Seabourn Spirit Cruise Ship Attacked by Pirates Off Coast of Somalia

Passengers on the small luxury cruise ship Seabourn Spirit will have quite a story to tell their friends and families when they return home. The cruise ship was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia earlier today. The Seabourn Spirit and her 150 mostly American passengers and 160 crew had embarked October 23 on a 16-day cruise from Alexandria, Egypt to Mombasa, Kenya. A spokesman for Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line, a member of the Carnival Corporation, told reporters that the passengers were shocked but unharmed, and that one crewman was hurt. The ship is being diverted to the Seychelles.


During the attack, the crew assembled the passengers in a public room, told them what was going on, and reassured them that the crew was fending off the attack. The captain did not use the emergency alarm to alert passengers because he did not want them to go outside on the deck where there was gunfire. The pirates never boarded the luxury liner.

The pirates were in two small boats about 25-feet long and carrying machine guns and a rocket-propelled grenade. The crew used an on-board loud acoustic bang to lead the pirates to think they were under heavy fire. The Seabourn Spirit was able to eventually out-run the small pirate ships.

In mid-October, the International Maritime Bureau warned ships to stay as far away as possible from the Somali shore. There have been 23 attacks against oceangoing ships in the last year. A Seabourn spokesman told reporters that the cruise line would have to review the incident and determine if the cruise line would sail off the coast of Somalia in the future.

More on the Seabourn Spirit from Seabourn Cruise Line