As pirates are in the news at the moment, it reminded me of the time I joined a pirate watch when the ship I was sailing on passed near the Moroccan coast.
While my cruise mates were busy topping up their tans or playing deck quoits, I joined the guard pictured here to keep watch and protect them against any threat of piracy. This sophisticated sonar tracking device would have detected the presence of unwanted predators nearby.
Fortunately for us, it was plain sailing. But it must be terrifying for those who are not so lucky, like those captured as they sail off the Somali coast and where piracy is flourishing. I do wonder though why a supertanker carrying a cargo of oil worth more than $100 million does not have some form of high-tech warning system, especially when it knows it will be passing through very troubled and treacherous waters…
Yes electro-kevin, it is…except you get a Bluebeard instead of a Bluebird!
Is Pirate Watch a bit like an exciting version of what Bill Oddie does ?
[...] Finally, Ellee Seymour recalls her experience of looking out for pirates! [...]
It makes me feel very safe to be a P & O passenger. I believe they initiated this after an American cruise ship was hijacked. I am glad I have booked with them next year too. I will certainly be on pirate watch again when we sail near the African coast.
Yes, a good common sense point here, Ellee. Where is the technology in this scenario? Indeed!
I sounds like a really interesting trip!
Piracy never went away, especially around the South China Sea. SOmali piracy is nothing new but the incuidence has gone way up. But that may well be due to the sheer state of anarchy in that country
The thing about modern day pirates is that they don’t have skull ‘n crossbones flags, eye-patches or parrots, as far as we are told. If they’re caught, it remains to be seen whether they will be told to walk the gang plank.
Oh Ellee, is this safe!! I saw this on the news the other day and their behaviour is really aggressive!!
be safe!
One would not believe that piracy still flourishes even today.
I know, he will be missed;-)
Agree.
PS: gone john gone
(
Yes you’d think there’d be something wouldnt you? And more security!!
I asked a very similar question the other day. The amount of money they get from the oil must be worth paying a few people to keep an armed lookout or better equipment to detect pirates.
Because the good guys do not believe there are bad guys until forced to, so I am sure everyone is scrabbling like crazy to prevent this happening again.