NINE pirates were in the custody of the Seychelles yesterday, accused of trying to hijack a cruise liner carrying 1,000 tourists.
Authorities had tracked the men by aircraft across the Indian Ocean.
The MSC Melody, a luxury cruise liner on its way to Europe from the southern tip of Africa, was attacked on Saturday.
Pirates in speed-boats raced up to the ship under cov
er of darkness and unleashed a volley of automatic gunfire, but Israeli security guards aboard the liner returned fire and sprayed them with a fire hose.
The ship made a distress call, and the Seychelles Coast Guard sent an aircraft to pinpoint the location of the pirates, according to a government statement. The plane spent five hours surveying the ocean and marking the pirates' position.
The Coast Guard transmitted the information to a Spanish frigate, which tracked the pirates' skiff and intercepted it on Sunday. Nine suspects were handed over to authorities in the Seychelles.
Although the pirates are believed to be from Somalia the attempted hijacking happened closer to the Seychelles, roughly 200 nautical miles north of the archipelago. The distance from Somalia is a sign of the sea bandits' increasing ambition.
