Archived material Access restricted Article
Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Sat 11/05/2005 View Fri 11/04/2005 View Thu 11/03/2005 View Wed 11/02/2005 View Tue 11/01/2005 View Mon 10/31/2005 View Sun 10/30/2005
1
2005-11-05 Africa: Horn
Pirates attack cruise ship
Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.
Posted by intrinsicpilot 2005-11-05 13:55|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 I am not putting this down to 'Piracy' sounds more like a terrorist attempt to take hostages. AQ is back in Somilia if they ever actually left.

Those Criuse ships can really move when needed they just use alot of Diesel to do so.

I wonder if they broke out the fire hoses.
Posted by Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2005-11-05 15:11||   2005-11-05 15:11|| Front Page Top

#2  Edith Laird of Seattle, who was traveling on the ship with her daughter and a friend, told British Broadcasting Corp. TV in an e-mail that her daughter saw the pirates out of their window.

"There were at least three rocket-propelled grenades that hit the ship, one in a state room," Laird wrote. "We had no idea that this ship could move as fast as it did and (the captain) did his best to run down the pirates."


Given what details there are, I'll second the hostage-taking attempt. No doubt how it would have turned out with a less-professional crew.
Posted by Pappy 2005-11-05 15:47||   2005-11-05 15:47|| Front Page Top

#3 Where is Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus when you need him...

Posted by john 2005-11-05 16:03||   2005-11-05 16:03|| Front Page Top

#4 I'm betting that Carnival's subsidiary lines have some very interesting security arrangements. On the cruises I've been on, most of the "security petty officers" at the gangways were Nepalese Gurkha veterans. You'd sometimes see some supervising security officers, mainly tough-looking Brits who just had the look of folks who spent at least part of their young-adult years jumping out of planes or approaching shorelines at night in little boats. I bet that there was probably a very well-stocked arms locker somewhere, too...
Posted by Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2005-11-05 16:08||   2005-11-05 16:08|| Front Page Top

#5 
Bring back skeet shooting to the cruises in that area and see what the pirates think then.
Posted by RG 2005-11-05 16:23||   2005-11-05 16:23|| Front Page Top

#6 I can go you better, RG...how about hosting the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot on a cruise ship? :-D
Posted by Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2005-11-05 16:39||   2005-11-05 16:39|| Front Page Top

#7 Remember the poor pirates a couple years ago that thought that Navy Replenishment ship was a civvie freighter? I'll wager they filled their pants when the ship opened up on them with it's dual .50's.
Posted by Silentbrick">Silentbrick  2005-11-05 17:06||   2005-11-05 17:06|| Front Page Top

#8 Time for Q-ship patrols.
Posted by Anonymoose 2005-11-05 19:54||   2005-11-05 19:54|| Front Page Top

#9 In this case, I agree. Problem is, who sponsors it?
Posted by Pappy 2005-11-05 21:26||   2005-11-05 21:26|| Front Page Top

#10 Last time I was in the Indian Ocean on a liner ... Skeet was constantly shot off the back of the ship. Lots of times they would let it hit the water and shoot at the sharks lunging for it.

When did skeet shooting quit on cruises? (showing my age...) (course that last trip was before the peoples democratic republic of south Yemen long since part of Yemen)

Posted by 3dc 2005-11-05 21:28||   2005-11-05 21:28|| Front Page Top

#11 Another country that demands to be invaded by Dubya, Rummy, CENTCOM and the USMC!?
Posted by JosephMendiola 2005-11-05 21:56||   2005-11-05 21:56|| Front Page Top

#12 they'd rather be fed, then kick us out again. No chance to any of the above. FOAD Somalia
Posted by Frank G">Frank G  2005-11-05 22:37||   2005-11-05 22:37|| Front Page Top

23:29 Long Hair Republican
23:20 imoyaro
23:16 Zenster
23:15 James
23:06 Frank G
22:51 Penguin
22:50 3dc
22:48 3dc
22:47 lotp
22:46 .com
22:37 Frank G
22:35 Frank G
22:35 gromgoru
22:26 Frank G
22:25 Bobby
22:25 Frank G
22:25 Constitutional Individualist
22:22 Bobby
22:18 lotp
22:16 lotp
22:13 imoyaro
22:10 Frank G
22:09 Frank G
22:07 2b









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com