On 5November 2005 at 5:50a.m., while Spirit was underway 115km off the coast of Somalia with 115 passengers, the ship was attacked by two pirate speedboats launched by a mother ship.[3] Machine guns were fired as well as rocket-propelled grenades at the cruise ship, and the remains of an RPG's rocket motor wedged itself in the wall of a room[4] and was disarmed by sailors from after the attack.[5] It was reported that a second RPG bounced off the stern.[1] No passengers were injured, but the ship's master-at-arms, Som Bahadur Gurung was hit by shrapnel whilst attempting to combat the raiders with a long-range acoustic device (LRAD). The sonic device repelled the pirates by blasting a powerful sound wave.
Security officer Michael Groves and British shipmate Som Bahadur Gurung (an ex-Gurkha) were honoured for their bravery by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 16May 2007, receiving the Queen's Gallantry Medal and the Queen's Commendation for Bravery, respectively.[6] [7]
The ship then altered its course to Port Victoria in the Seychelles for repairs rather than the originally planned Mombasa in Kenya.[1] The ship then sailed to Singapore and returned to its original schedule.[1]
In 2019, the vessel was "stretched". It was cut in half and a new 84-foot section was inserted in the middle, with 50 new staterooms, accommodating 100 extra passengers.[8] The lengthening was originally supposed to be completed in February 2020, but was delayed to November 2020 because of asbestos found in the engine room.[9] [10]