From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
|
| Tonnage: |
10,000 (28300 m3) |
| Length: |
440 feet (134 m) |
| Width: |
63 feet (19 m) |
| Draft: |
16.5 feet (5 m) |
| Speed: |
18 knots (33,3 Km/h) |
| Armament: |
1 x LRAD |
| Passengers: |
208 |
| Crew: |
150 |
Seabourn Spirit is a German-built 5-star cruise ship that first sailed in 1989. The luxury liner travels between Europe and Africa, and is owned by Seabourn Cruise Line
[edit] Pirate attack
On 5 November 2005 at 5:50 am, the ship was attacked, 115 km off the coast of Somalia, by two pirate speedboats launched by a mother boat[1]. The ship carried 151 passengers, none of whom were injured, although machine gun shots were fired as well as a rocket propelled grenade. An unexploded grenade wedged itself in the wall of a room[2] and was disarmed by sailors from the USS Gonzalez[3] after the attack. One crew member, a security officer, was injured while combating the raiders with a long range acoustic device (LRAD). The sonic device repelled the pirates by blasting a powerful sound wave. The officer, a former Gurkha, was hit by shrapnel to the head[4] while manning the device, according to one passenger.
- ↑ "Bomb experts tackle missile", The Herald Sun, 2005-11-08.
- ↑ "Rebuilding Africa tourism", Christian Science Monitor, 2005-11-08.
- ↑ "Cruising into hell", The Daily Telegraph (Australia), 2005-11-08.
- ↑ a "Cocktail party follows pirate attack", The Courier-Mail, 2005-11-08.
[edit] References
- "Cruise liner Seabourn Spirit attacked by pirates off coast of Somalia", CBC News, 2005-11-05.
- "Machine-gun toting pirates attack ship", National Post, 2005-11-06.
- "Unexploded grenade left on US cruise ship", Reuters, 2005-11-07.
- "U.S. Navy boards ship after pirate attack", CNN, 2005-11-08.
- "Somali 'mother ship' directs attacks by pirates", The Independent, 2005-11-12.
[edit] External links
