It sounds like a scene from a swashbuckling Hollywood film - brave sailor fights off marauding band of pirates armed to the teeth. But for Michael Groves, it was terrifying reality.He was the security officer on a cruise ship when a dozen Somalis in two boats opened fire with rocket launchers and machine guns. The 41-year-old ex-policeman repelled the raiders with a highpressure hose and a hi-tech sonic cannon. He described his ordeal after receiving the Queen's Gallantry Medal - the third-highest civilian bravery award - at Buckingham Palace.
Mr Groves, from the West Midlands, was working on board the £500-a-night liner Seabourn Spirit as it cruised the Indian Ocean 100 miles east of Somalia in November 2005. It carries 200 passengers and 150 crew. Alerted by a look-out at 6am, Mr Groves rushed to the deck to see the pirates brandishing machine guns and a rocket launcher. As they shot at him with Kalashnikovs, he unreeled a high-pressure hose and returned fire with a jet of water, forcing them to retreat.
Asked what was going through his mind at the time, Mr Groves joked: "Almost a couple of bullets."
n the brief respite, he began to prepare the other weapon in the ship's armoury - the sonic cannon - known technically as a Long Range Acoustic Device. The LRAD is an acoustic weapon developed by the U.S. Navy to repel small boats. It can direct a 150-decibel blast of ear-splitting noise at its target. "As soon as I went on the deck I came under automatic fire," he said. "A rocket grenade blew me off my feet. The next thing I remember is rolling around and trying to check for shrapnel."
He radioed for help and his Master of Arms, Som Bahdur Gurung, arrived on the deck. Mr Gurung, 46, a Gurkha, managed to fire the LRAD - hitting the pirates with the powerful beam of sound. As shots and a second rocket holed the ship, Mr Gurung was hit by a bullet.
Mr Groves, who has also served in the Royal Navy, said: "I saw a spray of blood and he just went straight down. I thought he was gone but he opened one eye and told me not to worry about him." Mr Groves dragged Mr Gurung to safety, returned to the LRAD and directed it towards the boats.
While the attack was raging, the ship's Norwegian captain, Sven Erik Pederson, sent an international distress signal then tried to ram the pirates, telling passengers over the PA system: "Stay inside, we're under attack."
After about 30 minutes the pirates fled the scene. Mr Groves said he feared the women on the ship would have been raped if the pirates had managed to get on board. "The guests and the crew are still recovering from the trauma. There was a lot of screaming on the lower decks."
Mr Gurung, originally from Nepal and now living in Southend, received the Queen's Commendation for Bravery.