Cruise ship shoots back at pirates
Ferry Online Travel News 30/04/2009
It’s not likely that the pirates who attacked the Italian vessel expected that kind of response.
Last Saturday evening, a small skiff approached the Melody, an Italian ocean liner, as it was sailing north of the Seychelles. Pirates on the small boat began firing on the cruise ship, putting the lives of the 1,500 people on board at risk.
Private Israeli security guards, who had been hired to protect the ship against piracy, fired back on the pirates from their positions on the MSC Cruises ship, with pistols as well as water hoses. According to the cruise line’s director, Domenico Pellegrino, the actions of the guards preventing the pirates from boarding the vessel.
"It was an emergency operation," the cruise line executive said to The Associated Press. "They didn't expect such a quick response. They were surprised."
When the incident occurred, all passengers were ordered back to their cabins and all lights on the deck were extinguished. The ship sailed on through the darkness, under the escort of a Spanish warship, to its next port of call.
Ciro Pinto, the Italian commander of the vessel said: "It felt like we were in war."
None of the cruise ship’s 1,000 passengers were injured, and by the following afternoon, many were enjoying the sun on the ship’s deck, Pellegrino added.
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