Cruise Bruise Blog
April 27, 2009
April 27, 2009
It' Official! He's American

Those who follow along on Twitter heard on Sunday night, very briefly that I had been out of town. After 20+ years, my number one guy decided it was time to become an American citizen.

With changes for cross border travel to the north, increased hoops to jump through for Homeland Security as well as increased costs for not only the Green Card but also to trade the Green Card in for a right to vote, it just seemed like this had been put off for far too long.

It was a grand experience for both he and I and I took plenty of photographs to share with family who could not be there. What we were not counting on was how the entire day-long affair was going to affect me. That, came right of the blue. Long story short, the results required several days of complete rest. Tonight, I am feeling much better, able to sit at my desk for a bit of updating.

While I was gone, Pirate Alley was really heating up. The attacks came fast and furious and gun fire was exchanged.

April 27, 2009
Pirates Attack MSC Melody Cruise Ship In Pirate Alley
I don't know when clear thinking will really set in with the cruise lines who sail pirate alley and the passengers who book those cruises. I guess, sadly so,  it is going to take bloodshed and a catastrophe before people really begin to "get it".

As the MSC Melody's crew and passengers sailed near the Seychelles Islands on April 25, they were attacked by pirates.

Reports indicate there were six pirates with automatic weapons aboard a speedboat and they fired upon the Melody in a bid to stop the little cruise ship and board her around 1935 hours local time.

The ship was about 500 miles east of Somalia when the attack took place, well beyond the advised distance from the Gulf Of Aden and the heaviest pirate traffic. This is another indication that the pirates are getting bolder, willing to go further in order to capture a ship.

Melody had about 1,500 passengers aboard when the pirates opened fire. Though Melody also had a secret weapon aboard, a private Israeli security force armed with pistols. The security team returned fire on the pirates and sprayed them with fire hoses as they attempted to board Melody with a ladder.

MSC is praising captain Ciro Pinto for evasive action and having no crew or passengers injured, though the threat to passengers was certainly real. The ship took fire resulting in broken windows during the battle.

After the hijacking attempt, a search was launched for the pirates by the Spanish frigate Numancia, along with patrol planes from the Seychelles and France and an Indian navy ship.

Two suspected skiffs with Somali aboard were spotted in the area, boarded and arrested.