Italian Cruise Ship Captain: ' It was as if we were at war '

The captain of an Italian cruise ship that was attacked by Somali pirates late Saturday night recalled the attack and equated it to being at war before the Israeli security guards on the cruise ship repelled the attack. It seems that once the Somali pirates discovered themselves in a hair of gunfire, the retreated from the attack pretty quickly ....LOL! Here's some of the details from the AP report:

Ciro Pinto, captain of the Melody, said one passenger and one crew member were injured when panic broke out as the pirates closed on the white-hulled vessel and opened fire late Saturday.

"It was as if we were at war," Pinto told Italy's ANSA national news agency as he described the clash in which his ship -- carrying 991 passengers and 536 crew -- sustained smashed windows and bullet holes in the hull and a lifeboat.
Six men on a speedboat and armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles attacked the cruise ship, Pinton said.
"After four or five minutes, they tried to put a ladder on the bow," Pinto said.
However, security guards on the ship "opened fire, and when they saw we were shooting, they abandoned their effort and went away."
"They still followed us for about 20 minutes and continued to fire at us," he added.

And my favorite quote from the article:

Domenico Pellegrino, managing director of the liner's owners MSC, said the Melody was protected by Israeli security guards.
"We use them because they are the best. And we have had a demonstration of that," said Pellegrino.

You can almost imagine the scene when the Somali pirates take a couple of steps up onto the ladder to board this ship and a hail of fire rains down on 'em from Israeli security guards - probably set the world record for dismounting a ladder. haha.

Cruise captain recounts Somali pirate attack

The captain of an Italian cruise ship carrying more than 1,500 people whose Israeli security guards fought off marauding Somali pirates said Sunday the attack had felt like "war".
The cruise liner Melody continued its trip Sunday toward the Jordanian port of Aqaba while Somali pirates seized a Yemeni oil tanker after a clash in which two raiders were killed, according to Yemeni authorities.
Ciro Pinto, captain of the Melody, said one passenger and one crew member were injured when panic broke out as the pirates closed on the white-hulled vessel and opened fire late Saturday.

"It was as if we were at war," Pinto told Italy's ANSA national news agency as he described the clash in which his ship -- carrying 991 passengers and 536 crew -- sustained smashed windows and bullet holes in the hull and a lifeboat.
Six men on a speedboat and armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles attacked the cruise ship, Pinton said.
"After four or five minutes, they tried to put a ladder on the bow," Pinto said.
However, security guards on the ship "opened fire, and when they saw we were shooting, they abandoned their effort and went away."
"They still followed us for about 20 minutes and continued to fire at us," he added.
Domenico Pellegrino, managing director of the liner's owners MSC, said the Melody was protected by Israeli security guards.
"We use them because they are the best. And we have had a demonstration of that," said Pellegrino.
The ship was to rendezvous with international naval vessels in the Indian Ocean which would escort the vessel to Jordan.
But Somali pirates hit back and seized an empty Yemeni oil tanker in a new raid off the Yemeni coast. A Yemeni official said the vessel belonged to Aden refineries.
The Yemen defence ministry said on its website that two pirates were killed in the confrontation, and three other pirates and two coast guards were wounded.
According to the official, the tanker was on its way back to the southern port city of Aden from Al-Mohra province, where it had unloaded its cargo.