Pirates fire on cruise ship Oceana Nautica in Gulf of Aden

[darrels joy]

A LUXURY cruise ship with up to 50 Australians on board has been fired on by Gulf of Aden pirates who came within a few hundred metres of the giant liner.

The Sun online reports that one of two small pirate skiffs got within 300 metres of the six-star Oceania Nautica and fired eight rifle shots at the tourist vessel, which escaped by outrunning the smaller craft.

The ship, carrying 690 passengers - reportedly including up to 50 Australians - and 386 crew, was passing fishing boats when the pirate vessels tried to intercept it in the Gulf of Aden, between Somalia and Yemen.

Sky News reports that the ship was readying a high-tech anti-piracy device which can shatter the eardrums of would-be boarders.

The so-called Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) was readied during the attack, but not deployed.

Separate reports said international coalition warships stopped the Somali pirates from hijacking a the Nautica.

A Danish navy spokesman refused to name the vessel involved but a Danish media report said the cruise ship Nautica, carrying 400 passengers and 200 crew was the target of the latest attack by Somali pirates.

"The (Danish) navy's tactical command on Sunday led a military operation, dispatching a vessel from the coalition to the aid of a civilian ship threatened by pirates, thereby preventing an act of piracy," Danish navy spokesman Jesper Lynge told AFP.

Lynge said it was up to the countries involved to give details of the cruise ship involved.

According to Danish TV2 News, six to eight armed pirates on two boats were observed speeding toward the Nautica.

A French navy warship, alerted by the Danish Navy, scrambled a helicopter to the scene, which sent the pirates fleeing, TV2 News said.

On September 15, Denmark took command of the multinational naval force Task Force 150, aimed at combating acts of piracy and weapons smuggling in the northern part of the Indian Ocean.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24737999-2,00.html