THE FOUR DAY "HIDE UNDER THE BED SEGMENT" AND A DAY IN BEAUTIFUL SAFAGA

SOMALIA, YEMEN, DJIBOUTI, OH MY! 

From an official United States maritime report:

By December 2013, the US Office of Naval Intelligence reported that only 9 vessels had been attacked during the year by the pirates, with zero successful hijackings. This 90% decline in pirate activity from the corresponding period in 2012 was attributed to the adoption of best management practices by vessel owners and crews, armed private security onboard ships, a significant naval presence, and the development of onshore security forces.

Wednesday through Saturday – 8 to 11 April 2015 – Gulf of Aden and Southern Red Sea

Early in the day after leaving calm Oman, the loudspeakers in the hallways and in the guest suites reminded all passengers that a most unusual morning MANDATORY BRIEFING BY THE CAPTAIN was to be held in the showroom. The announcement said that the early time for the talk was so that it could be held before Silver Wind left the territorial waters of calm Oman. An all crew meeting had been held shortly after leaving Salalah the evening before. As the crew members had said nothing of their meeting, most of our fellow passengers seemed uninterested in this morning's assembly.

Captain Palmieri explaining why we were to skirt Pakistan from India to Oman instead of taking a direct route during the previous cruise segment

There had been a more perfunctory briefing on the previous segment regarding Silver Wind’s course skirting the coastline rather than crossing the Arabian Sea directly from India to Oman. The announcement for today's briefing seemed a lot more serious. It stated that “special measures” were to be in effect for a number of days, and every passenger must be aware of anti-piracy procedures. As is the case with PA systems, most people only heard isolated words. The most interesting ones were: “Pirates”, “Somalia”, “Yemen”, and “Blackout”. As a result of the garbled announcement, attendance for this meeting proved to be quite good.

The route for all ships transiting the Gulf of Aden under military escort before entering the Red Sea

Captain Palmieri in yellow heading home to Italy after four months in Asia. He was replaced in Muscat by Captain Arma who would master the ship in Europe for the summer.

A new captain had come onboard in Muscat, relieving Captain Palmieri who completed his winter contract on Silver Wind. He left quietly in Muscat and immediately flew back to Italy. I remembered from earlier cruises that his replacement was more outgoing and quite fluent in English. I wasn't disappointed in the new captain’s briefing.  Captain Arma started with a most informative PowerPoint presentation diagramming the instances of pirate attacks over the last five years and most importantly giving details on the pirates’ consistent lack of success. The attacks along our course historically had been on merchant vessels, not cruise ships. Silver Wind was to join a convoy of freighters, container ships, and tankers under the protection of an international military consortium. He said he would personally be in constant contact with the “Anti-Piracy Coordination Center in Kuala Lumpur” throughout the transit of the area. I guess those specifics were intended to be more reassuring. Sometimes more details are not as good as fewer, I thought. And I was confused as Kuala Lumpur is thousands of miles away from the subject waters and somewhat inland, but do I look like a sailor? It occurred to me later that KL was near the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Sumatra, a former pirate ground but now deemed safe due to procedures similar to those we were to follow. I guess old bureaucracies are hard to move. 

I knew Silver Wind would have to pass through the very narrow Strait of Bab Al Mandab at the entrance to the Red Sea between warring Yemen and dysfunctional Djibouti. Surprisingly, the captain stated that the close-in transit of the Yemeni coastline was particularly safe. Yemen is under an international naval blockade. He got a laugh from the audience when he said that he had no intention of sailing inland where “the troubles” are. But it was a nervous laugh. The passengers were afraid of the troubles coming to us. The captain didn't know that many of the passengers had attended an enrichment lecture two days earlier given by the former German ambassador to Pakistan who said that the extensive southeastern coast of Yemen we were now cruising was occupied by Al Qaida.

Despite the unfortunate joke regarding Yemen, the captain made three significant points, 1) the specific formal briefing to follow was required on ALL VESSELS passing through the Gulf of Aden (along Yemen’s southeastern coastline) and into the Red Sea and was not specifically intended for cruise ships with their large crews, 2) pirates were not terrorists but “businessmen” who were interested in hijacking laden oil tankers or container ships, removing their cargos, and collecting ransoms only to return the ships and their 8 to 12 crewmembers unharmed, and 3) cruise ships were particularly of no interest to the pirates for a number of reasons he would detail later in the talk. He said that thousands of ships pass through these waters every week without incident.

