[BITList] Fwd: [BIship] Pirates

[Michael Feltham]

 From the other List

Begin forwarded message:

From: JOHN CLARK <
Date: 27 April 2009 19:45:08 BST
To: BIship at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [BIship] Pirates
Reply-To: BIship at yahoogroups.com

Dick
a less dramatic incident on March 3rd involving  Fred Olsen's Balmoral  
also seems to have received little attention. In daylight a " fishing  
boat" passed astern at high speed and we passengers were given a  
practise at retreating to a " safe haven". Sitting down in the central  
corridor on deck 3 . That evening the Master picked up radar targets  
approaching at 20-22 knots, who altered course towards Balmoral each  
time he changed course. He concluded that they were up to no good and  
send us below whilst he manoeuvred violently and called for  
assistance. In about 25 minutes a warship arrived by which time the  
radar targets were 400 yards away. They vanished with the arrival of  
the USN. There was no visual sighting though flares were fired in an  
attempt to pick them out. Apart from one inaccurate newspaper report  
nobody at home seemed aware of the incident. Frankly some of the  
passengers were frightened but rather more wanted to have a go.  I  
have put a
photo of the alleged fishing boat on the ships nostalgia website. At  
the time I assumed that it was a case of mistaken identity, what  
pirate would want to control 1400 stroppy pensioners , but this latest  
incident suggests that they are looking for a greater variety of prey.
Precautions had included dressing waiters in combat gear to look like  
additional security men.
Somebody will have to put people ashore to sort this out
John Clark
--- On Mon, 27/4/09, Richard Wilson

From: Richard Wilson
To: BIship at yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, 27 April, 2009, 5:58 PM








Quite by chance switched to BBC News Channel, saw an item about a  
Cruise Ship which was attacked by pirates after leaving Seychelles.  
The pirates were repelled by the ship's security personnel. The  
Captain was called Cisco Pinto. The ship was MSC Melody.
Thought that this item would appear in some other news bulletin on  
normal BBC channels later - WRONG!
Through Google found a report on the incident from 'THE AUSTRALIAN'  
28th April (due to the presence of Aussies onboard)
The MD of MSC confirmed that the vessel had been subjected to attack  
by pirates using weapons. The pirates were driven off by armed Israeli  
Security guards who returned the fire - bet the b******s got a shock!
Apparently the vessel was taking a recommended route to the Gulf of  
Aden as suggested by the IMO (some use!) as being safe.
The MD stated that all future Indian Ocean cruises would sail via the  
COGH.
Thought it strange that no mention of the incident appeared in UK TV  
or Press.
Liked the idea of the Armed Israeli Security Guards!
Dick Wilson

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