Spirit of Adventure: narrowly avoided pirate attack
A British cruise ship carrying 350 passengers has narrowly avoided being boarded by pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Saga Cruises’ Spirit of Adventure was travelling between Madagascar and Zanzibar when pirates were spotted nearby.
Guests were ordered below decks as the captain sped up and outrun the speedboat.
A Saga spokesman said: “The Spirit of Adventure was followed by a suspect vessel for about an hour this evening.
“After guests were moved down to the middle of the ship the captain sped up to full speed and the vessel went away.”
Most pirates are not interested in passenger ships despite the value of items on board.
They are well aware of the international pressure they would immediately face and usually prefer cargo ships.
 | Passengers had been told at the start of the cruise exactly what to do should pirates try and board. |  |
A code word came over the public address system during a black tie dinner and they were ordered to move to a lounge.
According to reports, everyone remained calm and dinner was resumed once the incident was over.
Pirate attacks are an increasing problem in the Indian Ocean and around the Gulf of Aden and a number of cruise lines have pulled out of the area because of the risks.
All have safety and security procedures in place to deal with the problem including sonic booms and weapons on board.
In April last year, the cruise ship Discovery was approached by a speed boat of Somali pirates which had rocket-propelled grenade launchers on board.
It was put off when crew released rolls of razor wire over the side of the ship.
About Adam Coulter
Good to see that the vessel crew dealt effectively with the threat on this occasion. However, in terms of duty of care, it would be interesting to know what amount of formal maritime security awareness training the Master and crew undertake as part of their preparation for passages through high risk waters?