Somali pirates attack and chase cruise ship carrying British tourists
By
Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 9:57 PM on 01st December 2008
A luxury cruise ship carrying dozens of British passengers off the coast of Somalia narrowly escaped being taken over by pirates.
The Oceania Nautica was en route from Rome to Singapore on a 32-day tour when it came under fire in the Gulf of Aden.
The ship has more than 650 passengers - who have each paid about £15,000 for their holiday - and 400 staff.
The Nautica, pictured here in Oman last year, was attacked and chased by pirates in the Gulf of Aden making a narrow escape
Two small boats fired several shots but the captain, Croatian Jurica Brajcic, put the ship up to full throttle and, at 23 knots, it was able to outrun the pirates.
A statement from the ship said: 'One of the skiffs did manage to get within 300 yards and fired eight rifle shots in the direction of the vessel before trailing off.
'No one aboard Nautica was harmed and no damage was sustained.'
The attack follows last month's capture of the Sirius Star, containing two million barrels of oil.
The Gulf of Aden is regularly patrolled by anti-piracy forces.
A spokesman for the Passenger Shipping Association said attacks were rare and insisted cruising was a perfectly safe way to travel.
'Safety is of utmost importance to all cruise companies,' she said.
'Each ship must follow security standards and procedures to ensure the well-being of passengers and staff, and they liaise with national security and intelligence agencies.'
The size of cruise ships means that it can be difficult to board them from smaller vessels.
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A little Victorian style gunboat diplomacy is called for I think
It is beyond my belief that these ships do not carry firearms locked away and available for just such circumstances. I can see no difference with having armed Marshals on board, call them Sea Marshals if you like, similar to the Air Marshals. I am sure there are many ex Military and competent individuals willing to take such a job.
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It's high time that the high seas were made a safe place; can't we send some of our traffic wardens out there to ticket the pirates
- rob, chesham, UK, 02/12/2008 07:46