The earlier talk by the previous captain on the sea day before we reached Mumbai was primarily a recitation of only the specific text required by International Maritime Law. It sounded as such. Captain Palmieri didn’t include the somewhat reassuring background information Captain Arma had apparently prepared himself for this talk. However, an elderly woman traveling alone was sufficiently spooked to request she terminate her cruise in Mumbai rather than Muscat. We saw the ship’s Customer Service Manager that afternoon arranging for a hotel in India and I presume the woman’s flights home.

In today's talk Captain Arma explained with much detail the reasons to believe that there was essentially no risk for a pirate attack on Silver Wind. All ships transiting these waters had statistically only a 0.06% percent chance of pirate attack, and just about all of the piracy attempts did not result in boarding or injury to shipboard personnel. Most importantly, the chance of attack was much less for cruise ships. There had been no approaches by pirates to a cruise ship in five years. (He did not mention that when that happened the cruise ship was hit by two hand launched missiles. One crew member was injured but no passengers).

There still was to be an abundance of precautions as Silver Wind passed through the designated areas. These were required by international maritime law. Some actions were required of the passengers.

Sound blasters and spotlights had been mounted around the ship for our passage through pirate territory. They came down mid-way through the Red Sea as soon as we crossed north of the Eritrean border and was abeam Egypt

 

There were lookouts on each bridge wing and the rear deck throughout the passage of the area as dictated by international maritime law

 

Some areas of the ship were closed. This locked door would normally provide access to an open deck and more importantly from an outside deck into the ship 

As for the ship's measures, I had already noticed sound blasters and search lights installed on the railings fore and aft. The captain said there were to be extra lookouts 24/7 for the three days we were to transit the subject waters, and there were some additional measures he would not disclose. But I had noticed a couple of athletic 40ish guys who had just come onboard in Salalah. They did not look like cruise passengers. These guys wore tight pants and blue aviator sunglasses. Oh yeah, they seemed to be heavily armed. (Armed personnel are not usual on cruise ship, to say the least.)

By the way, when I first saw these guys I asked the Customer Service Manager who they were. She said, “Oh, do you mean the French special forces guys? They sure had a lot of heavy suitcases that were a pain getting through Omani Customs. The Omani authorities thought the Frenchmen were terrorists.”

Their being French explained the tight pants and the designer sunglasses, but I didn't think terrorists declare their weapons when entering a county. Apparently the Omanis do. Live and learn.

The captain explained further that cruise ships can go faster in the open ocean than even the powerful pirate skiffs and are much more maneuverable than container ships and tankers. We could turn quickly using the side thrusters which are used for docking without the need for tugboats. Cruise ships could swamp any attacking small open boats with our bow wake by approaching quickly and turning sharply. That was how the earlier cruise ship fended off the pirate attack, but we were more likely to just change course and outrun the small skiffs.

Probably the most important protection for us, he said, was like all cruise ships our lowest decks were just too high off the sea’s surface to be accessible by the pirates’ ladders. Unfortunately this point was misunderstood by all but a handful of the cruise passengers. The lifelong mariner merely explained that the Silver Wind has a “high freeboard”. (Freeboard is the distance from the water level to the lowest deck of a vessel.  It is not a well-known term to most non-boaters.)  Heaven knows what most audience members understood from the captain’s nautical terminology, probably something about free room and board for the ship’s crew. Maybe they took it that pirates would not be interested in climbing on to Silver Wind unless they knew Silversea's ships were all inclusive.

The Captain strongly admonished the audience members to not “sound an alarm” every time a small boat was observed.  He was to repeat this a number of times. He said that there was an abundance of small fishing boats in the area and he showed us pictures of fishing boats. Then for comparison he displayed photos of some actual pirate skiffs. The pirates’ open boats were heavily manned with as many as 6 to 8 occupants as opposed to a maximum of perhaps three guys in the fishing boats. The pirates had visible military style weapons.  I thought fishermen’s harpoons and large knives would be even more alarming, but I decided to keep quiet.

