HOW SAFE IS CRUISING - PIRACY AT SEA
Most of us aren’t worrying too much about pirates at sea, unless it’s part of your costume for the fancy dress night on board. But is this a case of sticking your head under the sand? Should we we concerned about piracy at sea?
Pirate attacks on cruise ships are actually very rare.
The first reported attempt of piracy involving a cruise ship was in November 2005 when a Seabourn ship was attacked while sailing off the Somalian coast of eastern Africa.
In December 2008, Oceania Cruises’ M/S Nautica escaped an attack by six pirates in 2 speedboats in the Gulf of Aden. Hapag-Lloyd took precautionary measures that same month by disembarking 246 passengers on the M/S Columbus while it passed through the troubled region.
March of 2009 saw another unsuccessful attack, this time on the Fred Olsen British liner Balmoral, and in April 2009, MSC Cruises’ Melody was fired at as she sailed north of the Seychelles, off Africa's east coast.
Other incidents involving smaller vessels in other regions, like the “robberies” involving the luxury Amazon cruise ship, m/v Aqua last week, are less assiduously covered by the media.
So, is this something to worry about?
Some experts tells us that it is inevitable that piracy attacks on cruise ships, large and small must increase. The fact that cruise lines, especially the smaller ones in isolated areas like the Amazon are reluctant to report many of the incidents is also worrying.
If this issue is a concern for you, it may perhaps be an idea to:
1: Avoid cruise areas popular with pirates. Government alerts and travel advisories will keep you informed. Piracy prone areas include Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malacca Straits, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore Straits, Vietnam, some parts of northern South America, and around Africa:Tema (Ghana), Lagos & Bonny River (Nigeria), Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), and the Gulf of Aden.
2: Choose a larger cruise ship as these are less prone to attack for obvious reasons.
In the grand scheme of things, however, considering the number of cruises taking place each day in all parts of the world relative to the number of incidents, cruising is still one of the safest forms of vacation.
As a frequent visitor to Prow’s Edge Cruise Magazine told us once - “What’s the point of worrying about absolutely everything? It can get to the point where you will cancel your holiday anywhere tropical because you’re afraid a coconut will fall on your head!”
