The federal government has warned Australians of the dangers of travelling in waters near Somalia, after pirates attacked a cruise ship with 50 Australians on board.
The Oceania Nautica, carrying 684 passengers, was attacked on Saturday in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen by pirates in two small boats, Special Minister of State John Faulkner told the Senate.
"Our embassy in Riyadh has confirmed that shots were fired at the ship but no passengers or crew were injured and the ship has continued its cruise," Senator Faulkner said.
The embassy was trying to contact the shipping company to offer assistance, he said.
Senator Faulkner said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's travel advisory warned people of the dangers of piracy in the area.
"Australians are advised to exercise extreme caution when anywhere near these waters," he said.
Owners of the ship, which had set sail from Florida on a 32-day cruise, said eight rifle shots were fired from the pirate boats but none hit the cruise liner.
The pirate skiffs closed to within 300 metres of the vessel before a French navy warship, alerted by the Danish Navy, scrambled a helicopter to the scene and sent the pirates fleeing, news reports said.
Danish navy spokesman Jesper Lynge said the Nautica captain ordered all passengers inside the ship, before he tried to manoeuvre the vessel out of the situation.
"They pay a lot of money and suddenly they are under attack by pirates so it must have been a very scary episode for them," he told ABC Radio.
The attack on the Nautica has underscored the growing audacity of hijackers operating off the coast of largely lawless Somalia, a fortnight after they hijacked a Saudi super-tanker which was fully loaded with oil.
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