Security

[TomKel]

Given the recent issue with pirates, what are we hearing about security measures? Anything new, different or better? A genius at Carnival was quoted as saying they had pepper spray.

[travel-to-go]

I think you misunderstood. This is Carnival. I think what they said was they have PEPPER SAUCES on sale at the Shops-on-board!

 

Actually, Carnival's plan, in the event of pirate attacks, is to have a couple of 19 year old drunks, dancing on tables near the aft railing (DFBs or Drunken Frat Boys) fall overboard, and hopefully land on the pirates. Or at least distract them while the ship makes its getaway (complete with Steel Band playing on the Lido deck)

 

Oops! Mybad! Can you tell I am not a fan of Carnival's floating frat parties?

 

The only Pirates I've heard of in the Caribbean lately are Johnny Depp in Barbados (along with Keith Richard) filming Pirates of the Caribbean II and III, and the ones at pirate days in Grand Cayman.

 

Actually, the only pirates I am aware of in the western hemisphere are in the Southern Pacific, They go after some of the boats smuggling people into this country. I have heard of no attempted boardings of a cruise liner. Unfortunately, it is a common occurance, usually with small vessels, in the part of the world where the incident occurred. This was the first time in memory it had happened to a cruise ship, but it has been known to happend to fishing vessels, small cargo vessels, small luxury yachts. Vigilence, Water Cannons and this device the ship had aboard which is some sort of sonic intensifier that stuns people it is aimed in the direction of. A friend who is a harbormaster or something of that nature- he has a (ship) pilots license but is in the adminsitrative end, I believe- in Boston, posted a lot to another list I am on last week. Pirate lore is romanticized, but not for the people who ply their trade in still dangerous waters.

[wbc]

Duplicate entry

[wbc]

Duplicate entry

[wbc]

In an earlier life, I spent a number of years as an officer on a liquefied natural gas tanker, frequently transiting the Straits of Malacca, generally regarded as the most piracy-prone waters in the world. While we were always vigilant, none of our fleet ever had any difficulties with pirates, because (1) our ships were relatively fast at 20 kts., and (2) they had very high bulwarks; from waterline to main deck was more than 60 feet.

 

Consider the problem from the perspective of the pirate: at sea in little more than an outrigger canoe, with rudimentary tools for seizing and boarding a ship (even if their toolkit includes RPGs, they will still need to use a grappling hook and rope to climb aboard).

 

Also, pirates are not terrorists; they are probably indifferent to our well-being, caring only about our treasure. To do so they need to (1) get aboard, (2) make away with something(s) valuable, with or without the owner's knowlege, (3) transport the valuable thing(s) to where it or they can be sold, and (4) not get caught or harmed in the process.

 

A ship like QM2 or QE2 offers the promise of great rewards, it also presents a practically insurmountable challenge: it's too fast, it's too high, and has a well-organized and equipped security detail. Pirates, being practical people, will most likely favor the easiest targets.

 

There are legitimate, if unlikely, causes for concern aboard a cruise ship--fire, grounding, collision, terrorism, disease--but piracy should be very, very low on this list.

 

I'd spend more time thinking about the theives we meet ashore.

[2moose]

Given the recent issue with pirates, what are we hearing about security measures? Anything new, different or better? A genius at Carnival was quoted as saying they had pepper spray.

im not sure about all of the carnival corp but i do klnow that almost all of the officers at cunard are seasoned military including the royal marines. I trust cunard has strong security in place if needed and not just sound systems and pepper spray. on another thought i believe the recent attack off of africa was a terrorist event and not pirating thieves. if in fact they were thieves all the had to do was shoot the props or the rudder to render the ship helpless and then board her. best regards to all

[PRINSENDAM]

but i do klnow that almost all of the officers at cunard are seasoned military including the royal marines.

 

 

Not quite! The small group of Security Officers on board might be ex forces or ex police but no one else.

 

 

 

on another thought i believe the recent attack off of africa was a terrorist event and not pirating thieves.

 

It was an act of piracy.

 

 

 

if in fact they were thieves all the had to do was shoot the props or the rudder to render the ship helpless and then board her. best regards to all

 

How would you 'shoot' at propellers and rudder which are underwater and moving at 20 knots? I don't think the pirate ships off Somalia are large enough to carry and fire accousitc torpedoes.:rolleyes:

Stephen

[2moose]

How would you 'shoot' at propellers and rudder which are underwater and moving at 20 knots? I don't think the pirate ships off Somalia are large enough to carry and fire accousitc torpedoes.:rolleyes:

Stephen

an rpg fired at or just below the waterline would render the steering and maybe the drive shafts inoperable. the rpg could shot could be launched from either from direclty behind the ship or off the rear 1/4 beam . most smaller boats especially those 50 to 100 miles off shore can certainly maintain 20 knotts or more, again this attack was to inflict terror and not thievery or kidnapping a hit and run sort of speak tactic!! since the attackers have no idea what defense systems the cruise ship has on board

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

> again this attack was to inflict terror and not thievery or kidnapping

 

Very worrying. Where did you get this information? If from the internet, please could you post the link.

 

Thanks, Stephen.

[2moose]

> again this attack was to inflict terror and not thievery or kidnapping

 

Very worrying. Where did you get this information? If from the internet, please could you post the link.

 

Thanks, Stephen.

25 years us navy special ops!!

[PRINSENDAM]

an rpg fired at or just below the waterline would render the steering and maybe the drive shafts inoperable. the rpg could shot could be launched from either from direclty behind the ship or off the rear 1/4 beam . most smaller boats especially those 50 to 100 miles off shore can certainly maintain 20 knotts or more, again this attack was to inflict terror and not thievery or kidnapping a hit and run sort of speak tactic!! since the attackers have no idea what defense systems the cruise ship has on board

 

 

 

I seriously doubt any small speedboat in an open seaway following a large ship would be a stable enough platform to be able to direct any gunfire so at to be effective. A small boat coming up astern or on the quarter would be like riding in surf.

 

If you had such a gun why not simply run ahead of the ship and fire directly into the wheelhouse. Much easier target to hit and you would also wipe out the command team. Worry about stopping the ship afterwards.

 

Again, where did you get information that this was a terrorist attack?

 

Stephen