Piracy precautions serious business on cruise ships

Anti-piracy measures, but no guns on Dutch flagged ship.

Piracy precautions serious business on cruise ships

By JANE ANN MORRISON

Watching Tom Hanks in “Captain Phillips,” the real-life story of Somali pirates taking over an unarmed cargo ship, probably wasn’t the smartest way to prepare for a cruise that would sail past Somalia and other pirate waters.

However, I had faith that Holland America was not about to let anything happen to the Amsterdam. Even before I left, the itinerary had been changed so that the ship would not be stopping at three ports in Egypt because of security concerns.

Despite my confidence in the cruise line, it was a little shocking, when boarding the Amsterdam in Dubai, to see the barbed wire on the third deck, the first open deck pirates could possibly board. Then there were the water hoses, pointed down toward the water line. Also noticeable were the security guards with binoculars on guard 24 hours a day.

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Source: reviewjournal.com