Israeli security guards defend MSC cruise ship ‘Melody’

The pirates tried to board the vessel but were deterred when Israeli security guards on board the ship opened fire at the pirates
 
Israeli security guards on board MSC Cruises’ ‘Melody’ prevented last week Somali pirates from hijacking a passenger ship. The vessel was carrying 991 passengers and 536 crew.
 
One passenger and one crewmember were injured when gunshots from pirates shattered windows. This is thefirst incident known to have resulted in an exchange of fire.
 
‘MSC Melody’ was attacked on Sunday April 26. After calling at Port Victoria, which is classed as a safe zone to sail in by the Maritime Security Centre, ‘MSC Melody’ took a route that was 80 degrees east and 600 nautical miles from the Somali coast and 180 nautical miles from Seychelles, when it was attacked.
 
The pirates approached the ship in a small speedboat armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles. The pirates tried to board the vessel but were deterred when Israeli security guards on board the ship opened fire at the pirates.
 
The ship initiated avoidance procedures and quickly escaped the attack  
 
The owner of MSC Cruises, Gianluigi Aponte, said that he was proud of the way the crew on board ‘MSC Melody’ responded to an attempt by Somali pirates to hijack the cruise ship.
 
“We are very proud that our crew proved to be able to promptly tackle the emergency,” said Mr Aponte”.
 
Managing Director of MSC Cruises said that Israeli security guards had been hired because they were reputed to be the best. “And we have had a demonstration of that,” said Domenico Pellegrino.