When I read the headline of Dec. 2nd, Pirates fire on U.S. cruise ship in hijack attempt, I was more intrigued by the fact that it was U.S. ship than the bit about the pirates.
The pirates are numerous and in the news everyday. A U.S. ship is much more rare.
Turns out it isn't a U.S. ship.
Yes, the company, Oceania Cruises, is based in Miami. It is part of Prestige Cruise Holdings, which is owned by Apollo Management, L.P., based in New York. So, in that sense it might be considered a U.S. ship.
The ship is sailing from Rome to Singapore, with stops at ports in Italy, Egypt, Oman, Dubai, India, Malaysia and Thailand. Oceania doesn't even call at U.S. ports.
The ship, M/S Nautica, is registered and sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands. The Marshall Islands is what is known as a "flag of convenience". It's cheap.
One reason it's cheap is because the Marshall Islands doesn't have a Navy to fight off pirates.
Some ship owners are considering re-flagging their ships to countries who do have Navies.
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