"AN Australian traveller insists pirates did attack a cruise ship carrying 400 Aussies, and says the company is trying to cover up the incident.

The Melbourne woman, who remains on board the MV Athena and does not want to be named, said passengers who informed relatives back home of the attack had been given "a real dressing down'' by the ship's crew.

Classic International Cruises Australia, which owns the Athena, has said there was no substance to reports that dozens of pirate boats attacked the ship off the coast of Somalia and tried to board it on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the company said the boats turned out to be fishing vessels whose crew were "very friendly''.

But the Melbourne woman who contacted AAP said there was no doubt the ship was the target of a coordinated pirate attack as it passed through the Gulf of Aden, separating Yemen and Somalia.

The Athena's Captain Antonio Morais had even used the public address system to tell passengers "that two attacks by pirates had taken place,'' she said.

She said the crew had ordered passengers to stay indoors after small motorboats surrounded the vessel.

Observers using binoculars on the bridge reportedly counted between 30 and 40 small boats to the port side and 12 to starboard at the height of the incident, she said.

"Less than an hour later the master of the vessel, Captain Antonio Morais of Portugal, confirmed to listeners that two attacks by pirates had taken place.''

Crew members used blasts from high-powered water cannon to drive back the pirates who clearly wanted to board the Athena, the woman said.

She said the official line now being put around the ship was that "as no shots were fired by the assailants it was merely a reconnaissance mission by those in the motorboats rather than an attack as such''.

"This insistence is merely splitting hairs,'' the Melbourne traveller said.

She said passengers who had alerted family members about the attack had been scolded for spreading misinformation that had caused widespread alarm.

And on Thursday, two days after the attack, Captain Morais again addressed passengers to stress that "no attack'' had occurred.

While Athena officers had denied their ship had been the target of an attack, they had admitted pirates fired shots at three other vessels following the Athena on the same day, she said.

The Athena is making its maiden voyage to Australia and is due to dock in Fremantle in Western Australia on December 20.

Piracy is rife in the waters off Somalia, with 100 vessels attacked this year. "

Well she is either a liar or something resembling an attack took place.

This picture which has now been produced could indicate any type of small boat !

I do not believe that hoising the white flag and retreating is the way to go. All ships have the right to safe passage in international waters. Turning into a coward and not going there is weak and the reason why pirates get away with actions like that.

I think military ships escorting ships transiting the area in a convoy is a better answer.

Also increasing patrols in the area with helo capable ships for surveillance will keep pirates at bay. Most US ships with towed array sonars can pick up any fast moving speed boats miles away as their sound moves freely through the surface duct.

Only six helo capable warships spread out in the Gulf of Aden is enough to monitor the area and make a show of their presence is enough to keep pirates at bay.

With warships in the area as soon as they pick up a ship can be in a position to protect it either by itself or with a helo armed with hellfire missiles.

quote:

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Originally posted by mike sa:
From Herald Sun.au

Time all pax ships had a military escort when in this area, if the companies (and therefore pax) are not prepared to pay for it they should not be allowed in the area full stop.

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To suggest that military personell become hired thugs in the fight against piracy is insulting and degrading to them. It is not only insulting to military personell but it reeks of greed that you would think the military should be paid to escort a ship in distress or in need of an escort.

When signed up for the Navy I signed up knowing what I was getting myself into and was more than happy to participate in any operations knowing that I will be away from home at important times. Military personell are trained professionals their to serve. They are not hired mercinaries. It is absolutely disgusting that you would treat people with such contempt.

When world events dictate it then they send in the military to stabilise the situation. That is their contribution to world events and to help world stability. An untire US battle group is in that area by default based on world events along with ships from 14 or more different countries. The military is not a business and is not there to make a profit. They are their to make their presence seen.

Apart from that it appears the good and reliable Indian Navy have captured a pirate boat and saved a merchant vessel from attack. They had a helo capable ship in the area and deployed a helicopter to a distress call and the pirates fled. They were then able to intercept them and arrest them capturing not only somalis but people from Yemen.

Naval ships have the ability to patrol the area and protect civillian ships and that is their job and what they should be doing. For some reason the military will not share information with civillian vessels as information about ships movements is considered classified.

Having an operation centre on one ship in command of others is adequate to protect ships. All shipping traffic can be linked to one source to give a large picture of any ship picked up and tracked by electronic means. Naval ships use this GCCM-M system are able to control the sea lanes and communicate with other ships to direct them to safe shipping lanes.

So much for Naval power and protecting the rights of people to pass freely at sea without threat or hinderence.

Like the Athena the story is changing every time.

While a miltary response may be appropriate in some instances (Le Ponent for instance) cowboy politics with guns simply reduces us to the level of the pirates and is therefore no solution.