Pirates Attack

Bunny · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 3:03 pm Post subject: Pirates Attack

Cruise Ship Passengers Describe Terrifying Pirate Attack
Cruise Ship Sped Up, Changed Course

POSTED: 10:59 am CST November 7, 2005
UPDATED: 11:59 am CST November 7, 2005

MAHE, Seychelles -- A cruise liner that was attacked by pirates over the weekend docks safely on this Indian Ocean archipelago after changing its course to escape.

Passengers described their horror as pirates in speedboats chased their luxury cruise liner at sea, firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles -- with smiles visible on faces otherwise hidden by ski masks.

"I was scared, I was very scared," said Jean Noll of Florida. But her husband said the experience was not likely to deter them from enjoying another cruise. "We cruise all the time," Clyde Noll said.

The Seabourn Spirit had been bound for Mombasa, Kenya, when it was attacked by pirates armed with grenade launchers and machine guns on Saturday about 100 miles off Somalia's lawless coast. The ship escaped by shifting to high speed and changing course.

The gunmen never got close enough to board the cruise ship, but one member of the 161-person crew was injured by shrapnel, according to the Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corp.

After docking at the Seychelles, passengers boarded two buses for a tour of two of the resort islands and reporters were kept away. Most passengers were to continue from the Seychelles to Singapore, company officials said, although some who planned to tour Mombasa were to fly there Tuesday aboard a chartered plane.

Relieved holiday-makers praised the ship's captain for foiling the attack that lasted for more than 90 minutes, during which pirates fired their weapons on the bridge and elsewhere in an effort to cripple the vessel.

Some passengers were lucky to escape with their lives, said Charles Forsdick, from Durban, South Africa.

A woman survived an explosion in her stateroom simply because she was taking a bath at the time. Others flung themselves to the floor to avoid bullets that were zipping through the ship, Forsdick told Associated Press Television News.

"I tell you, it was a very frightening experience," WWII veteran Charles Supple, of Fiddletown, Calif., recalled by phone after the liner dropped anchor off Seychelles.

The retired physician and World War II veteran said said he started to take a photograph of a pirate craft, and "the man with the bazooka aimed it right at me and I saw a big flash.

"Needless to say, I dropped the camera and dived. The grenade struck two decks above and about four rooms further forward," Supple said. "I could tell the guy firing the bazooka was smiling."

Bob Meagher of Sydney, Australia, said he climbed out of bed and went to the door of his cabin shortly before 6 a.m. after hearing a commotion outside.

"I saw a white-hulled boat with men in it waving various things and shooting at the ship -- at that stage it appeared to be rifle fire," he told Australian radio.

"My wife said `look, they're loading a bazooka,' which we later discovered was called an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) launcher."

"There was a flash of flame and then a huge boom -- a terrible boom sound," he said, adding the grenade hit about 10 feet from where they were.

The liner had been at the end of a 16-day voyage from Alexandria, Egypt.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Monday that the attackers might have been terrorists. But others said the attack bore the hallmarks of pirates who have become increasingly active off Somalia, which has no navy and has not had an effective central government since 1991.

Judging by the location of the attack, the pirates likely were from the same group that hijacked a U.N.-chartered aid ship in June and held its crew and food cargo hostage for 100 days, said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Program.

That gang is one of three well-organized pirate groups on the 1,880-mile coast of Somalia, which has had no effective government since opposition leaders ousted a dictatorship in 1991 and then turned on each other, leaving the nation of 7 million a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms.

Somalia's Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has long urged neighboring countries to send warships to patrol Somalia's coast, which is Africa's longest and lies along key shipping lanes linking the Mediterranean with the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean.

U.S. and NATO warships patrol the region to protect vessels in deeper waters farther out, but they are not permitted in Somali territorial waters.

The International Maritime Bureau has for several months warned ships to stay at least 150 miles away from Somalia's coast, citing 25 pirate attacks in those waters since March 15 -- compared with just two for all of 2004.

The 440-foot-long, 10,000-ton cruise ship, which is registered in the Bahamas, sustained minor damage, the cruise company said. The liner, which had its maiden voyage in 1989, can carry 208 guests.
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Raed · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 3:35 pm Post subject:

lol wrote:

"My wife said `look, they're loading a bazooka,' which we later discovered was called an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) launcher."

Durr.

and

Who the hell would cruise off the coast of Somalia? Honest to god...
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-=|CT|=- Raed

Stealth · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:01 pm Post subject:

Ah, I heard about this.
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Motherfucking Triangles! Being all three sided n' shit, who do they think they are?!

Brutus · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:19 pm Post subject:

Chips showed me something where they used a sonic cannon to drive off pirates. SWEET! Pirates will now be seen sporting tin-foil tricorns...
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2shoes · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:43 pm Post subject:

posted in my usless info thread days ago

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 2:14 pm
Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post
MIAMI(AP) Pirates fired a rocket-propelled grenade and machine guns Saturday in an attack on a luxury cruise liner off the east African coast, the vessel's owners said. Two armed boats approached the Seabourn Spirit about 100 miles off the coast of Somalia and fired as the boats' occupants attempted to get onboard, said Bruce Good, a spokesman for Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corp.

