Thursday, July 20, 2006
Cruise Ships: NYC, Hawaii, and Australia
While traveling in the Pacific this spring, I saw and photographed several cruise ships. In NYC in July I saw and photographed two more cruise ships. I've posted some of these pictures below, including those of two vessels that have been in the news recently.
The first figure, however, shows the Coast Guard security boat that accompanied our Circle Line Ferry to the Statue of Liberty on July 2. On another Circle Line cruise around southern Manhattan in June, we saw several armed Coast Guard boats like this one. (BTW, the security screening required to board ferries to Liberty Island and Ellis Island was far more rigorous than any I've been subjected to in an airport.)
The next two images show the Crown Princess, photographed in NY Harbor on July 2. The Crown Princess, a relatively new vessel, achieved notoriety earlier this week when it tipped violently to one side (about 15 degrees) just after leaving port in Florida, causing many passenger injuries and necessitating a complete evacuation of the vessel and termination of the Caribbean/NYC cruise.
The next two pictures show the Norwegian Princess, also photographed in NY Harbor on July 2.
Next you will see two images of the Seabourn Spirit, photographed in Sydney Harbor, New South Wales, in early March, 2006. Below you'll find an account of a remarkable and frightening incident that occurred off the coast of Somalia in November, 2005.
The last images show the Norwegian Wind and the Island Princess, which I photographed off Hilo and Kona, Hawaii, in February, 2006.
Click on each figure to see an enlarged view.
http://www.globalpiracy.com/ [see article on “counter-measures”]
Case Study: Seabourn Spirit [BBC coverage, with video]
photoSEABOURN SPIRIT FACTS
Displacement: 10,000 tons
Length: 134m (440ft)
Beam: 19m (63 feet)
Speed: 18 knots
Passenger capacity: 208
Crew: 150
Source: Seabourne Cruise Line Limited
The Seabourn Spirit Incident: Due to the upscale nature of the "victim", the attack has been well-characterized in the press. Well-armed assailants in two 7 meter +/- fiberglass boats attacked the cruise ship Seabourn Spirit 100 miles off the coast of Somalia on Nov. 5, 2005. The crew's innovative actions prevented the attackers from boarding the ship. The attack fits the typical pirate MO: Two fast boats pulled alongside the vessel and pirates, armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and automatic weapons attempt to sieze the ship. One crew opens fire while the other grapples the vessel and fight their way on board.
The Seabourn Spirit was on a 16-day, ultra-luxury cruise from Egypt to Mombassa, Kenya, with 150 passengers and an equal number of crew [1:1!]. The attackers approached the ship in two open speedboats, fired their automatic weapons and two or possibly three rocket-propelled grenades. The Captain ordered passengers into an amidships dining area, changed course and increased speed.
"The captain, however, did not hit the alarm button to alert passengers of the emergency, Rogers said. "He announced it over the speakers because he was scared people would run up on deck, and he didn't want people on deck because they would have been shot." CNN
Reports vary, but the Captain evidently attempted to ram and/or swamp the vessels in addition to evasive maneuvers. It was reported that the pirate boats approached as close as 20 yards, and that the maneuver by the Captain nearly swamped one of them. The pirates were reportedly scared off by a powerful sound projection device, "thinking they were under fire". [see LRAD]; After evading the attackers, the ship was diverted to the Seychelles, where U.S. Navy personnel removed one RPG rocket which had lodged in the interior wall of a passenger compartment, undetonated.
Fortunately, none of the passengers was injured,and one crewmember received only slight shrapnel wounds. The pirate vessels retreated to a ship on the horizon [12-15 miles], which subsequently issued a distress signal. It was presumed that this vessel was a "mother" ship for the crews in their small, open boats. The Captain ignored the signal and sailed to safety in the Seychelles.
Of significance for our purposes here:
* The Norweigan Captain is variously-reported described as having to attempted to ram or swamp the pirates;
* The pirates were reportedly scared off by a sound projection device, "thinking they were under fire".
* The attack occured 100 miles off the Somali coast, which indicates that the small vessel was launched from a mother ship.
* RPG rounds pierced the hull. One lodged, unexploded, in a passenger cabin.
* The attack occured at dawn.
* The apparent mother ship was within sight of the Seabourn Spirit
Tactical Analysis: The attack was well timed and well-navigated. That the pirates arrived at a potentially-lucrative moving target 100 miles offshore indicates that they were almost certainly not shore-based. We will use this case study as a context to discuss the following factors in defensive actions:
* Early detection
* Freeboard to Open Deck
* Speed
* Armed Personnel
* Acoustic Devices
* Evasive Maneuvers
* Swamping Maneuvers
* MAYDAY/ Radio Contact
* On-board, hand-to-hand combat
* Fire hoses
* Electrical fencing
* Armor
* Passenger Safety
* Noxious Chemicals
* Robotics
The first figure, however, shows the Coast Guard security boat that accompanied our Circle Line Ferry to the Statue of Liberty on July 2. On another Circle Line cruise around southern Manhattan in June, we saw several armed Coast Guard boats like this one. (BTW, the security screening required to board ferries to Liberty Island and Ellis Island was far more rigorous than any I've been subjected to in an airport.)
