Somali Pirates Force Cruise Ship Evacuation

by Rob Walker | December 9, 2008 at 10:05 am

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Pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia have gotten so bad that a German cruise ship company will evacuate passengers from the ship and fly tourists to the next port, where it will meet the empty boat.

The logic is that with no passengers on board, the ship will be much less of a target for pirates looking for hostages. The plan comes a week after pirates fired at a cruise liner carrying over 1,000 people, which narrowly escaped.

A cruise ship will evacuate passengers before sailing through waters off the Somali coast and fly them to the next port of call to protect them from possible pirate attacks, German cruise operator Hapag-Lloyd said Tuesday.
An official with the European Union's anti-piracy mission said separately that the force would station armed guards on vulnerable cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden.