Cruise ship attacked by pirates off Somalia
2/12/2008 15:54
A Miami-based luxury cruise ship has evaded an attack from Somali pirates
as it sailed between Somalia and Yemen, a maritime official said
today.
Andrew Mwangura, of the East Africa's Seafarers Assistance Program
(SAP) said the Nautica, an Oceania cruise ship, was carrying 680 American,
British and Australian passengers and a 400-member crew when two small fishing
boats tried to intercept it on Sunday.
"The cruised ship was attacked in the
Gulf of Aden on Sunday morning but no sailor was injured in the attack,"
Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone today.
The Miami-based Oceania Cruises said
on its website that the MSNautica was sailing through the Gulf on Saturday when
two small skiffs tried to intercept it.
The captain, Jurica Brajcic,
increased the Nautica's speed and took evasive maneuvers. Oceania said one skiff
closed to within 300 meters and fired eight rifle shots at the vessel before
giving up the chase.
While cargo ships and small pleasure boats have been
attacked by Somali pirates in the past, this is only the second time they have
attempted to hijack a cruise ship.
"Nautica was immediately brought to flank
speed and was able to outrun 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," the company said.
Meanwhile,
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said negotiations to release a cargo ship carrying 33
Russian-made tanks are nearly complete. But there was no word on when the ship
may be released.
Ministry spokesman Vasyl Kyrylych reportedly said the crew
of the MV Faina is in "satisfactory" condition.
The pirates holding the ship
initially demanded a ransom of US$35 million, but they later lowered their
demand to a reported US$3 million.
The ship which was hijacked on Sept. 25 is
carrying tanks and other weapons which were destined for the Kenyan port of
Mombasa but the ultimate destination has been a source of controversy with
suggestions that the arms were headed for southern Sudan, not Kenya.
The MV
Faina is currently moored off Somalia's coast close to the town of Hobyo with 20
crew members after one was killed during the attack.
Somali pirates have
hijacked some 40 ships this year, and are currently holding about 15 ships along
with their crews, including a giant Saudi oil tanker.
The United States,
Russia, India, NATO and the European Union have all sent warships to Somalia's
waters, but the piracy problem still rages.
Xinhua
|
