Pirates Fire on US Cruise Ship in Hijack Attempt

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, pirates leave the Ukrainian merchant vessel MV Faina for...

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, pirates leave the Ukrainian merchant vessel MV Faina for Somalia's shore Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008 while under observation by a U.S. Navy ship. The MV Faina which is carrying a cargo of Ukrainian T-72 tanks and related military equipment, was seized by pirates Sept. 25 and forced to proceed to anchorage off the Somali coast. A pirate spokesman said Thursday, Oct. 9, the Somali bandits holding the ship laden with tanks are open to negotiations about their ransom demands.

(Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky/U.S. Navy/AP Photo)

Pirates chased and shot at a U.S. cruise ship with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel as it sailed along a corridor patrolled by international warships, a maritime official said Tuesday.

The M/S Nautica, carrying 656 international passengers and 399 crew members, was sailing through the Gulf of Aden on Sunday when it encountered six bandits in two speedboats, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

The pirates fired at the passenger liner but the larger ship was faster than the pirates' vessels, Choong said.

"It is very fortunate that the liner managed to escape," he said, urging all ships to remain vigilant in the area.

The International Maritime Bureau, which fights maritime crime, did not know how many cruise liners use these waters, where hijacking of freighters and tankers has become a constant threat in spite of patrols by an international flotilla.

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The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, said it was aware of this failed hijacking but had no further details.

"When the pirates were sighted, the captain went on the public address system and asked passengers to remain in the interior spaces of the ship and wait until he gave further instructions," said Tim Rubacky, spokesman for Oceania Cruises, Inc. "Within five minutes, it was over," he said.

In a statement on its Web site, Oceania said pirates fired eight rifle shots at the liner, but that the ship's captain increased speed and managed to outrun the skiffs.

All passengers and crew are safe and there was no damage to the vessel, it said.

The Nautica was on a 32-day cruise from Rome to Singapore, with stops at ports in Italy, Egypt, Oman, Dubai, India, Malaysia and Thailand, the Web site said. Based on that schedule, the liner was headed from Egypt to Oman when it was attacked.

The liner arrived in the southern Oman port city of Salalah on Monday morning, and the passengers toured the city before leaving for the capital, Muscat, Monday evening, an official of the Oman Tourism Ministry said Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.