Do cruise ships carry guns in case of pirates?

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Thomas V

Not guns. They started experimenting with non-lethal sonic weapons though:

"SOMALIA (7 Nov 2005) -- The crew of a luxury cruise ship used a sonic weapon that blasts earsplitting noise in a directed beam while being attacked by a gang of pirates off Africa this weekend, the cruise line said Monday.

The Seabourn Spirit had a Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, installed as a part of its defense systems, said Bruce Good, a spokesman for Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line. The Spirit was about 100 miles off Somalia when pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns as they tried to get onboard.

The subsidiary of Carnival Corp. was investigating whether the weapon was successful in warding off the pirates, he said. The ship's captain also changed its course, shifted into high speed and headed out into the open sea to elude the pirates, who were in two small boats, he said. He had no further details.

Device maker American Technology Corp. said earsplitting "bangs" were directed by trained security personnel toward the pirates. That, combined with ship maneuvers, caused the attackers to leave the area, the company said."

domme me

The captain and first officer have keys to a gun safe and would distribute them as needed, although with the arms being used by pirates nowadays, the captain would probably consider it safer not to use them at all.....you may recall the seabourne spirit, last year
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/11/08/1131407638800.html?from=rss
which was attacked with rocket propelled grenades. They managed to drive off their attackers using a directed beam of high intensity noise

Ricknows

yes- members of the crew (who are told in advance)

Josef H

Yes Piracy is still a problem in some parts of the world but cruise ships do not often venture too far outside the reach of the coastguard and deep sea lanes are patrolled by the likes of the British Navy. I know that the Royal Navy intercepts suspected pirates, drug traffickers etc and is the emergency services of the seas - putting out fires, transferring emergency patients to hospital by helicopter etc - and you dont need to worry if they have enough hardware to stop pirates (Just a bit!!!!). Enjoy your cruise and dont worry - thats what you pay your taxes for!!

traveler

Yes they do, usually in the Captains Quarters or on the bridge. They also use water hoses to ward off pirates, which do still sometimes pilage ships. The Malacca Straits over by Indonesia is a notorius place for pirating ships, mostly freighters. I was on a Windjammer Motor Vessel by Isla Margarita (Venesuela) and we had pirates following us for a short time but they backed off. We also had to have armed guards onboard around Ecuador and Peru. I believe the larger cruise ships are just a little too much for some of the modern day pirates although not impossible to think of. Don't fret it, it's part of the adventure and unless you are going over by the Malacca Straits or Sudan or Ethiopia I seriously doubt you have anything to worry about.

BRILLIANT!

That information is only available on a "need to know" basis and, you do not NEED to know.

wally_zebon

Cruise ships on the Nile have "Tourist Police" onboard. They carry AK-47s and side arms.

You don't get that many pirates on the Nile though, so they're hardly likly to use them. They are there to protect against terrorist attack.

genghis41f

No guns. A distress signal, but no guns.

NutstersChick

Yes they R armed, registered firearms users in the Crew.
Pirates R a growing problem at Sea 4 the past decade of so.
Criminal gangs have made Piracy a lucrative business, what choice do Cruise Ship owners have but 2 arm their crews?
Some Pirates have AK 47, rocket launchers the works, many a battle has happened at Sea.
The UK government have been known 2 send Navy Ships 2 protect Cruise Liners.
Scary, huh?

Resolution

Course you get Pirates! Yes, they are able to defend themselves... they must be.

Senorita

yesss Davey Jones is still at sea!

clear_skyzz

Normally speaking, pirates carry their own guns

skye

eye eye cap-tin..lol.....

m_l_j2005

No.
I used to work on them, and was of officer rank. The only gun's cruise ships carry, or at least the one's I worked on, were shotguns for skeet shooting. Since maritime law now prohibits throwing anything over the side of the ship, skeet shooting is no longer an option and the guns were removed.

Pirates do still exist, and do still target ships in certain areas, most notably in the south china seas and certain areas of South America. They use high powered speed boats to draw alongside and carry semi-automatic weapons. They will take on a cruise ship, if they can, but generally cruise ships are large and powerful and can easily outrun them, so it is very rare. Mostly, pirates will target large container vessels where there are fewer crew, and the ships are slower. Once on board they have been known to murder the crew and take the whole ship to a friendly port where it is renamed and registered. They sell off the cargo to the highest bidder and put in a very low tender for new cargo. Once loaded the ship steals the cargo and undergoes a transformation. This can go on for years.
Contrary to other suggestions, the captain does not "break out the guns" for distribution to the crew, an inexperienced crew member holding a gun is more likely to shoot his crew mates or a passenger than a pirate, and will, in all probability end up very dead, very quickly.

Captain Tandy

Nope, just old fashioned cannons

I know the Captain can shoot you - not sure about any other weopons sorry..

Message Police

No but they often have security and if they have trouble the just call an SOS

Justinmc93

Pirates? Pirates?
Lol nobody will loot a ship anymore
But they have to have some sort of defense.
So probally the on board poliece would take care of all those problems
But I wouldnt wory about it its very rare these days.

~Justinmc93

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