Sirius Star Hijacking

Another ship has been hijacked by the Somalis. Something needs to be done about this. This is a popular shipping route, not just for cargo, but for cruise ships.

Back in November 2005 Somalian Pirates tried to attack the cruise ship Seabourn Spirit, which is owned by Seabourn Cruise Line, part of the Carnival Corporation, who own lines such as Cunard, P and O, Princess, Holland America and Costa.

Seabourn is an up-market cruise line so it is quite possible that the Pirates knew there would be rich picking on board this ship. Thanks to the crew's quick thinking, the Pirates were scared off when the ship's officers ordered a loud acoustic bang to frighten the Pirates off. Luckily it worked.

There is increased cruise ship activity in the area as this is an up and coming cruising area. Its an area cruise ships enter after transiting the Suez Canal or when on world cruises or visiting places around the Indian Ocean. Can you imagine the scene if these pirates boarded a cruise ship?

The last hijacking of a cruise ship was in October 1985 when the Lauro Lines' Achille Lauro was hijacked. She was hijacked in Egyptian waters by Palistine Liberation Front terrorists. A 69 year old disabled American man was the only casualty and his body was dumped overboard.

The Achille Lauro was originally the liner the Willem Ruys (another ship I collect) and she sank in 1994 after being on fire for three days.

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