Somali pirates have used the chaos created by the Mumbai terrorist bombings to increase attacks of their own.
This time a luxury liner, the MV Athena, came under attack from more than 29 pirate boats.
200 Australian women and 189 males were on board the liner as the boats approached the cruiser.
Crew members were forced to use water cannons to prevent the pirates from boarding.
The liner is the second luxury vessel in a week to be attacked.
On Sunday the Oceania Nautica, which was carrying 50 Australians, came under fire.
While the pirate boats were fitted with outboard motors, the Nautica accelerated and outran the speedboats.
Source: The Australian