The Sirius Star anchored off the coast of Somalia on November 19. Somali pirates demanding $25 million for a Saudi super-tanker are hoping for a "favourable" reply as the deadline for paying the ransom loomed. (AFP/Ho)From Yahoo News/AP:
NAIROBI, Kenya – Pirates chased and shot at a U.S. cruise ship with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel as it sailed along a corridor patrolled by international warships, officials said Tuesday.
The captain of the M/S Nautica ordered passengers inside and gunned the engine, allowing the ship to outrun the pirates' speedboats in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, a company spokesman said.
"It is very fortunate that the liner managed to escape," said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia. He urged ships to remain vigilant in the area.
In a statement on its Web site, Oceania Cruises, Inc. said pirates fired eight rifle shots at the liner, but that the ship's captain increased speed and managed to outrun the skiffs.
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