NAIROBI, Kenya — The luxury American cruise ship steaming across the Gulf of Aden with hundreds of well-heeled tourists just might have been too much for Somali pirates to resist.
But the six bandits, riding in two skiffs and firing rifle shots at the gleaming ship, were outrun in minutes when the captain of M/S Nautica gunned the engine and sped away, a spokesman for the company said Tuesday.
The potential for massive ransom payments from the families of hundreds of rich tourists may encourage similar attempts, especially following the successful capture of a Ukrainian cargo ship laden with tanks and a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million in crude.
Even the pirates’ motives were in question: They could simply have been testing the defenses of the massive ship, rather than making a real effort to hijack it.
Sunday’s attack on the M/S Nautica, which was reported Tuesday, comes several weeks after a NATO mission served mainly to underscore the impotence of the world community. A handful of Western ships can do little to prevent attacks in a vast sea, and without the right to board hijacked vessels, they can only watch as the booty is towed to port.
Some of the world’s leading cruise companies said Tuesday they are considering changing their itineraries to avoid going near the coast of Somalia after news of the weekend attack.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
