Thread: Piracy may affect Cruise Itineraries

From the Dec. 2 edition of the London Daily Telegraph (emphasis mine):

The International Maritime Organisation recently requested that cruise lines stop scheduling ships through "piracy-infested" waters following the rise in attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden.

P&O Cruises' ship Arcadia is due to sail through the region on its world cruise, which departs in January. The company said a decision would be made before Christmas on any changes to its route.

Other lines such as Silversea Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Crystal Cruises, which are due to have ships in the area over the next few months, said they were closely monitoring the situation and would make a decision nearer the time.

it's going to be some "RE-ROUTE" for the P&O ship.

Well, better safe than sorry!
We shall see what happens, I guess . . .

FACT
The pirates are widening their reach.
FACT
Shipping companies are paying ransoms to get ships and crews back.
FACT
Rather than being punished, acts of piracy are reaping rich rewards.


WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

Is there a solution? WHAT?

Or does the rest of the word do nothing, and allow the practice to flourish and spread to other areas, seas, and coastlines???

Cape town will be very happy with this even if no-one else is. There is talk that Cunard are planning to change QM2 and QV's schedule for their world cruises.

Already, one of Norway's biggest shipping lines is no longer allowing its ships to sail through the Gulf of Aden at all.

Their transit time is greatly increased, which will increase shipping costs, and thus, the cost of goods to the eventual consumer.

The cruiselines have to think of its passengers, which means avoiding possible contact with pirates. What if the pirates were to board their ships, rob the passengers of their belongings, possibly hurting, or worse, passengers or crew members?

At this point, I think it is wise for the cruise lines to avoid the areas of pirate activity. The safety of the passengers is paramount.

What to do about it? I think this has reached the point of world intervention. ALL the countries need to figure out how to stop the pirates from reaching the ships.

Bad as it may sound, blowing them out of the water might be the only solution since they think they are invincible and are getting very bold in their actions.

Already, one cruise line has evac'ed all the passengers, and flown them across the pirate infested waters to resume their world cruise on the other side.

That sort of thing can't become routine. Itineraries WILL be changing.

Originally Posted by canarymoon

FACT
The pirates are widening their reach.
FACT
Shipping companies are paying ransoms to get ships and crews back.
FACT
Rather than being punished, acts of piracy are reaping rich rewards.


WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

Is there a solution? WHAT?

Or does the rest of the word do nothing, and allow the practice to flourish and spread to other areas, seas, and coastlines???

Yep, there's a solution alright, stop using the Gulf of Aden, and that is for all ships, freighters, fuel tankers and cruise ships.