anodes
11-08-2005, 12:18 PM
I know this dosen't really fit the EXACT description of this forum, but seemed the best fit.:)
anodes.
btw, Would that be an AOW?;)
Cruise ship Britons attacked by pirates
Tom Walker
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1859626,00.html
A LUXURY cruise ship with 22 British tourists aboard survived an attack by Somali pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades yesterday as it rounded the Horn of Africa.
The 10,000-ton Seabourn Spirit came under fire at about 5.30am. The pirates approached in 25ft speedboats and shot at the ship with the grenade launcher and machineguns. Terrified passengers watched as the pirates tried to get aboard — only to be repelled by crew members who set off what one described as a “loud bang”.
The Bahamas-registered ship was carrying 302 passengers and crew, but there was only one casualty: a crew member suffered minor injuries from flying debris.
“I looked out of the window and saw a small boat with about five people in it about 20 yards away,” said Norman Fisher, 55, a solicitor from Hampstead Garden Suburb in north London.
“One of them clearly had a rifle. Later I realised that two of them had rifles and one had some kind of rocket launcher.
“They were firing the rifle and then fired the rocket launcher twice. One of the rockets certainly hit the ship — it went through the side of the liner into a passenger’s suite. The couple were in there at the time so it was a bit of an unpleasant experience.”
Mike Rogers, a Canadian passenger, said the captain tried to run down one of the speedboats before outmanoeuvring them. The captain did not hit the alarm, fearing passengers would be shot at if they dashed on deck.
An Irish crew member described the clash as “really scary” but added: “Everybody’s okay.”
The Seabourn Spirit, owned by the cruise giant Carnival, was on its way from Alexandria in Egypt to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. It offers the height of luxury, with huge suites, marble bathrooms and more than one crew member to each passenger. Cruises aboard the liner cost from £6,100 for a 16-day sail to £18,270 for an epic 46-day voyage.
The liner used a sonic blaster to foil the pirates. Developed by American forces to deter small boats from attacking warships, the non-lethal weapon sends out high-powered air vibrations that blow assailants off their feet. The equipment, about the size of a satellite dish, is rigged to the side of the ship.
The waters off the Somali coast are among the most dangerous in the world. They are occasionally patrolled by a combined taskforce, known as CTF150, currently under the command of the French navy.
Somalia has had no recognised government since 1991. There have been at least 23 pirate attacks off its coast this year alone. Andrew Livingston, a spokesman for the National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers, described its long coastline as a “massive problem area”.
“We’ve always said it’s going to take a major incident to get something done,” he said. “We’ve gone from what used to be something like maritime mugging 20 years ago to really sophisticated attacks with grenades and rocket-propelled explosives.”
Rogers, the Canadian passenger, said at the end of the eventful day: “We’re always looking for adventure, but this is probably a little more than we would normally look for.”
An alternate viewpoint:
Seabourn Spirit Attacked by Pirates - 11/07/05)
Source: http://www.traveltruth.com/
Cruise line entertainment reached a new low this weekend, when the Seabourn Spirit, one of the world's top-rated luxury ships, was attached by eight terrorists with at least one rocket propelled grenade launcher off the coast of Somalia.
The Spirit's Captain Lorentzen, who may already have a book deal in he works, skillfully protected both his passengers and his $50 million vessel by outrunning the pirates two boats.
Initial press reports claim this was an organized terrorist act but it appears that this may be an activity by one of three gangs that have been operating off the Somali Coast since the collapse of the central government. In a country where warlords rule, attacks of seagoing vessels are not a new thing. In fact the International maritime Commission had recommended that all ships sailing off the coast observe a minimum 150 mile distance. Reports from the Australian press, there were 22 Aussies aboard, indicate that the ship was just 100 miles off the coast, an issue that should be resolved in the next several hours.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the attack and eventual race, is that a Gurkha soldier sat on the bow of the Seabourn ship firing a sonic deflector which was aimed at the gun-toting pirates in their two boats. The lone Gurkha stayed at his post during some very difficult moments.
The Gurka's bravery combined with Captain Lorentzen's driving skill and ability to outrun the much smaller boats, contributed to the safe escape of the vessel without loss of life. The ship is now in the Seychelles and passengers have been sent to Mombassa for the trip home.
Shoulder-borne RPG's have long been the great concern of airline security analysts. This is the first time that an American cruise ship has been fired on using this type of weapon.
Exotic sailings to the Middle east and elsewhere have been selling out this year and are heavily booked for 2006. Somalia is clearly an anomaly, a lawless nation with a long track record of attacks at sea.
