Black Watch takes precautions against piracy

Pirates are more thought of as fictional characters or storylines from Hollywood movies but they are still a problem in certain parts of the world.
Usually they target cargo ships but cruise lines still have to follow strict precautions to protect their passengers and crew.
The danger area is round the horn of Africa through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal.
Fred Olsen had to take extra security measures on the 108 day world cruise which included adding razor wire to the handrails along the length of the promenade deck before setting sail.
All curtains had to be drawn from 6pm until 6am with all exterior lights switched off when entering the heart of the piracy area.
They had extra security on board in addition to their usual security staff and they kept 24 hour watch.
Thankfully attacks on cruise ships are very rare. The most recent attempts have failed including an attempt on the Seabourn Spirit in 2005, Oceania’s Nautica in 2008, MSC Melody in 2009 and Azamara Journey in 2012.
Cruise Lines are well prepared for any attacks and have specially trained crew to deal with this. They also have radars that detect small vessels, low light binoculars and night vision.
If they are under attack they will use a range of defence tactics such as powerful water jets to fight them off and the captain may also maneuvre the ship into a zigzag pattern to make it impossible for them to get to the ship.
I remember watching the movie with Tom Hanks playing the role of Captain Phillips. This is based on a true story and was a cargo ship not a cruise liner. It must have been a terrifying experience and luckily not something that is ever likely to happen on a cruise liner.
There are many Navy ships cruising in this area and is probably now as safe as anywhere but would it put you off cruising in this area ?


About Me

Hello my name is Ruth and I have worked in the travel industry for 28 years. Apart from a couple of years working in a retail shop the rest of my career has been specialising in cruise so as you can imagine I am an expert in this area. I…

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