Pirate boats would have boarding ladders coiled up in their boat, the captain said.  Wouldn't fish nets look very similar to coiled up rope ladders I wondered?  I must not have been alone thinking of possible confusion because at this point it was clear that the audience was getting a bit nervous. The noise level in the room increased as the passengers were beginning to talk among themselves. So most probably missed the Captain’s most important admonition not to attempt to take photos from their balconies of approaching potential pirates.

The passengers in the audience started to listen very carefully again when he explained why not to go out on the balcony if a pirate alarm was sounded on the ship. Captain Arma said that frustrated pirates might want to take pot shots at any visible people "out of frustration"!  I made a mental note not to take any selfies of boats full of guys with military weapons and coiled up ladders. In any case, the captain stated that his crew was highly trained in differentiating between fishermen and pirates and that the passengers should leave the sounding of alarms to them. This was a bit difficult for those of us who have been admonished repeatedly, "If you see it; Report it." On a ship, the captain takes care of you he said.

The captain then got to the required and more formal part of the briefing. Unfortunately it was beginning to be lunch or nap time for many of us.  Blood sugar was getting low, and most of what followed were small but important operational details as what to follow was specifically for us. The captain said that the bridge would control the outside lights on passengers' balconies (oddly enough to light up the ship to make it look fully occupied). A few areas would remain dark and be locked or otherwise off limits to passengers and most crew members to allow for the lookouts to see clearly at night or "for other reasons", unspecified. Surprisingly for 48 hours or so the Internet and satellite telephone system would be inaccessible to all passengers and crew*.  That caused a bit of a buzz. Otherwise all ship’s amenities would continue as normal. “Just continue to enjoy your cruise”, he said. I thought of President Bush telling everyone to go out and shop after the events of 11 September 2001.

The Captain wrapped up his talk by repeating that there was little to worry about. Just be cautious and remember to not take pictures of potential pirates and again not to sound any alarm about fishing boats. Then in homage perhaps to Steve Jobs he said, “One more thing" What he was about to say would be very important instructions in the very, very rare case that we attacked by pirates.  That got everyone’s attention back.

A special alarm would be sounded. Those swimming in the pool would need to “exit the pool immediately” since the swimming pool would be emptied all at once. (I believe he actually said, "Flushed"). Most importantly all passengers in their rooms were to leave their suites, go into the hallway, and sit on the floor with the doors to their rooms closed. This again distracted the guests no end. They started to ask questions, unfortunately to each other and not to the captain. So many missed the detailed explanation that if the ship were to speed up and turn away quickly to distance itself from the pirate skiffs or much less likely in in an attempt to swamp the attackers’ skiffs, the pool water might flow over the deck in a mini-tsunami throwing people and deck chairs overboard. I presumed that those who didn't leave the pool would find themselves surfing across the deck or more likely hitting the bottom of the pool as it was drained "in seconds".

Taking refuge in the hallways wasn't to hide as in the film, Captain Phillips. We were to take to the hallways because sharp turns might cause wine glasses, cameras, and other personal belongings in the rooms to pelt any passengers remaining inside their suites. The unadorned hallways were merely the safest places on the ship free from loose items.

I made a note to myself to keep in mind if I wanted to stay in the room during a pirate attack to hold on tight and take cool videos of flying binoculars as long as I didn't go on the balcony, of course.

The pool deck was unusually empty after the captain's briefing despite the 90F plus outdoor temperatures

I spent the rest of the day after the captain’s briefing reading on our balcony or by the pool. For some reason, hardly anyone was outdoors despite the heat in the Indian Ocean.

