Pensioners fought off pirates with Chairs???

GottaCruz · July 3, 2009

Pensioners 'fought off pirates with chairs'

23 May, 2009 03:21:00 The Herald and Weekly Times

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Hijack averted ... the MSC Melody is escorted by the Spanish grigate Marques de la Ensenada / AP / News Limited picture

FEISTY pensioners used deck chairs to fight off Somali pirates who tried to hijack their cruise ship on the Indian Ocean, passengers and the vessel's owners say.

They sprang into action when pirates tried to board the MSC Melody off the Seychelles on April 25.

"Some passengers saw the pirates approaching and sounded the alarm. But the security guard had seen them already. The passengers were taken to their cabins, with lights off," Sarah Longbottom of MSC Cruises said.

"Mr and Mrs Rowlands were on the deck. Beryl Rowlands threw deck chairs at them," she said, adding that the ship had about 1000 passengers and 500 crew on board.

There were 74 Australians on the ship at the time.

No-one was injured in the incident, which came amid a surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia, where ransom-seeking pirates attacked more than 100 ship in 2008 and another 114 so far this year.

The owner of MSC Cruises, Gianluigi Aponte, praised the way the ship's crew and passengers dealt with the attack. "We are very proud that our crew proved to be able to promptly tackle the emergency," he said.

"At the moment of the attack, the ship was 600 nautical miles (1111 km) from the Somalian coast, in an area that is not considered dangerous, and 180 nautical miles (333 km) from Seychelles."

Ian and Jessie Moakes from Mansfield, central England, were on the MSC Melody to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

"Some holidaymakers threw tables and chairs to repel the pirates," Moakes, 62, a retired police officer, told the Sun newspaper.

"It could have been much nastier. There were bullet holes in the ship."

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said 69 passengers and five crew members were Australians, some of whom may be dual citizens and travelling on other passports.

jacketwatch · July 3, 2009

Gotta luv those Aussies!! :thumbup: Those born from felons turned out pretty good. :biggrin: However where in the world were those pirates operating from and what kind of boat did they have? from what I've seen they use small boats with outboard engines so for that to be 600 mi. from home is too much. Even 180 mi. is quite alot too. Makes you wonder.

rogue · July 3, 2009

Of course, the Australian article didn't mention the Israeli security personnel on board firing guns at the pirates. Still have to give the passengers lots of credit. I don't know how I'd be, but I would like to think that I would do the same.