Thread: Pirates fired upon Oceania ship

Shots fired as pirates attack Oceania cruise ship


Pirates in the Gulf of Aden fired shots today at a cruise ship full of hundreds of vacationers in a brazen daylight attack that ultimately was repulsed.
The 30,000-ton Oceania Nautica, an 11-deck vessel that holds more than 1,000 passengers and crew, was transiting an internationally-patrolled part of the Gulf of Aden when the incident occurred.
In a statement sent to USA TODAY, the line says the attackers approached the Nautica on two small skiffs today at about 9:28 a.m. local time -- or 12:25 a.m. ET.

Oceania says an officer on deck spotted the skiffs approaching and quickly deemed them hostile. The Nautica's captain then immediately ordered the ship to full speed and was able to out run the approaching vessels, the line says.
"One of the skiffs did manage to close the range to approximately 300 yards and fired eight rifle shots in the direction of the vessel before trailing off," the line says in the statement.
No one aboard the Nautica was harmed, and the ship is undamaged.
"All requisite international authorities have been notified," the line says. "All anti-piracy precautions were in place prior to the event and all necessary measures were taken during the event."
Photo courtesy Oceania Cruises

Given that 97 ships have been seized by the Somali pirates in those areas this year, and this latest attempt on Oceania Nautica, it's high time the owners of these lines take concrete steps to protect their ships with the Long Range Acoustic Device, LRAD. Forget about the cost of installing them, the benefit outweighs the risk of not having it.
The ear piercing sound of the LRAD will repel the pirates like you wouldn't believe. It would also help if cruise liners have naval escorts through those areas or stay away of there all together if that's not feasible.


Here is a link to a study done on Modern Piracy Prevention. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this report.

http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcon...xt=jason_power

Oceania issued a statement on Sunday regarding the attack.
Here is the text of that statement:

STATEMENT ON ATTEMPTED ACT OF PIRACY

Miami, FL, November 30, 2008 – On November 30, 2008, at approximately 0928 local time, 0528 GMT, M/S NAUTICA was transiting through the Gulf of Aden within the prescribed Maritime Safety Protection Area which is patrolled by international anti-piracy task forces.

As the vessel sailed past several groups of non-hostile fishing vessels, two small skiffs were sighted by the Officer on Duty and deemed potentially hostile. The skiffs, approaching from a range of approximately 1000 meters, attempted to intercept the vessel’s course. Captain Jurica Brajcic and his officers immediately began evasive maneuvers and took all prescribed precautions. NAUTICA was immediately brought to flank speed and was able to out run the two skiffs. One of the skiffs did manage to close the range to approximately 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.

All guests and crew onboard are safe and there were no injuries. All requisite international authorities have been notified and all anti-piracy precautions were in place prior to the event and all necessary measures were taken during the event.

MUSCAT, Oman — Passengers on a luxury cruise liner attacked by pirates in the dangerous waters between Yemen and Somalia said Wednesday they were surprised by the assailants' boldness and described hearing the "Pop! Pop! Pop!" of the pirates' rifles firing at the ship.

Cruise ship passengers surprised by pirate attack - USATODAY.com

I'm glad to learn that Oceania has the LRAD defense device on their vessels.

I have just heard Athena has been attacked as well.

Originally Posted by Lanky Lad

I have just heard Athena has been attacked as well.

Oh boy, not good news. Was she able to outrun the pirates also?

Yes she is safe
Pirates attack Aussie-bound cruise ship | The Courier-Mail

[quote=MD11F;1241113]... it's high time the owners of these lines take concrete steps to protect their ships with the Long Range Acoustic Device, LRAD...

I am in favor of installing the Long Range BTPBOOTW (Blow Their Pirate Butts Out Of The Water) Device on all cruiseships.

[quote=Texashorselady;1242667]

Originally Posted by MD11F

... it's high time the owners of these lines take concrete steps to protect their ships with the Long Range Acoustic Device, LRAD...

I am in favor of installing the Long Range BTPBOOTW (Blow Their Pirate Butts Out Of The Water) Device on all cruiseships.

Well said, Julie, I'm definitely in favor of that too.