But look at a map. A ship coming down the length of the Suez Canal and entering the Indian Ocean, must pass through the Gulf of Aden bordering the long Somali coast. Halfway down that coast lies the one port city in all of Somalia - a place called Mogadishu.
anodes.
btw, Would that be an AOW?;)
Cruise ship Britons attacked by pirates
Tom Walker
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1859626,00.html
A LUXURY cruise ship with 22 British tourists aboard survived an attack by Somali pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades yesterday as it rounded the Horn of Africa.
The 10,000-ton Seabourn Spirit came under fire at about 5.30am. The pirates approached in 25ft speedboats and shot at the ship with the grenade launcher and machineguns. Terrified passengers watched as the pirates tried to get aboard — only to be repelled by crew members who set off what one described as a “loud bang”.
The Bahamas-registered ship was carrying 302 passengers and crew, but there was only one casualty: a crew member suffered minor injuries from flying debris.
“I looked out of the window and saw a small boat with about five people in it about 20 yards away,” said Norman Fisher, 55, a solicitor from Hampstead Garden Suburb in north London.
“One of them clearly had a rifle. Later I realised that two of them had rifles and one had some kind of rocket launcher.
“They were firing the rifle and then fired the rocket launcher twice. One of the rockets certainly hit the ship — it went through the side of the liner into a passenger’s suite. The couple were in there at the time so it was a bit of an unpleasant experience.”
Mike Rogers, a Canadian passenger, said the captain tried to run down one of the speedboats before outmanoeuvring them. The captain did not hit the alarm, fearing passengers would be shot at if they dashed on deck.
An Irish crew member described the clash as “really scary” but added: “Everybody’s okay.”
The Seabourn Spirit, owned by the cruise giant Carnival, was on its way from Alexandria in Egypt to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. It offers the height of luxury, with huge suites, marble bathrooms and more than one crew member to each passenger. Cruises aboard the liner cost from £6,100 for a 16-day sail to £18,270 for an epic 46-day voyage.
The liner used a sonic blaster to foil the pirates. Developed by American forces to deter small boats from attacking warships, the non-lethal weapon sends out high-powered air vibrations that blow assailants off their feet. The equipment, about the size of a satellite dish, is rigged to the side of the ship.
The waters off the Somali coast are among the most dangerous in the world. They are occasionally patrolled by a combined taskforce, known as CTF150, currently under the command of the French navy.
Somalia has had no recognised government since 1991. There have been at least 23 pirate attacks off its coast this year alone. Andrew Livingston, a spokesman for the National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers, described its long coastline as a “massive problem area”.
“We’ve always said it’s going to take a major incident to get something done,” he said. “We’ve gone from what used to be something like maritime mugging 20 years ago to really sophisticated attacks with grenades and rocket-propelled explosives.”
Rogers, the Canadian passenger, said at the end of the eventful day: “We’re always looking for adventure, but this is probably a little more than we would normally look for.”
An alternate viewpoint:
Seabourn Spirit Attacked by Pirates - 11/07/05)
Source: http://www.traveltruth.com/
Cruise line entertainment reached a new low this weekend, when the Seabourn Spirit, one of the world's top-rated luxury ships, was attached by eight terrorists with at least one rocket propelled grenade launcher off the coast of Somalia.
The Spirit's Captain Lorentzen, who may already have a book deal in he works, skillfully protected both his passengers and his $50 million vessel by outrunning the pirates two boats.
Initial press reports claim this was an organized terrorist act but it appears that this may be an activity by one of three gangs that have been operating off the Somali Coast since the collapse of the central government. In a country where warlords rule, attacks of seagoing vessels are not a new thing. In fact the International maritime Commission had recommended that all ships sailing off the coast observe a minimum 150 mile distance. Reports from the Australian press, there were 22 Aussies aboard, indicate that the ship was just 100 miles off the coast, an issue that should be resolved in the next several hours.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the attack and eventual race, is that a Gurkha soldier sat on the bow of the Seabourn ship firing a sonic deflector which was aimed at the gun-toting pirates in their two boats. The lone Gurkha stayed at his post during some very difficult moments.
The Gurka's bravery combined with Captain Lorentzen's driving skill and ability to outrun the much smaller boats, contributed to the safe escape of the vessel without loss of life. The ship is now in the Seychelles and passengers have been sent to Mombassa for the trip home.
Shoulder-borne RPG's have long been the great concern of airline security analysts. This is the first time that an American cruise ship has been fired on using this type of weapon.
Exotic sailings to the Middle east and elsewhere have been selling out this year and are heavily booked for 2006. Somalia is clearly an anomaly, a lawless nation with a long track record of attacks at sea.
But look at a map. A ship coming down the length of the Suez Canal and entering the Indian Ocean, must pass through the Gulf of Aden bordering the long Somali coast. Halfway down that coast lies the one port city in all of Somalia - a place called Mogadishu.