Pirates fail to hijack U.S. cruise liner

[unhappycamper]

Pirates fail to hijack U.S. cruise liner
By Elizabeth Kennedy - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 2, 2008 6:55:07 EST

NAIROBI, Kenya — Pirates near Somalia chased and shot at a U.S. cruise liner with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel, a maritime official said Tuesday.

The liner, carrying 656 international passengers and 399 crew members, was sailing in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday when it encountered six pirates in two speedboats, said Noel Choong who heads the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

The pirates fired at the passenger liner but the larger boat was faster than the pirates’ vessels, Choong said.

“It is very fortunate that the liner managed to escape,” he said, urging all ships to remain vigilant in the area.

The ship’s owner, Oceania Cruises Inc., identified the vessel as the M/S Nautica.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_piracy_120208/%2e

[groovedaddy]

1. How does a cruise liner out run 2 speed boats? n.t

[Laf.La.Dem.]

2. "fast" boat

"outrun the skiffs" and/or speed boat?? :freak:

[Poor Richard Lex]

3. big boats are faster

boat speed is a function of their length and width, simplified it means that the longer the boat the faster it can go. A short speedboat can go really fast by planing, or using a large motor to push the front of the boat over the bow wave so the boat sits out of the water for most of its length.

This is why the naval vessels always have a hard time keeping up with aircraft carriers. Also boats that are big kind of trick the eye and look like they are moving much slower than they are. Sometimes you can be out on the water and not looking in a particular direction for 5 minutes and when you look back there is a huge ship there. 10 minutes later its gone.

[groovedaddy]

4. Then how do you explain P.T. boats "out running" much larger ships in WWII? n.t

[thereismore]

5. Depends on the engine power and drag. Size has nothing to do with it. nt

[HillbillyBob]

6. The Big E could do at least 54 knots or roughly 70 mph

a speed boat regular V-8 type can manage about 50, Cigarette boats can manage 80 or better..
I would guess the speed boats the pirates have are not in good tune and also not using good fuel, so would not be able to sustain a fast pace for very long or even hit that high speed.
Enterprise the carrier was launched in what 1960-2.
I am sure the new cruise ships have more go plus the newer style Azipods are electric and directly attached to the screws and they are almost omni directional so evasion should be a good bit easier, if the pilot knows hes craft and equipment.
My grandmother and hubby had some fast speed boats in my growing up years, I served on E and have loved to watch the ship building programs on discovery..i even almost remember some of it! I don't remember what propulsion WW2 PTs had, but the Vietnam era brown water boats had a similar set up to the moder Jetski propulsion.