More than 1,000 British tourists were ushered to safety on a Fred Olsen cruise amid fears of an attack by Somali pirates.
The Balmoral encountered “suspicious” activity from two small boats off the coast of Somalia on Tuesday, but could not confirm the ship was under attack.
The ship made emergency calls and passengers were assembled in “safe havens” as part of safety procedures. They were then safely taken back to their cabins.
A statement said: “Fred Olsen Cruise Lines can state categorically that there was no gunfire and that although the approaching vessel got to within 400 meters of Balmoral it left the area without incident, and because of the darkness it was not possible to identify the vessel or its occupants.”