The crew initiated a trained response and avoided being boarded, Good said. The ship outran them and changed its course.

"Our suspicion at this time is that the motive was theft," Good said.

One member of the 161-person crew was slightly injured before the attackers were repelled, according to a London-based Seabourn Cruises spokesman.

Press Association, the British news agency, said passengers awoke to the sound of gunfire as two 25-foot inflatable boats approached the liner. The injured crew member was reportedly hit by flying debris.

Edith Laird of Seattle, who was traveling on the ship with her daughter and a friend, told British Broadcasting Corp. TV in an e-mail that her daughter saw the pirates out of their window.

"There were at least three rocket propelled grenades that hit the ship, one in a state room," Laird wrote. "We had no idea that this ship could move as fast as it did and (the captain) did his best to run down the pirates."

The vessel's 151 passengers, mostly Americans with some Australians and Europeans, were gathered in a lounge for their safety, Good said. None were injured.

The Spirit had been bound for Mombasa, Kenya, at the end of a 16-day voyage from Alexandria, Egypt. It was expected to reach the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean on Monday, and then continue on its previous schedule to Singapore, company officials said.

The 10,000-ton cruise ship, registered in the Bahamas, sustained minor damage, Good said. "They took some fire, but it's safe to sail," he said.

Piracy along the Somalia coast is common _ several ships a month are attacked or hijacked, with valuables stolen and crews held for ransom.

Somalia's 1,880-mile coastline is Africa's longest, and the country has had no effective central government since opposition leaders ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. They then turned on each other, transforming this nation of 7 million into a patchwork of battling fiefdoms ruled by heavily armed militias.
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Sparrow wrote:

...if pirates stays on bf1942 i'd hate to see the community grow even smaller, but i know i'll always be around and i hope the rest of you will too!

Special Jimmy wrote:

This mod is rightfully ours, and fuck everyone that stands in our way.

fair winds and following seas, lil shoes 8/3/94-6/23/09

2shoes · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:46 pm Post subject:

BOOM wrote:

lol wrote:

"My wife said `look, they're loading a bazooka,' which we later discovered was called an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) launcher."

Durr.

and

Who the hell would cruise off the coast of Somalia? Honest to god...

going from eygpt to kenya you have to cruise past somlia
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Sparrow wrote:

...if pirates stays on bf1942 i'd hate to see the community grow even smaller, but i know i'll always be around and i hope the rest of you will too!

Special Jimmy wrote:

This mod is rightfully ours, and fuck everyone that stands in our way.

fair winds and following seas, lil shoes 8/3/94-6/23/09

CountChocula · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:29 pm Post subject:

2shoes wrote:

"Our suspicion at this time is that the motive was theft," Good said.

wow, it's another mr obvious!
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Quote:

[20:43] -≠∫ĆŤ∫≠- ŜρξčļαГ јỈмMﻻ: we'll aim for bender
[20:43] -≠∫ĆŤ∫≠- ŜρξčļαГ јỈмMﻻ: but use a lot of napalm

Bunny · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:33 pm Post subject:

Opps sorry 2Shoes, I didnt realize you posted it already
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Cpt. LandLubber · Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 12:27 am Post subject:

looool your liek sop lait mr bunnywunny
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massive · Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:20 am Post subject:

idiots - should have used a balloon...
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Vlad Piranha wrote:

I'm offended that a zombie holocaust isn't on the list. It would be terrifying, sure, but it would be pretty sweet if you think about it.

Bunny · Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:29 pm Post subject:

Cpt. LandLubber wrote:

looool your liek sop lait mr bunnywunny

I'm not a Mr. Razz

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Special Jimmy · Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 7:26 pm Post subject:

Bunny wrote:

Cpt. LandLubber wrote:

looool your liek sop lait mr bunnywunny

I'm not a Mr. Razz

with stealth, you ARE the man. More man than him, anyway. Razz

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-=|CT|=-Special Jimmy

Wang Chung wrote:

MikeSty 22: they say Rome wasn't built in a day
MikeSty 22: but they never had the Fucking Cut Throats

K9 Carlos · Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 12:59 am Post subject:

Special Jimmy wrote:

Bunny wrote:

Cpt. LandLubber wrote:

looool your liek sop lait mr bunnywunny

I'm not a Mr. Razz

with stealth, you ARE the man. More man than him, anyway. Razz

And you Stealth, hath been Jimmified biznatch
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-=|CT|=- K9 Carlos

SupaFly wrote:

barreling axe is like throwing a hot dog down a hallway these days

Quote:

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was going to blame you.

Stealth · Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 3:40 pm Post subject:

Jimmy's just mad because the only girl he can get is Angel of Death.
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Motherfucking Triangles! Being all three sided n' shit, who do they think they are?!

K9 Carlos · Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 3:49 pm Post subject:

Stealth wrote:

Jimmy's just mad because the only girl he can get is Angel of Death.

Very sad comeback, plus now, Death will kick your ass. Thank you for playing, try again next time.
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-=|CT|=- K9 Carlos

SupaFly wrote:

barreling axe is like throwing a hot dog down a hallway these days

Quote:

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was going to blame you.