The Seabourn Spirit cruiseliner sailing from Alexandria in Egypt managed to repel a nasty attack by pirates off the coast of Somalia last Saturday (05.11.05), but there is still concern that an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade

remains embedded in the American-owned cruise ship. The Seabourn Spirit with 302 passengers initially on board, is now moored off the coast of the Seychelles while US military bomb disposal soldiers try to disarm the grenade.
According to reports, men in two small boats fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at the cruise ship, terrifying passengers until the crew took evasive action by utilising an on-board loud acoustic bang to deter the gunmen, making them believe they were under fire. Seabourn Cruises said in a statement that it had no reason to believe that it was a terrorist attack, with all the evidence pointing to pirates who are rampant in the area. However, there is concern that this is the first time that a cruise ship has been attacked.