I just got back from a 15-day cruise with my German cousins in the Middle East on a German cruise line (Mein Schiff 4). Ship stopped at Dubai, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, and Crete.
We had 6 sea days from Muscat, Oman to Aqaba, Jordan, rounding the Arabian Peninsula.
About the 2nd or 3rd sea day, I noticed a guy about 40-years-old in a black golf shirt with "Operation Safe Haven" stitched on it having a meal in the cafeteria by himself. It didn't dawn on me until later that he was likely an American. (This was a 99.9% German cruise. AFAIK I was the only American passenger on board.) I wish I'd spoken to him.
Later that morning, there was a mandatory muster in the theater for about 30 minutes. Since it was in German (all communications onboard were in German), I can't tell you much, other than the captain spoke about pirates, and introduced a half-dozen black-shirted guys affiliated with Operation Safe Haven (which he kept saying as Safe Heaven.). They told us that for 2 nights, (when we would be closest to the 'pinch point' (south end of the Red Sea) at the spot where Africa and Asia are the closest to each other, there was a possibility of pirates and we were requested to close our balcony doors and keep the drapes closed to minimize light.
On those 2 nights, there was a marked presence of uniformed staff with "Security" written across the backs of their uniforms around the perimeter of the ship. I noticed that the outside upper decks (pools, hot tubs, stages, etc.) were not all lit up like they usually were. The outdoor upper deck bars and seating areas were still open (and serving) but were lit with low-wattage red lights. It felt odd and gave me a slight sense of how it may have been in England during the era of WWII bombing raids.
AFAIK, we did not encounter any pirates, and I never saw the Operation Safe Haven guys again.
So now I have questions/thoughts. Here are a few. Wondering if anyone here has any input/insight/experiences?
1. There's a lot of ship traffic through this area. (Cruises as well as container ships, oil transport, etc). Do these Operation Safe Haven guys get on & off ships just in this relatively small area? (If so, how?...our ship never stopped or changed speed).
2. Does OSH only work with cruise ships...or all ships?
3. I'm unclear on how these OSH guys would protect against determined and armed pirates? Any idea?
4. Other than taking hostages, it doesn't seem like a cruise ship would be nearly as valuable as capturing a cargo ship. Or am I missing something?
omni
We had 6 sea days from Muscat, Oman to Aqaba, Jordan, rounding the Arabian Peninsula.
About the 2nd or 3rd sea day, I noticed a guy about 40-years-old in a black golf shirt with "Operation Safe Haven" stitched on it having a meal in the cafeteria by himself. It didn't dawn on me until later that he was likely an American. (This was a 99.9% German cruise. AFAIK I was the only American passenger on board.) I wish I'd spoken to him.
Later that morning, there was a mandatory muster in the theater for about 30 minutes. Since it was in German (all communications onboard were in German), I can't tell you much, other than the captain spoke about pirates, and introduced a half-dozen black-shirted guys affiliated with Operation Safe Haven (which he kept saying as Safe Heaven.). They told us that for 2 nights, (when we would be closest to the 'pinch point' (south end of the Red Sea) at the spot where Africa and Asia are the closest to each other, there was a possibility of pirates and we were requested to close our balcony doors and keep the drapes closed to minimize light.
On those 2 nights, there was a marked presence of uniformed staff with "Security" written across the backs of their uniforms around the perimeter of the ship. I noticed that the outside upper decks (pools, hot tubs, stages, etc.) were not all lit up like they usually were. The outdoor upper deck bars and seating areas were still open (and serving) but were lit with low-wattage red lights. It felt odd and gave me a slight sense of how it may have been in England during the era of WWII bombing raids.
AFAIK, we did not encounter any pirates, and I never saw the Operation Safe Haven guys again.
So now I have questions/thoughts. Here are a few. Wondering if anyone here has any input/insight/experiences?
1. There's a lot of ship traffic through this area. (Cruises as well as container ships, oil transport, etc). Do these Operation Safe Haven guys get on & off ships just in this relatively small area? (If so, how?...our ship never stopped or changed speed).
2. Does OSH only work with cruise ships...or all ships?
3. I'm unclear on how these OSH guys would protect against determined and armed pirates? Any idea?
4. Other than taking hostages, it doesn't seem like a cruise ship would be nearly as valuable as capturing a cargo ship. Or am I missing something?
omni
