ARMED GUARD ABOARD

[shepherd really]

Looks like Insignia may have some hired guns on the ship.  At least according to https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9156462

 

Sending "Armed Guard Onboard" in the AIS

Vessels transiting a Piracy High-Risk Area will often send "Armed Guard Onboard" as the Destination in the AIS. This deterrent measure might prevent pirates from knowing their real destination (whether the ship has armed guards onboard or not). The pirates might re-evaluate their plans to attack a vessel. Another benefit: The AIS can stay switched on increasing Maritime Security. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) recommends that the AIS remains active during a piracy event as a safety precaution to allow the counter-piracy naval forces in the area to track the positions of vessels in real time. But the IMO also states that the master can disable the AIS at their discretion if the voyage is threatened or before a piracy event occurs.

Edited March 23, 2023 by shepherd really

[CptBoatface]

Heck, slide an AK my way and I'll help for free if things are that bad. Though an AR variant would be preferred. 

[LHT28]

They do have them on the cruises in some parts of the world 

I was surprised to see one early one morning 😲

[JoePDX]

In April 2017 when we sailed through the Gulf of Aden on Nautica we had a team of mercenaries on board.  They ate in the dining room and had access to all public areas, but were obviously not in the Oceania demographic. Captain would not confirm there were arms aboard, but we did see wooden crates being offloaded onto a zodiac once we were safely in the Red Sea.   The well

muscled gentlemen disappeared shortly afterward.

 

Joe

[bob brown]

I can confirm that this is the case, currently on board the Insignia…

[LouChamp]

4 hours ago, bob brown said:

I can confirm that this is the case, currently on board the Insignia…

Aloha. Definitely in favor of this for everyone’s protection 

[ssawjo]

12 hours ago, JoePDX said:

In April 2017 when we sailed through the Gulf of Aden on Nautica we had a team of mercenaries on board.  They ate in the dining room and had access to all public areas, but were obviously not in the Oceania demographic. Captain would not confirm there were arms aboard, but we did see wooden crates being offloaded onto a zodiac once we were safely in the Red Sea.   The well

muscled gentlemen disappeared shortly afterward.

 

Joe

We were also on that cruise.  Nice guys.  All ex-Special Ops soldiers.  The at sea transfer was interesting.  They were also onboard a recent Regent cruise down the coast of West Africa that we were on.  Yes, there are pirates in the Gulf of Guinea. 

[Lane412000]

Are you warned not to pet the armed guards like you are warned not to pet the drug seeking dogs in the airports? 😁

[meg1021]

We have been on 2 sailings through the Suez Canal, and around the Arabian peninsula to Dubai in 2016 and 2019.  While sailing through the Gulf of Aden, we had armed guards onboard, had the top deck, and deck 5, closed after dark, and were told to keep our curtains closed in our cabin after dark as well.  We also had to take part in a "Safe Harbor" drill, where we were basically told to move to the innermost area of public spaces, or to move into the hallway, if you were in you cabin, if/when the captain came on and announced a Safe Harbor is in effect.  The cruise line was transparent about these measures, and we felt that it was a prudent precaution to take, for not only passenger safety, but also to protect the cruise line's very expensive assets.  I think that armed guards are probably standard operating procedure in some area's of the world.