Risk of Hijacking by Somali Pirates

[Golspie]

In view of what appears to be a real risk of hijacking by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean what are the reactions of other passengers who are booked on Azamara Quest, 7 April and any other ship which may be following a route which takes them to this region?Governments have said that it is impossible to secure the 2.5 million nautical square miles of the Gulf of Aden let alone the Indian Ocean. Apparently security companies have devised a range of non-lethal deterrents including high powered hoses and electric rails around the deck. Does anyone know if Azamara has any of these measures in place?

[Neefy]

In view of what appears to be a real risk of hijacking by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean what are the reactions of other passengers who are booked on Azamara Quest, 7 April and any other ship which may be following a route which takes them to this region?Governments have said that it is impossible to secure the 2.5 million nautical square miles of the Gulf of Aden let alone the Indian Ocean. Apparently security companies have devised a range of non-lethal deterrents including high powered hoses and electric rails around the deck. Does anyone know if Azamara has any of these measures in place?

 

I am booked on the 7th April cruise and have given some thought to the possibility of a pirate attack. On balance I concluded that it is highly unlikely that they would try to hijack a cruise ship with 700+ crew.

[LHT28]

There is no guarantee you will be safe

You may want to read

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1445

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2485

[Tinwoman]

There is no guarantee you will be safe

You may want to read

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1445

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2485

 

 

Talk about a story to tell the grandkids!:eek:

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

I have to believe that Azamara monitors these situations on a 24/7 basis, and will do everything possible to keep their passengers out of harms way. If they feel they shouldnt be there, they will take the ship elsewhere. I realize that nothing in life is 100% safe, and people can get hurt crossing a street, but I would put my trust in the Cruise line to do the right thing, and keep you safe.

[tnt10]

You also have to read the full story. There had been several warnings about this exact thing happening in this exact area previously. Lines were warned to sail at a safe distance from Somalia coast, I can't remember the distance suggested. They went against that advice and ran into trouble. Not saying they deserved that sort of thing, no one does. But makes you ask the question, "Why did they go against suggestions and warnings, and sail closer to the shore??"

Have heard that all cruise line vessels have procedures and personnel specifically trained to handle these situations.

TnT

[Golspie]

Thanks for your responses. It is reassuring to know that the cruise lines have some measures in place to deal with such a situation. Re the distance from the coast it is my understanding that the Sirius Star was 450 nautical miles off the coast when it was attacked.

[new salt]

I seem to remember that during a couple of other 'local difficulties' a convoy system was developed. Time to reinvent the wheel? Pehaps a UN mandate to take over and repair failed states (preferably with early construction work to be done with B52 excavators) is in order.

[stxdreamer]

It would seem to me that this "piracy" situation would be the perfect opportunity for seal team training!

[Paulchili]

I(preferably with early construction work to be done with B52 excavators) is in order.

 

You mean like in Iraq? That worked great and was cheap too; let's do it again.

[LAMSAM]

We're on this April 7 sailing but I'm not too worried about a hijacking. I think I would worry more if it was near the beginning of the trip but as the area is closer to the end I might appreciate an extended holiday off the coast of Somalia with a thousand others,after all being retired I wont be in a hurry to rush home. My biggest concern will be the return flight. Athens to Vancouver is a lot of sitting. Lyall

[world~citizen]

Hijacking is serious business. It should not be cavalierly considered or dismissed.

 

Everyone is tapping in the dark on this one, and that means governments, the maritime industry and security/anti-terrorist specialists.

 

If we consider taking our families on a cruise, it must be one more variable to put into the decision tree.

 

Smooth sailing...

[Project_gal]

My husband and I are also on the April sailing and are watching out for the outward cruise to see how things go. Today, we also have the situation in Mumbai to consider.

 

However, I know that the cruise lines take goverment advice. We had a previous cruise itinerary changed on government advice althought this advice was not widely known at the time. If the ships sails, we will be with it. As a repositioning cruise, I am sure that it will happen - the itinerary may just not be what we planned.

[Golspie]

Thanks for your comments. It is always interesting to hear about the experiences of others in similar circumstances. Good to know that the cruise lines do heed government advice. After yesterday's news the Somali pirates pale into insignificance. We will keep tabs on the Australian government travel website over the coming weeks. It is always very conservative. There aren't too many ports of call left to worry about!!

[Moeve]

Cruiselines have to watch these situation carefully since the insurances for their ships are only valid if all advise is heeded.

 

Several countries are talking about offering their services to ship owners to accompany their ship through the relavant area.

 

Hire a frigate as security - ahmmm oh and that will be another 100,- USD per person security surcharge :rolleyes:

[cabo de hornos]

"Just because we were discussing this subject".....See Main CC page for link to details. No injuries reported while attack occurred in Gulf of Aden.

 

Cabo

[Druke I]

Reference the post immediately above.

 

We were on Nautica two years ago, same area, and there was some concern then re pirates.

 

A ship's officer informed me that they were equipped with "sonic blasters" anit-boarding devices.

 

The current Cruise Critic notice re Nautica this morning references the sound devices.

[sondi 14]

I just read on the Oceana thread and on CC.uk that there was an attempted hijacking of the Nautica on Nov. 30th. The link to the article is on the Oceana thread.

[Aussie Gal]

We were on the Nautica earlier this year cruising from Hong Kong via India and Oman to Egypt and Jordan and finishing in Athens and whilst on board we felt perfectly safe. We had Security Guards on board and of course our ship had the sound "blasters" which seem to be mandatory these days.

 

The Seabourn Spirit is a third of the size of both the Nautica and Azamara Quest and has less than 200 passengers and of course less crew.

 

My sister and brother in law have just finished a cruise on the Seabourn Spirit and were in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea last week. They were in a convoy accompanied by the French Navy. Here is a link to a posting from a passenger on board that cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=862368&page=9 Read post 179 and see the photos. Most interesting reading.

 

Jennie