I've excerpted some of the article below..

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MELBOURNE tourists last night told of being caught up in a dramatic attempt by pirates to seize a luxury cruise ship off the coast of Somalia.

The couple, who did not want to be named, described their terror as they were told to remain in their cabins as pirates made at least three separate attempts to board the MV Athena.

At the height of the drama, more than 29 pirate boats surrounded the vessel.

"During a morning quiz ... we looked outside and saw 29 small boats with up to six pirates in each boat.

"We (saw) an air force Orion circling the convoy. This seemed to scare off the pirates.''

The tourists said the captain had earlier confirmed crew members had used water cannons during the night to stop pirates from boarding as the ship passed through the high risk area of the exit of the Gulf of Aden.

"The captain did state a oil tanker to the rear of us was attacked,'' the tourists said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the incident last night.

The MV Athena, which has a capacity for 641 passengers, is due to dock in Fremantle, Western Australia, on Monday.