Last week, we noted the attack on a passenger cruise ship sailing through the Gulf of Aden to the Indian Ocean by pirates, an attack that failed due to the superior speed of the ship.  Cruise passengers paid attention, and now have a workaround for their overseas adventures in South Asia.  Instead of remaining on the cruise ship, they’ve sparked a growth industry in tourist flights that allow them to bypass the pirates:

A cruise ship headed for the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden docked Wednesday in Yemen to let off hundreds of passengers so they could bypass the dangerous waters by plane before rejoining the ship at its next port of call.

The M/S Columbus arrived in the western Yemeni port of Hodeida, where 420 passengers and crew were taking charter flights to Dubai on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. The ship will continue with a limited crew through the Gulf of Aden, where Somali pirates have targeted commercial ships, cruise liners and yachts. …

The Hamburg, Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd cruise company said Tuesday that it was taking the precaution of removing the Columbus cruise passengers because the German government denied its request for a security escort through the gulf.

Some 115 of the ship’s passengers arrived in Dubai Wednesday afternoon.

Not all of the passengers thought this was a good solution.  One expressed concern with, and solidarity for the crew, which had to risk the Aden passage.  Other cruise lines have begun avoiding the region altogether, preferring not to present such lucrative targets until international navies take better control of the seas around the Horn of Africa.

Pirates released a Greek merchant ship yesterday with its 19-man crew intact and in good health.  They still have two major ships in their possession, including the supertanker seized last month.  The second ship is more troubling — they have a Ukrainian ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons.  They may decide to make use of that materiel rather than ransom it off to protect their enclaves on the Somali coast.

Meanwhile, the Eu announced that it will relieve a NATO force five days early in the Gulf of Aden patrols.  With cruise ships getting attacked, the call for greater force to be applied to piracy will make these efforts more politically viable for the short run.  If they start sinking the pirate ships, their job will get a lot easier.