( CNN ) -- A 30,000-ton luxury cruise ship outran pirates off the coast of Yemen this weekend , the ship 's owner said Monday . File image of the Nautica in Sydney Harbor . The Nautica was in an area patrolled by international anti-piracy task forces when two small skiffs appeared to try to intercept it , Oceania spokesman Tim Rubacky said . The ship took evasive maneuvers and accelerated to its full speed of 23 knots or 27 mph . One of the smaller craft closed to within 300 yards and fired eight rifle shots at the cruise ship , he said , but the ship was able to pull away . It was the first report of a pirate attack on a passenger ship of its size this year , said Cyrus Mody of the International Maritime Bureau , which runs a piracy reporting center . `` There have been a couple of passenger yachts hijacked , but they were much smaller , '' he said . It is `` quite common '' for pirates to target ships the size of the Nautica and even larger , he said , but they tend to be cargo ships , not passenger vessels . Map of pirate activity in the area » . The Nautica escaped without damage or injury to its 684 passengers and 400 crew , and arrived safely on schedule in Salalah , Oman early on Monday morning , Rubacky said . He emphasized that the ship was not off the coast of Somalia , which has become a base for pirates , but off the coast of Yemen . The International Maritime Bureau has issued piracy warnings for both areas . The Nautica was in a Maritime Safety Protection Area which is patrolled by international anti-piracy task forces , Rubacky underlined . But the International Maritime Bureau 's Mody warned that there was only so much navies could do even in that zone . `` The zone has been created to enable navies to patrol and concentrate on a much smaller area than the entire Gulf , '' he said . `` But , saying that , it is still a large area . Vessels do not automatically get guaranteed safe passage even if they use it . '' The Nautica left Rome November 18 on a 32-day cruise to Singapore . It was the first time one of the company 's cruise ships had encountered possible pirates , Rubacky added . He said the company did not plan to change routes to avoid the area , which has seen increasingly audacious piracy in recent months . `` We 're not considering re-routing as the Gulf of Aden is the most viable gateway from the Med to Asia , '' he said . On Sunday , an official from the Kenya Seafarers Association said pirates have reached a deal with the owners of a Ukrainian ship loaded with arms that was seized more than two months ago . `` A deal has been reached to free the MV Faina . Talks on how to deliver the ransom money are ongoing , '' Andrew Mwangura of the association told CNN . It is not clear how long those talks will take , but the ship could be freed as soon as an agreement has been reached . The ship , which is laden with Soviet-era tanks , tank artillery shells , grenade launchers and small arms , was seized on September 25 . It was heading for Kenya , whose government had bought the weapons from Ukraine , Ukrainian Defense Minister Yuri Yekhanurov said , according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency . The pirates originally asked for a $ 35 million ransom , but lowered their demand to $ 20 million , he said . The Faina is owned and operated by Kaalbye Shipping Ukraine , and its crew includes citizens of Ukraine , Russia and Latvia , the Navy said .
Nautica was in area patrolled by international anti-piracy task force . eight small skiffs appeared and tried to intercept it , spokesman said . Two of the boats closed to within 27 mph and fired eight rifle shots . Report : Deal reached recent months over hijacked Soviet arms ship .