Queen Anne braves pirate threat enroute to Cape Town on maiden world cruise

Queen Anne made headlines this week on her maiden world cruise, which includes a departure from Cape Town in April, when she sailed through waters in Southeast Asia notorious for piracy.

As Queen Anne prepared for her first night transiting the Sulu and Celebes seas—an area with a well-documented history of maritime crime— Captain Inger Klein made a public announcement to inform guests of heightened security measures.

In a TikTok video posted by one of the ship’s passengers, Captain Inger told passengers that certain areas of the boat deck would be off limits, while external lighting would be limited. She also asked passengers in window and balcony cabins to avoid leaving lights on, and to draw their curtains at night.

High-pressure fire hoses were also set up along the promenade deck as a deterrent against potential threats.  

“This area is known for piracy threats,” Captain Inger said in the announcement. “Therefore, we will be operating at a heightened level of security alertness during this period.”

The waters surrounding Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have long been regarded as high-risk by maritime security experts, with the waters Queen Anne was sailing through once described as a “hotbed for crime, piracy, and terrorism” by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. 

The most recent reported abduction occurred in 2020, and the waterway, a key transit bottleneck between the Indian Ocean and Asia, is one of the busiest in the world, frequented by cargo and passenger ships alike.  

Captain Inger emphasised that the situation was under control.  

“I would like to emphasise that the safety and security of the ship, all guests and crew onboard is my highest priority,” she said. “I assure you that measures to prevent any unlikely incident have been well planned and the likelihood of this happening on a big ship like Queen Anne is absolutely minimal.”  

The Queen Anne, which accommodates more than 3,350 guests, departed from Hamburg, Germany, on January 7th. 

The 111-day World Cruise includes stops in destinations such as England, New York, Hawaii, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, China, Vietnam, South Africa, Singapore, and Malaysia.

On April 11th, Queen Anne will depart Cape Town bound for Southampton in the UK. The 16-night West African and Atlantic itinerary features calls in Namibia, Senegal, and the Canary Islands.