, serious fighting has occurred in the Mogadishu area, the Puntland region in northern Somalia, and the districts of Gedo and Bay (especially the vicinity of Baidoa) in the south.

Territorial control in the Mogadishu area is divided among numerous groups; lines of control are unclear and frequently shift, making movement within this area extremely hazardous.

U.S. citizens are urged to use caution when sailing near the coast of Somalia. Merchant vessels, fishing boats and recreational craft all risk seizure and having their crews held for ransom, especially in the waters near the Horn of Africa and the Kenyan border.

The U.S. government cannot provide services to U.S. citizens in Somalia. U.S. citizens who plan to travel to Somalia despite this Travel Warning are urged to register through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov and obtain updated information on travel and security from the U.S. Embassies in neighboring countries. Travelers to the self-declared “Republic of Somaliland” should register with the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, and travelers to Puntland or southern Somalia should register with the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti is located at Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti City; telephone (253) 35-39-95; after-hours telephone number (253) 35-13-43. The mailing address is Ambassade Americaine, B.P. 185, Djibouti, Republique de Djibouti, and their workweek is Sunday through Thursday. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is located on United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya; telephone (254)(20) 363-6000; after-hours emergencies (254)(20) 363-6170. The mailing address is P.O. Box 606 Village Market 00621, Nairobi, Kenya.

U.S. citizens should also consult the Department of State's Consular Information Sheet for Somalia, the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, and the East Africa Public Announcement, which are located on the Department’s internet website at http://travel.state.gov. American citizens may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, or 202-501-4444 from overseas.

[yachtbroker007]

please excuse me if this is the stupisest question you've ever heard of...

is it legal to carry machine guns and "heavy artillery" aboard a boat ?

[YachtForums]

Check this thread...

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/ge...ncounters.html

[Kevin]

Found this about the cruise ship's defenses:

Cruise ship attacked by pirates off Somalia used sonic weapon

Associated Press

MIAMI - The crew of a luxury cruise ship used a sonic weapon that blasts earsplitting noise in a directed beam while being attacked by a gang of pirates off Africa this weekend, the cruise line said Monday.

The Seabourn Spirit had a Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, installed as a part of its defense systems, said Bruce Good, a spokesman for Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line. The Spirit was about 100 miles off Somalia when pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns as they tried to get onboard.

The subsidiary of Carnival Corp. was investigating whether the weapon was successful in warding off the pirates, he said. The ship's captain also changed its course, shifted into high speed and headed out into the open sea to elude the pirates, who were in two small boats, he said. He had no further details.

The LRAD is a so-called "non-lethal weapon" developed for the U.S. military after the 2000 attack on the USS Cole off Yemen as a way to keep operators of small boats from approaching U.S. warships.

The military version is a 45-pound, dish-shaped device that can direct a high-pitched, piercing tone with a tight beam. Neither the LRAD's operators or others in the immediate area are affected.

The device's makers compares its shrill tone to that of smoke detectors, only much louder. It can be as loud as about 150 decibels, while smoke alarms are about 80 to 90 decibels.

[jonstinton]

You can also get these in small pocket size canisters as a personal alarm. I had a go with one once! Bu**er me was it loud!