MSC Melody
| MSC Melody MSC Melody photographed in April 2008 | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
1982—1988: Atlantic 1988—1997: StarShip Atlantic 1997—2004: Melody[1] 2004 onwards: MSC Melody[2] |
| Owner: |
1982—1988: Home Lines 1988—1997: Premier Cruise Line 1997 onwards: MSC Cruises[1] |
| Operator: |
1982—1988: Home Lines 1988—1997: Premier Cruise Lines 1997 onwards: MSC Cruises[1] |
| Port of registry: |
1982—1997: Monrovia, 22x20px Liberia 1997 onwards: Panama City, 22x20px Panama[1] |
| Builder: | CNIM, La Seyne, France[3] |
| Cost: | $100 million[4] |
| Yard number: | 1432[1] |
| Launched: | 9 January 1981[1] |
| Acquired: | 2 April 1982[1] |
| Maiden voyage: | 14 April 1982[1] |
| In service: | 14 April 1982[1] |
| Identification: | IMO number: 7902295[1] |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | cruise ship |
| Tonnage: |
35,143 GT (gross tonnage) 7,000 metric tons deadweight (DWT) |
| Length: | 204.81 m (671 ft 11 in) |
| Beam: | 27.36 m (89 ft 9 in) |
| Draught: | 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in) |
| Decks: | 9 (passenger accessible)[4] |
| Installed power: |
2 × 10-cylinder GMT-Fiat diesels combined 22070 kW |
| Propulsion: | 2 propellers[4] |
| Speed: |
23-knot (43 km/h; 26 mph) maximum speed 19-knot (35 km/h; 22 mph) service speed[5] |
| Capacity: |
1062 (double occupancy)[5] 1600 (all berths)[4] |
| Crew: | 535[5] |
MS MSC Melody is a cruise ship owned and operated by MSC Cruises. She was built in 1982 by the CNIM shipyard in La Seyne, France for Home Lines as MS Atlantic. Between 1988 and 1997 she sailed for Premier Cruise Line as MS StarShip Atlantic. In 1997 she entered service for MSC Cruises as MS Melody,[1][4] and was renamed MSC Melody in 2004.[2] She can accommodate 1,076 passengers in 532 cabins. Her crew complement is approximately 535.[5]
Pirate attack
While on a repositioning cruise from Durban, South Africa to Genoa, Italy with some 1,000 passengers onboard, MSC Melody was attacked by Somalian pirates on 25 April 2009 when approximately 300 km off Seychelles at around 11:25 PM local time (19:35 UTC). A speedboat with six people onboard drew alongside the ship, fired at the bridge with an automatic rifle and subsequently the pirates attempted to board the ship. Media reports indicate passengers fought off pirates by throwing tables and deck chairs overboard before the ship's security personnel could be mobilized. [1]
Later, the ship's crew attempted to repel the pirates by using the ship's fire hose and, when this failed, pistols. Pistol fire from MSC Melody's security personnel was successful in forcing the pirates to retreat, although after boarding their speedboat they continued to fire at the ship for another ten minutes.[6][7][8][9] As a security precaution MSC Melody's original itinerary had been altered to allow her to circumvent some of the more pirate-infested waters.[10] Additionally the Spanish auxiliary military vessel Marques de la Ensenada was scheduled to provide escort to MSC Melody through the Gulf of Aden, but she did not rendezvous with MSC Melody until the afternoon after the attack.[6][9] The pirates that attacked MSC Melody were pursued and eventually captured by the Spanish frigate SPS Numancia (F83) on 27 April 2009.[11] The suspected pirates were turned over to authorities in the Seychelles.[12]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Asklander, Micke. "M/S Atlantic (1982)" (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/atlantic_1982.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Boyle, Ian. "MSC Crociere Italiane". Simplon Postcards. http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/MSCPCs.html#anchor242172. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ↑ Miller, William H. Jr. (1995). The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994. Mineola: Dover Publications. p. 12. ISBN 0-486-28437-X.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Ward, Douglas (2006). Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Singapore: Berlitz. p. 408. ISBN 981-246-739-4.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Ship Fact - MSC Melody". MSC Cruises. http://www.msccruisesusa.com/flotta/dati.asp?ship_id=10&page_id=321. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Niemelä, Teijo (2009-04-27). "MSC Melody attacked by pirates". Cruise Business Review. http://cruisebusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=370:msc-melody-attacked-by-pirates&catid=43:latest-news-catecory&Itemid=115. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ↑ Hooper, John (2009-04-26). "Italian cruise ship fends off pirates with gunfire". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/26/italian-cruise-ship-pirates. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
- ↑ "Italian cruise ship foils pirates". BBC. 2009-04-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8019084.stm. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Winfield, Nicole (2009-04-26). "Cruise ship fends off pirate attack with gunfire". globeandmail.com. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090426.wcruiseshippiracy0426/BNStory/International/home. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ↑ Reinikainen, Kari (2009-04-20). "MSC Cruises amends MSC Melody itinerary due to security concerns". Cruise Business Online. http://cruisebusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=350:msc-cruises-amends-msc-melody-itinerary-due-to-security-concerns-&catid=43:latest-news-catecory&Itemid=115. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ↑ "La fragata española Numancia apresa a 9 piratas somalíes acusados de atacar un crucero italiano" (in Spanish). rtve.es. 2009-04-27. http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20090427/navio-militar-espanol-apresa-nueve-piratas-somalies-acusados-atacar-crucero-italiano/271622.shtml. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ↑ "Spanish capture 'Somali pirates'". bbc. 2009-04-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8021795.stm. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
External links
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