*My theory for the two-day communications blackout was to prevent passengers from posting false reports of pirate attacks to friends and relatives on Facebook or otherwise, no doubt to be picked up by every news starved agency in the States and elsewhere. Later I heard many of the other passengers explaining to each other that shutting down the communication systems most certainly would be to prevent pirate “motherships” from using the satellite uplinks for tracking our ship. This is not a feasible explanation for a number of technical reasons. I even determined later on that the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that continuously radios the ship’s position and heading was to be left on as per the international maritime regulations.  (AIS is an essentially a collision avoidance system and required for all larger ships, most appropriately needed in a convoy of ships cruising at various speeds in crowded narrow designated corridor.) I gave up trying to explain all this to interested passengers after one guy suggested that I lecture on such matters. I responded that I had actually done technical enrichment lectures on similar luxury cruise ships years ago in these very waters. He just laughed and said, “Very funny”.

Sunday – 12 April – Safaga, Egypt

I saw military helicopters patrolling the convoy throughout our passage in the Gulf of Aden south of Yemen

Birim Island, Yemen at the mouth of the Red Sea was barely visible through the air obscured by sand storms

As it happened, the transit of the Gulf of Aden along the Yemeni coastline and through the narrow Strait of Bab Al Mandab was routine. We passed very close to Yemen’s Birim Island, avoiding straying close to Djibouti which wasn’t under military embargo I later discovered. At any rate, all the special measures detailed in the captain’s talk were lifted as soon as we passed north of the border of Egypt and Eritrea. The Red Sea between Egypt and Saudi Arabia is considered safe.

Most Egyptian men are employed by the government or the military, apparently to just stand around in nice uniforms

A day later at 7 am we arrived at the Red Sea port of Safaga. A large number of marginally employed officials were awaiting our arrival on the pier. Egypt is not like Oman in so many ways, I thought.

Panorama shot of Safaga, Egypt. Notice the huge army base and the coastal mountains that separate the Red Sea from the Nile Valley. Barbara's tour took her to both sides of the Nile, some three hours away

The workers on the fresh water barge just sat on their deck for five hours, no doubt discussing their luck in having jobs

Safaga is a sparkling desert town on the edge of the coastal mountains. Essentially a cargo port, it and nearby grain port Hurghada serve as gateways for cruise ship passengers taking excursions to the pharaonic temples at Luxor and for the Valley of the Kings, most notably remembered for the location of King Tut’s empty tomb. The ship’s tour was 13 hours. I had taken it twice. So as in Salalah Barbara went solo. She is writing up her experiences for inclusion in her trip reports.

After Barbara left on the all-day excursion I spent the day reading and enjoying the clear air. We were past the effects of the Arabian sand storms so that I could get a nice panorama of the town and its backdrop of mountains. There was a huge army base near the pier. The army provides employment for much of the male population.

The others don't work all that hard it appeared. For most of the day I could see the very bored looking marginally employed Egyptian crew on the fresh water barge alongside Silver Wind. With tourism down and the recent political upheavals in the country, employment in Egypt outside the army is pretty much limited to very low paying jobs. Most Egyptian males I saw just sat around all day. I’ll have much more to say about Egypt’s dysfunction as part of my write-up for our excursion to Ismailia during our all day port stop in Port Said.

The Butler Supervisor in a white uniform drilling the butlers in military precision for a number of hours before the 13 hour tour arrived back to the ship. To his right are Cruise Director Colin and Sylvia, the Tour Desk Manager, all watched by an Egyptian government employee with his hands in his pockets.

Barbara’s tour bus arrived back to the port well after dark. The line-up of butlers had waited for hours but somehow had the energy to scream, “Welcome Back”, to each tired tourist. The Butler Supervisor had been drilling them for hours in this exercise, maybe inspired by the nearby military base. The tour participants had spent a total of 7 or 8 hours riding the bus on both sides of the Nile and over the coastal mountains.  They looked exhausted and probably certainly didn’t care how they were greeted. Actually they appeared to hope the butlers would get back to work to bring them room service diners.

Barbara reported that despite the heat inland she had a good time but wasn't planning to take that tour again. Unfortunately Barbara’s buffet lunch did not include the camel stew I had been offered 20-years earlier, nor was she greeted at the Luxor Sheridan by a guy playing a violin on his head. We had a late dinner in the empty dining room.

We sailed at 9pm and entered the Gulf of Aqaba for our all day visit to Jordan the next day. I was excited to see Wadi Rum, a national park I had missed in 1995 and site of many movies.