Pirates - "Don't Worry, Be Happy"

Pirates

When I meet people and tell them I am a Cruse Planner the subject of Pirates often comes up.  I assure you that this is NOT a major issue on Cruise ships. With the news media vying for stories, and the likes of Johnny Depp and his caricature in the “Pirate” movies, it becomes news.  However the majority of attempted ship hijackings by pirates are of Tankers that have a relatively small crew, and are easily held for ransom. 

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tracks these occurrences worldwide, See map.  Although these do sometimes occur worldwide, the majority seem to happen off the cost east of Africa around the Arabian Sea.

If you are not taking a cruise through the Suez Canal, in particular, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, Sailing between Yemen and Somalia off the coast of east Africa or any location around the Arabian Sea, you shouldn’t need to be concerned.  These areas are well documented in the world's media for piracy, the majorities are tankers.

The only Cruise ships attacked by Somali pirates that I could find.

• 2005-11-05 - The very small MV Seabourn Spirit, a luxury cruise liner carrying a total of 210 crew members and passengers, was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. Unsuccessful attempt.
• Dec 2, 2008 - M/S Nautica Cruise Ship run by Oceania Cruises, had just over 650 passengers and about 400 crew members.  Six pirates shot at it and tried to take it over.  No one was hurt, and the ship was not damaged. Transiting through the Gulf of Aden the attempt was unsuccessful.

I went back several years and found NO attacks by pirates on Cruise Ships, in the most popular destinations, the Meditation, Alaska and Caribbean.

So the lesson learned … Take a no worry cruise vacation and enjoy.  Or in the words of Bobby McFerrin "Don't Worry, Be Happy"