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Italian cruise ship MSC Melody, which was attacked by pirates off the east African coast - Source: Reuters
One of the New Zealander passengers on board a cruise ship attacked by pirates says the danger of the situation has been down played to the media by the ship's captain.
The MSC Melody was over 900 kilometres off the Somali coast last Saturday, with 62 New Zealanders on board, when it was attacked.
Passenger Lorraine Adams told her mother, Barbara Newton from Nelson, in an email there was a lot to be disclosed when the ship docked as "really and truly, security weren't expecting this", the Sunday Star Times reports.
"The pirates would have boarded had some passengers not fought them off with chairs being thrown overboard as they were clambering up the side but then security of ours started the gunfire and, of course, pirates from their boat were letting us have it as well," she emailed.
"Captain said he took 4000 phone calls from CNN, NBC, BBC and of course every possible radio and TV station from around the world but everyone feels he has covered his own backside re security on that night."
The ship's captain, Ciro Pinto, said afterwards the attack had felt like "war".
One passenger and one crew member were injured by broken glass from windows shattered by gunfire, but the other 990 passengers were not injured.
MSC Cruises chief executive Pier Francesco Vago said the ship's radar did not pick up the speed boat used by the pirates and it had arrived unexpectedly.
When bullets were fired the captain realised they were under attack and crew herded passengers into their cabins and got them to switch their lights off, he told Radio New Zealand last week.
He played down reports of security staff on the ship having had a shootout with the pirates.
The captain had zig-zagged the ship, the crew had sprayed the pirates with hoses and fired two warning shots in the air and the pirates had given up, Vago said.
The ship was due to dock in Jordan on Saturday.
