A luxury cruise ship was attacked by Somali pirates on Saturday, November 5th while sailing off the coast of Somalia (the east coast of Africa). Rocket propelled grenades were launched and automatic guns were fired from two speedboats sailing alongside the Bahamian registered Seabourn Spirit. According to the BBC, the pirates were scared off by a quick thinking crew who made loud acoustic bangs to simulate returning gun fire. The cruise ship then sped away at full throttle leaving the pirates behind.

Passengers who witnessed the attack were obviously terrified and luckily only one crew member was reported injured. Most of the 300 people on board were American. The cruise ship was sailing from Alexandria in Egypt and was scheduled to make a stop in Mombasa (Kenya) but headed for the Seychelles instead. The cruise ship reached the islands on Monday November 7th and the passengers flew home from there.

Piracy is rife off the coast of Somalia and is considered by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) to be the most dangerous stretch of water in the world. Somalia doesn't take action against these pirates nor can they register complaints from ships which are attacked because Somalia is the only country in the world that doesn't have a government.

For more on this story see:

• Cruise Ship Repels Somali Pirates, from the BBC
• Pirates Open Fire on Cruise Ship, from MSNBC
• Cruise Liner Seabourn Spirit Attacked, from CBC