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  Attack on the MSC Melody: Passengers Fought Pirates with Tables and Deck Chairs

Attack on the MSC Melody Passengers Fought Pirates with Tables and Deck Chairs

By Matthias Gebauer and Dietmar Hipp in Mombasa

Part 2: Why the Ship's Passengers Don't Think Captain Pinto Was a Hero

Rolf R. says more than a few passengers are irritated by the captain's posturing, and they in no way view him as a hero. "Many are now asking why the captain first had to be alerted about the shots through the passengers," says R. He is also unwilling to accept claims made by the cruise company that the passengers were never in danger. The shots were "fired at windows located just 50 meters from a group of many hundreds of passengers" attending a classical music concert, he says.

During the meeting with passengers, the captain reportedly refused to answer any critical questions. But passengers want to know why it took so long for the crew to react. And why no guards were stationed on deck at night as the ship sailed close to a region that has seen pirate attacks? And why the ship's radar hadn't triggered an early warning as the pirate boat approached?

"We Weren't in the Risk Zone"

The statements of MSC Cruises chief Vago illustrate how poorly prepared cruise ships have been up to now in dealing with the threat of pirate attacks. "Up until now, we have given more consideration to fish specialities or fine wines than attacks on the high seas," the Italian cruise executive says. The company says it has had security personnel on its ships for the past 25 years, but "because of legal provisions," they are required to keep their weapons in a safe. The captain is only permitted to distribute the guns after an alarm has been given.

In the case of the MSC Melody, the delay between the alarm and active defense was too short for pirates to be able to board the ship. Nevertheless, the photos of shattered windows in several cabins show that frustrated pirates firing around like madmen could easily have caused injuries or deaths. That's why Pinto praised his guests. He said all had immediately obeyed his order to go under deck. Many left behind their mobile phones, purses and even their shoes as they dashed to safety, he said.

MSC Cruises chief Vago has denied allegations that the cruise line jeopardized the safety of its passengers. Just before the cruise started, the company had even changed the ship's route to steer it even further away from the dangerous Somali coastal waters than originally planned. "We weren't in the risk zone," Vago emphasizes. But the scope of that zone has grown with each successive pirate attack. The pirates are operating in an ever greater area -- a trend that has grown further with the MSC Melody incident.

The details also tell a lot about the pirates -- the extent of their audacity and their high level of organization.

Shortly after the ship's passengers had helped fend off the attackers and the captain had alerted international warships, the satellite phone on the bridge rang. "You have been attacked, you need help," a man said in broken English. "Give us your coordinates and we will come to you." Captain Pinto thought the call was strange. The man on the other end of the line didn't want to give the name of his ship, so the captain refused to state the MSC Melody's position. He may have saved the passengers and crew from another pirate attack.

"The Pirates Tried to Attack us Again"

"The ship had been completely blacked out and made invisible to the pirates," MSC chief Vago says. "But we've become certain in the meantime that the pirates were trying to get the position data so they could attack us again." The captain has said he believes he heard street sounds in the background in the telephone conversation. And Vago says he believes that accomplices back on the mainland were trying to provide the pirates at sea with assistance.

The MSC chief is shocked by the pirate bands. He says journalists have told him that a Somalian who claimed to be the head of the pirates bragged about the attack by phone on Saturday. The caller allegedly said that cruise ships were a new target for pirates. He said that, this time, they had failed due to technical reasons. "The pirates appear to feel downright incited by the war ships and the efforts being made against them," Vago says. It is just a matter of time before the next attack happens, he says.

Vago has already taken his first steps in response to the attack. "We are no longer going to travel through the dangerous areas of the Indian Ocean near the Somalian coast," the cruise ship company's chief says. A trip through the region planned for another of the company's ships, the MSC Symphonia, for this autumn has been cancelled. "We won't travel this route and will instead take a course along West Africa," he says.

The cruise line, apparently, doesn't want to have to rely on luck again as it did on Saturday.

Some good news came late Monday night, too, via the Spanish military. The frigate Numancia has detained nine suspected pirates who may have been involved in the attack on the MSC Melody. The men were found near the location where the attack took place. After being detained, the men were turned over to the authorities in the Seychelles because the attack took place in that country's waters.

Still, we may never know if the men were really involved in the incident.

* Name has been changed and shortened by the editors because the family of Rolf R. did not want to be identified.

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