Shiver me timbers! Pirates attack cruise ship

Passengers and crewmembers sailing off the northeastern African coast were forced to hit the poop deck and batten down the hatches when pirates opened fire on a Seabourn Cruise Line ship.

Two boatloads of pirates attempted to hijack the vessel on November 5 by firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the luxury cruise liner, which was sailing 160 kilometres off the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean.

One grenade was launched directly into a cabin where a couple was sleeping. They escaped unharmed when the device failed to explode.

After announcing that all passengers stay in their rooms, the captain deployed a high-decibel sonic gun to deafen the attackers and accelerated speed to escape further harm.

“Individual cruise lines, including Seabourn, also have well established security assessment procedures and protocols,” Seabourn stated in a press release on November 7. “We are very pleased that the established training and procedures worked in this instance.”

Both boatloads of pirates retreated to a larger vessel that was nearby.

Not one of the 151 passengers aboard the vessel was injured in the attack, although one of the 161-crew members suffered wounds from shrapnel.

The Seabourn Spirit began the 16-day cruise in Alexandria, Egypt and was en route to Mombasa, Kenya when the pirates attempted to raid the ship. After the assault, the vessel landed in Seychelles for repairs and continued onto their Singapore destination on November 9. The cruise ship was carrying 18 Canadian passengers, as well as tourists from the United States, Europe and Australia.

Reports of Somali pirates threatening the waters bordering the ungoverned country began to increase in March. According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), there have been 25 “serious attacks by heavily-armed pirates” since the spring.

On October 20 the IMB issued a statement warning vessels in the Somalia area about the threat of pirates.

The statement said, “Vessels are approached by one or two fast boats. The pirates on board have automatic weapons and sometimes a rocket propelled grenade launcher… Once the vessel slows down, the pirates draw up alongside and clamber on board and take over the vessel.”


Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when then president Barre was overthrown by opposing clans.

With files from the Globe & Mail