Do cruise ships have anyway of defending themselves from attack?

Question

I've been on two cruises now and wondered this both times. What if modern day pirates (for lack of a better term) try to board and take over the ship. I mean, cruise ships have lots of stuff worth stealing on them and lots of people worth robbing. It seems to me that out in international waters, this scenerio is not really that far fetched.

Answer 1

Well they can send out a distress signal and I think either the US Navy or an Allied Force would respond accordingly.

Answer 2

It depends on the line and the destination...

Not much of an issue in the Caribbean - And friendly forces are typically just an inmarsat or radio call away...

Off the coast of Africa is a different story and in 2005 Seabourn's Seaborn Spirit was attacked by pirates in small boats...  The ship managed to outrun the attackers and there were no injuries.  They also had some defensive systems onboard and used a sonic weapon to fend off the pirates while the ship escaped...

In areas that are prone to pirate attacks, naval forces patrol actively to aid ships that may come under attack.

Answer 3

Dude --- stop watching so many movies.

Answer 4

I'm not sure.  I don't think there's much call for defences on cruise ships as most of them tend to stay in friendly waters.

Seems to me I remember a cruise ship that was hijacked (or attempted to be hijacked) not long ago off the coast of Ethiopia.  I think they had machine guns with which to defend themselves with.

Answer 5

Bomb squads inspect the ship at every port. When getting back on the ship, only people with their cruise cards are allowed back on. All luggage or purchases from port that are brought on board the ship are inspected. Most cruise ships are never too far from land, so receiving help from the Coast Guard or Navy shouldn't be a problem. At the beginning of a cruise, each passenger goes through a lifeboat drill. This ensures that all passengers know what to do and where to go in case of an emergency. Hope this answers your question!

Answer 6

That's a good question.  It would be cool if they have hidden guns or something that would open fire and send the limbs of pirates flying in all different directions.

Answer 7

I heard that many ships have high pressure water guns on the decks to prevent boarding.

Answer 8

machine guns, flame throwers, and grenade launchers

Answer 9

Modern day pirates use small, fast-moving boats to chase down their targets.  The trick is that there has to be an area for them to board.  The only possible area for them to board a cruise ship is at the stern (back of the boat) where the mooring lines and capstans are.  That area is regularly patrolled by security staff.

Answer 10

no, they don't

Answer 11

Yes, when I was on the Grand Princess a security boat patrolled around the ship at each port. I also saw two divers that inspected the ships hull before we left. Ships also have arsenals or assorted weapons depending on how all hostile the area is. Most of these are invisible to passengers, but a asked a security Guard about it, and she said the ship could defend itself if necessary.

Answer 12

I would imagine the firehoses would be the primary "weapon" on most ships, either to try to sweep boarders off the deck or to swamp their craft.

Answer 13

The ship basically has "natural" (if you could call it that) defenses:  it's size and it's speed.  The size of the ship would take a lot of work to hoist yourself aboard and the speed of most ships are higher than a lot of motor boats.  If they do, however, go fast enough to catch the ship, then once again, size plays a role.  Also, ships have a large number of security personnel on board.  I've also heard that cruise ships have guns and other weapons to ward off threats.

Answer 14

You may not know this but the larger lines have medium size aresenals just in case of pirate attacks which usually only happen around certain countriwes in Africa.