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We are happy to report that we had three straight sea days, which means we caught up on all the things we can’t do when we have ports to explore. The highlight of this area is the excitement that comes from knowing we are in pirate territory here in the Indian Ocean, and specifically in the Gulf of Aden.
By the end of 2011, pirates managed to seize only 4 ships off of the coast of Somalia; 18 fewer than the 26 they had captured in the past two previous years. They also attempted unsuccessful attacks on 52 other vessels. As of March 28, 2012, the pirates were holding 9 large ships with an estimated 236 hostages. Yikes!
Today there are around twenty-five military vessels from the EU and Nato countries, including the USA, China, Russia, India and Japan that patrol an area the size of Western Europe.
For extra caution, Regent has a group of security personnel including snipers on our ship. There is also a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) on the deck in the back of the ship that can be used to dissuade any potential attackers.
The Captain told us, after we were out of danger, that we had been tailed by two separate pirate boats over the past few days. One of them followed the ship for 2 hours!
The crew performed special drills and we had instructions to close our drapes at night and they turned off exterior lighting. If they were to sound a “code orange” we are supposed to come in from any outdoor areas, and for a “code red” we are supposed to hit the deck (literally)!
Luckily we didn’t have any closer call than just being followed. Pirates usually don’t target cruise ships, but last month, the Costa Allegra lost power after a fire in its generator room. No one was injured, but the blaze left the ship adrift at sea in this area. Luckily they were towed to safety…but this may have sparked interest from pirates to prey on larger ships. You would think it would get complicated if they have to deal with a 1,000 hostages. Luckily we don’t have to worry about that any more!