Pirates Made Big Noise, Few Waves: Cruise Passengers

Sunday’s pirate attack lasted only about 5 minutes, but left an impression on passengers of the M/S Nautica. “We didn’t think they would be cheeky enough to attack a cruise ship,” one New Zealander traveling aboard the luxury liner tells the AP today. “I couldn’t see them shooting, but I heard them hitting the ship,” said another passenger. “Pop! Pop! Pop!”

The passenger added that the encounter “wasn’t really scary,” because the captain told everyone to “get inside and get down, and by that time he was pouring on the coals … and outrunning them.” Several believed the ship used a sonic weapon to ward off the pirates; two described hearing a loud “boom.” Another cruise ship used a similar weapon to thwart a 2005 attack. (More pirates stories.)