Dubai-bound cruise liner passengers speak of pirate risk lock down terror

A stock image of a cruise liner (Shutterstock)

Carolyne Jasinski, a media specialist from Australia (Supplied)

DUBAI: Cruise ship passengers have spoken of their 10 days of fear when the Dubai-bound luxury liner they were traveling on sailed through dangerous waters known for Somali pirate activity.
The nearly 2,000 passengers traveling on the Sea Princess say they were ordered to turn off the lights and music for 10 days as the liner entered the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal – a hotbed for pirates, the Australian website news.com.au reported.
The voyage, which started in Sydney, sailed via Sri Lanka and then on toward Dubai, with some of the passengers having paid more than $50,000 for the 104-day trip.
It was when the ship entered the troubled waters that the dawn-to-dusk blackouts began, prompting fear among those onboard.
“Captain Gennaro Arma addressed the ship. He apologized for alarming passengers. However, the threat, he said, was real and the ship must be prepared for a pirate attack,” Carolyne Jasinski, a media specialist from Australia, wrote for news.co.au.
And Jasinski said the 1,900 passengers were told there would be no nighttime parties on deck and curtains and shutters were closed – as were the late night outdoor bars and restaurants were closed, and instead all travelers were put through emergency drills to prepare them for any attack.
“It was made very clear on the Sea Princess, very quickly, that this pirate threat was not something to be joked about… Any remaining smirks soon disappeared as the pirate drill alarm sounded and the crew was instructed to move to their designated muster stations.”
It is claimed that passengers were told to sit on the floor and hold on to hand rails in case the ship had to take evasive action and swerve to avoid pirate ships.
In the end the 10 days past without event, but the crew were ready for all eventualities Jasinski told the website. There were high pressure hoses and other defensive measures to prevent pirates from boarding.
And she said the captain of the ship had also said Sea Princess could “outrun any pirate ship.”
But Jasinski said the heightened awareness of passengers surrounding the ship’s security, did spark an increase in reports of suspicious boats spotted on the horizon – “suddenly a fishing boat was no longer just a point of interest,” she explained.
A Princess Cruises spokesman told the MailOnline that the company did not discuss specific security procedures, but added that in areas of concern piracy specific measures were taken.
“Any measures aboard Sea Princess were simply taken out of an abundance caution and not in response to a specific threat and are common to international shipping sailing in the region,” the spokesman said.