Pirates launch salvo on cruise liner
Last Modified: 5 Nov 2005
Source: ITN
A luxury cruise liner carrying 18 British passengers has been attacked by pirates with a rocket propelled grenade and machine guns.
The Seabourn Spirit was 100 miles off the coast of Somalia on the east African coast when the attack took place.
Terrified passengers were woken by the sound of gunfire as two 25 foot rigid inflatable boats came up to the liner and started shooting as their occupants tried to get aboard.
The ship was carrying 302 passengers and crew, but there was only one casualty - a crew member suffered minor injuries from flying debris.
It is not believed that the bazooka fired struck the ship, but it was hit by small arms fire. The vessel escaped with only minor damage.
The crew used an on-board loud acoustic bang to repel the attackers who finally sped off without managing to board the liner. They did not return fire at the pirates.
The drama 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 ship was en route to Mombasa in Kenya on a 16-day cruise out of Alexandria in Egypt.
David Dingle, a spokesman for the Miami-based company Seabourn Cruises said: "The passengers were mustered in a public room, told what was going on and reassured that we were fighting off the attack.
"They were shocked but no passengers were injured whatsoever.
"We are extremely pleased that all the measures worked. The captain and crew did a fantastic job."
The ship has now cancelled its stop at Mombasa and will end the cruise in the Seychelles on Monday.
Mr Dingle said authorities in the US and the Department of Transport in the UK have been informed of the attack.
He said the company had no reason to believe it was a terrorist attack and all the evidence pointed to pirates.