The next two images show the Crown Princess, photographed in NY Harbor on July 2. The Crown Princess, a relatively new vessel, achieved notoriety earlier this week when it tipped violently to one side (about 15 degrees) just after leaving port in Florida, causing many passenger injuries and necessitating a complete evacuation of the vessel and termination of the Caribbean/NYC cruise.
The next two pictures show the Norwegian Princess, also photographed in NY Harbor on July 2.
Next you will see two images of the Seabourn Spirit, photographed in Sydney Harbor, New South Wales, in early March, 2006. Below you'll find an account of a remarkable and frightening incident that occurred off the coast of Somalia in November, 2005.
The last images show the Norwegian Wind and the Island Princess, which I photographed off Hilo and Kona, Hawaii, in February, 2006.
Click on each figure to see an enlarged view.
http://www.globalpiracy.com/ [see article on “counter-measures”]
Case Study: Seabourn Spirit [BBC coverage, with video]
photoSEABOURN SPIRIT FACTS
Displacement: 10,000 tons
Length: 134m (440ft)
Beam: 19m (63 feet)
Speed: 18 knots
Passenger capacity: 208
Crew: 150
Source: Seabourne Cruise Line Limited
The Seabourn Spirit Incident: Due to the upscale nature of the "victim", the attack has been well-characterized in the press. Well-armed assailants in two 7 meter +/- fiberglass boats attacked the cruise ship Seabourn Spirit 100 miles off the coast of Somalia on Nov. 5, 2005. The crew's innovative actions prevented the attackers from boarding the ship. The attack fits the typical pirate MO: Two fast boats pulled alongside the vessel and pirates, armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and automatic weapons attempt to sieze the ship. One crew opens fire while the other grapples the vessel and fight their way on board.
The Seabourn Spirit was on a 16-day, ultra-luxury cruise from Egypt to Mombassa, Kenya, with 150 passengers and an equal number of crew [1:1!]. The attackers approached the ship in two open speedboats, fired their automatic weapons and two or possibly three rocket-propelled grenades. The Captain ordered passengers into an amidships dining area, changed course and increased speed.
"The captain, however, did not hit the alarm button to alert passengers of the emergency, Rogers said. "He announced it over the speakers because he was scared people would run up on deck, and he didn't want people on deck because they would have been shot." CNN
Reports vary, but the Captain evidently attempted to ram and/or swamp the vessels in addition to evasive maneuvers. It was reported that the pirate boats approached as close as 20 yards, and that the maneuver by the Captain nearly swamped one of them. The pirates were reportedly scared off by a powerful sound projection device, "thinking they were under fire". [see LRAD]; After evading the attackers, the ship was diverted to the Seychelles, where U.S. Navy personnel removed one RPG rocket which had lodged in the interior wall of a passenger compartment, undetonated.
Fortunately, none of the passengers was injured,and one crewmember received only slight shrapnel wounds. The pirate vessels retreated to a ship on the horizon [12-15 miles], which subsequently issued a distress signal. It was presumed that this vessel was a "mother" ship for the crews in their small, open boats. The Captain ignored the signal and sailed to safety in the Seychelles.
Of significance for our purposes here:
* The Norweigan Captain is variously-reported described as having to attempted to ram or swamp the pirates;
* The pirates were reportedly scared off by a sound projection device, "thinking they were under fire".
* The attack occured 100 miles off the Somali coast, which indicates that the small vessel was launched from a mother ship.
* RPG rounds pierced the hull. One lodged, unexploded, in a passenger cabin.
* The attack occured at dawn.
* The apparent mother ship was within sight of the Seabourn Spirit
Tactical Analysis: The attack was well timed and well-navigated. That the pirates arrived at a potentially-lucrative moving target 100 miles offshore indicates that they were almost certainly not shore-based. We will use this case study as a context to discuss the following factors in defensive actions:
* Early detection
* Freeboard to Open Deck
* Speed
* Armed Personnel
* Acoustic Devices
* Evasive Maneuvers
* Swamping Maneuvers
* MAYDAY/ Radio Contact
* On-board, hand-to-hand combat
* Fire hoses
* Electrical fencing
* Armor
* Passenger Safety
* Noxious Chemicals
* Robotics
