Cruise ship fends off pirates

by Barbara McPherson | April 26, 2009 at 10:25 am

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Pirates got more than they bargained for when they attacked the Italian cruiseship, Melody. What are believed to be Somali pirates attacked a cruise ship headed to the Mediterranean on Saturday. They were thwarted by armed security guards on board the luxury liner. Security guards used weapons and fire hoses to repel the pirates.

ROME - An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack far off the coast of Somalia when its Israeli private security forces exchanged fire with the bandit

None of the roughly 1,000 passengers and 500 crew members was hurt, Pellegrino said. The passengers were asked to return to their cabins and the external lights on board turned off.

Pellegrino said all Msc cruise ships around the world are staffed with Israeli security agents because they are the best trained.

The Melody was on a 22-day cruise from Durban, South Africa, to Genoa, Italy, when the pirates attacked late Saturday, slightly damaging the liner, Pinto said.

“After about four or five minutes, they tried to put a ladder up,” Pinto told Sky TG24. “They were starting to climb up but we reacted, we started to fire ourselves. When they saw our fire, and also the water from the water hoses that we started to spray toward the Zodiac, they left and went away.”