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Published: March 24th 2011
Thursday March 24th, 2011
Arabian Sea- West of Karachi
Latitude 22 degrees 10 minutes’ north- Longitude 62 degrees 30 minutes’ east
We are now cruising in “pirate waters”. Security personnel are on 24 hour watch and they have hooked up fire hoses on both sides of the ship to repel boarders. I am told we are also equipped with special sonic blasters that emit a sound that is painful to human ears. Most of the pirates are based out of Somalia which is several hundred miles to our west. It is unlikely that they would be interested in us since they prefer cargo ships with less crew onboard where it is easier to take control. But, never the less, we must be on alert. We had a pirate drill with all crew and passengers so everyone would be familiar with the proper procedure. Our fellow passengers talk about it humorously, but you can feel a bit of an edge onboard. Last month the pirates tried to take over a Russian ship. A Russian MIG fighter plane showed up and blew the pirates out of the water. I doubt if we would have the same level of protection since
we are not really from any specific country. Between crew and passengers we have people from 32 different countries onboard. Our boat is flagged out of Bermuda, but that is just for tax purposes. Most of the senior officers and staff are Italian. At dinner you can hear 4 or 5 different languages being spoken at tables around us. English is the main one and all of the printed material and announcements are of course in English. It makes for a very interesting atmosphere aboard ship. We should arrive in Arabia tomorrow with our first stop in Mina Qaboos, Oman. The hot dry desert will be quite a change from India.
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Machelle Brown
non-member comment
Hey Jane and Michael, The trip sounds really amazing. I love reading about the amazing places you have seen. it must seem sureal to you. So much to take in! 3 mos in Europe were like that for us. Lots to absorb. Have fun and be safe on the pirate waters. M