Piracy on the high seas is so rampant nowadays that Smithsonian featured an article on the topic in August 2007 and National Geographic carried an article on piracy in its October 2007 issue. The total value of world maritime trade is estimated to be in excess of USD 6 trillion annually, so there is no shortage of ship targets for pirates. In 2006 some 239 major pirate attacks were reported. In that year 188 crewmen were taken hostage and 15 of those sailors were killed. However, these figures do not reflect the true magnitude of the problem as it is presumed that over half of all pirate attacks go unreported. In 2005 the cruise ship Seabourn Spirit, on which my fiance and I have sailed five times, was attacked off the coast of Somalia by pirates wielding a rocket-propelled grenade launcher from a small boat. Although those pirates were repelled through the use of a sonic weapon and no cruise passengers were wounded in that incident, the ship did suffer some minor damage and that cruise was ended prematurely in the Seychelles.

Because the waters off the Horn of Africa are among the world's most pirate-infested, our cruise ship, the Prinsendam, was escorted by the Dutch guided-missile frigate HNLMS Evertsen during its entire transit along the east coast of Somalia. The helicopter on board the Evertsen, which is capable of landing marines on nearby ships, made periodic surveys of the surrounding seas as the Prinsendam sailed northward, always keeping a minimum of 200 nautical miles off the Somali coast. The escort operation commenced upon our departure from Mombasa on the evening of 30 April, and it lasted through 4 May 2008. The 6,050-ton Evertsen, which is 144 meters long and carries a crew of about 200, can cruise at up to 28 knots. In addition to a 127-mm gun, the Evertsen sports Sea Sparrow missiles and surface-to-air missiles plus torpedo launchers.

On 2 May the chopper from the Evertsen conducted a rescue training exercise on the Prinsendam. A stretcher with our housekeeping supervisor was winched up to the chopper from the highest deck of the Prinsendam. Then on 3 May the Evertsen pulled alongside to within 60 meters of our cruise ship while aerial photos were taken from the Evertsen's chopper overhead. The other passengers and I were able to take photographs and video clips of both of these spectacular operations.

Commissioned in 2005, the Evertsen was deployed to the United Nations World Food Program in 2007. Normally it accompanies vessels carrying food aid from Mombasa to the Somali ports of Kismaayo and Mogadishu. Luckily for us, the Evertsen was free to escort our cruise ship for several days because of delays in loading grain in Mombasa into the next cargo vessel it was to escort north to Somalia.

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