Oceania ship fends off piracy attempt
30/11/2008
Two small skiffs pursued Oceania Cruises’ Nautica and one fired eight rifle shots during the vessel’s transit of the Gulf of Aden this morning. The ship took evasive action and no one aboard was harmed, with no damage sustained, according to the company.

‘Eight shots were fired and none hit the ship. The closest the pirates ever got to the vessel was 300 meters,’ Oceania president Bob Binder told Seatrade Insider.

Nautica was sailing within the prescribed Maritime Safety Protection Area which is patrolled by international anti-piracy task forces. As the vessel passed several groups of fishing vessels, two small skiffs were sighted by the officer on duty and deemed potentially hostile.

The skiffs, approaching from a range of approximately 1,000 meters, attempted to intercept the vessel’s course. Capt. Jurica Brajcic and his officers began evasive maneuvers, bringing Nautica to flank speed and outrunning the skiffs.

Binder said the incident began at 0528 GMT (9:28 a.m.) and all written reports to the requisite authorities were filed by 0543 GMT. ‘The entire incident was five to seven minutes because in 15 minutes, reports were filed so it was very brief,’ he told Seatrade Insider.

The Maritime Safety Protection Area is eight miles wide and 550 miles long. ‘When the incident occurred, we were offshore by quite a distance,’ Binder said.

Some of the passengers were aware that something was happening, he told Seatrade Insider.

‘All the ship’s officers acted according to their piracy protection training and that worked perfectly. There were no injuries to guests or crew,’ Binder said.

Nautica is proceeding to its next port of call, Salalah, Oman, and is due to arrive on Monday as scheduled.

Last April, pirates off the coast of Somalia hijacked French sail-cruiser Le Ponant, which was deadheading from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean. The 30 crew were ultimately released, unharmed, and some of the pirates were arrested.

In 2005, Seabourn Spirit sustained shots from pirates in two small vessels off the Somali coast. The ship undertook evasive action, and there were no injuries.

from Seatrade

Wow, these pirates are so brave. I wonder if cruise ships are beefing up their security because of these attacks, even if they are mostly in one part of the world.

I've seen the Gurkhas on the Voyager paroling the decks when we sail though this area . . . very nervous making (the area - not the security)

Karen --

I wouldn't call the pirates "brave" -- I tend to reserve that for people I respect.

Makes me wonder if we'll have to have any diversions on the 2009 World Cruise. I hope the situations in Singpaore, Colombo, Mumbai and off Somalia are somewhat better by then.

Maybe we'll just go to Antarctica and come home via Cape Town and the South Atlantic! (Just kidding.)

Scary scary! These Pirates are really getting agressive and it is just plain scary. Thankfully Oceania's actions seem to have worked.

What's happening in Singapore? Do you mean Bangkok?

Yes, Lee, my slip, I meant Bangkok.

Sorry Larry - wasn't trying to be smart - my son is coming home for Christmas via Singapore in a couple of weeks and I thought I might have missed something. Lee

Larry, I think Karen had her tongue firmly planted in her cheek when she called the pirates brave. I think she means "how brave are you to attack a bunch of vacationers?"

Karen, correct me if I am wrong.

Colleen, you are correct.

Has anyone seen any mention of this in the media? I haven't - not even in current articles on the piracy issue.

There is an article about it in the Miami Herald this morning.

I looked at the first media report this morning on AOL news with photo's. Ship was in Sydney.

Ted, I saw it on CNN Headline News yesterday.

Yes, saw the AOL report this AM.

It was mentioned on FoxNews last night and is in Yahoo headlines today. And made into Events at Sea yesterday.

Taken from the TTGlive website:

Cruise lines react to pirate attacks

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Sara Macefield

The increased risk of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia and last week’s terrorist atrocities in Mumbai are forcing cruise lines to cancel or re-route ships.

Last Sunday saw an attempted attack on Oceania Cruises’ Nautica which outran two pirate boats that gave chase.

One of the boats came within 300 yards of the ship and eight shots were fired, but no one was hurt and there was no damage.

But this latest incident has highlighted the dangers of cruising through the Gulf of Aden – a crucial shipping lane and a key route to the increasingly popular cruising grounds in the Middle East and Indian Ocean.

Hebridean International Cruises is “seriously considering” axing a sailing next April from Oman to Egypt – it’s first to call at the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.

Managing director Mike Deegan said passengers were being contacted this week about the security situation and a final decision would be made before Christmas.

“Unless the situation improves significantly, it’s doubtful that we would run the cruise,” he said.

Deegan fears that continuing piracy problems could devastate the area, a rerun of the 1970s when the Suez Canal was closed and ships were forced to sail around Cape Horn to travel between Europe and the East.

Silversea Cruises UK & Europe marketing director Anil Swarup said this would be a major blow.

“It is a worry,” he said. “From a UK perspective, the Indian Ocean and Seychelles cruises and Seychelles to Dubai sailings are extremely popular.

P&O Cruises Arcadia is due to sail through the region on its world cruise, departing next month, and a decision on any re-routeing will be made by Christmas.

Lines such as Cunard, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Crystal Cruise and Silversea Cruises, which have planned cruises through the Gulf of Aden in the next few months, are monitoring the situation and will make a decision nearer the time.

Last week’s Mumbai terrorist attacks prompted Royal Caribbean International to drop a call there last Sunday.

Seabourn Cruise Line has also cancelled a scheduled call at the city for December 7, while Azamara Cruises, which is due to call at Mumbai on the same day, is currently reviewing the matter.