Italian cruise ship fires on Somali 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 bandits and drove them away, the commander said yesterday.

Commander Ciro Pinto told Italian state radio that six men in a small white boat approached the Msc Melody and opened fire on Saturday night, but retreated after the Israeli security officers aboard the cruise ship returned fire.
‘It felt like we were in war,’ Pinto told state radio.
None of the roughly 1 000 passengers and 500 crew members were hurt, Melody owner Msc Cruises said in a statement issued by its German branch.
Domenico Pellegrino, head of the Italian cruise line, said Msc hired the Israelis because they were the best trained security agents, the Ansa news agency reported.
Civilian shipping and passenger ships have generally avoided arming crewmen or hiring armed security for reasons of safety, liability and compliance with the rules of the different countries where they dock. Saturday’s exchange of fire was one of the first reported between pirates and a non-military ship. International military forces have battled pirates, with US Navy snipers killing three holding an American captain hostage in one of the highest-profile incidents.
The attack occurred about 325 kilometres north of the Seychelles, and about 800 kilometres east of Somalia, according to the anti-piracy flotilla headquarters of the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa.
Pinto said the pirates fired with automatic weapons, slightly damaging the liner, and tried to put a ladder on board. But he said they were unable to climb aboard.
The commander said his security forces opened fire with pistols and the Ansa news agency said the pistols had been kept in a safe under the joint control of the commander and security chief.
The Spanish warship SPS Marques de Ensenada was meeting up with the liner to escort her through the pirate-infested northern Gulf of Aden, the Maritime Security Center said.
– Nampa-AP