The MSC Melody repelled a pirate attack near the Seychelles Islands on April 25. The ship is reported to be the first passenger vessel to fire back at pirates during the recent wave of piracy in the region.
Reports from Europe indicate that the MSC Melody, sailing 600 miles from the Somali coast, fended off the attack in an exchange of fire between the pirates and private Israeli security forces onboard.
Italy-based MSC Cruises said that there were no injuries to any of the approximately 1,000 passengers and 500 crew members on Melody.
MSC said in a statement that the pirates approached the ship in a small speedboat firing automatic weapons at 7:35 p.m. while the ship was sailing 180 nautical miles from Port Victoria in the Seychelles.
According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Melody's captain, Ciro Pinto, told Italian state radio that after the pirates shot at the ship, the Israeli security officers returned fire.
MSC did not confirm the return of fire or the presence of the Israeli security officers.
The line said that the ship initiated avoidance procedures and quickly escaped the attack. A military vessel from the international security forces in the region is now escorting the Melody as a precaution, and the ship is continuing to Aqaba, Jordan, on its scheduled itinerary.
"All security measures adopted worked perfectly," MSC owner Gianlucci Aponte stated. [The captain] followed all security protocols provided, guiding the ship out of danger with a sequence of evasive maneuvers." He described those maneuvers as turning off the ship's lights and changing its course.
The incident may be the first time that a non-military ship has exchanged fire with pirates, a move that drew criticism from some maritime officials, wire reports indicated.
"Having weapons on a passenger or merchant ship is dangerous," Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers Assistance Program told Reuters. "They should have used other means to shake off the pirates, like a loud acoustic device."
Reuters reported that the captain authorized the use of force when the pirates attempted to climb up the sides of the Melody. The captain also said they sprayed the pirates with water from a firehose.
According to Haaretz, many former Israeli military veterans work security aboard cruise ships and other ships around the world, specifically in areas prone to pirate attacks. The newspaper said that veterans of Israeli’s naval commando unit have been in very high demand.