January 14, 2011
I have always been a bit in awe of super ships and those charged with the responsibility of moving them through the seas of the world. Of course, I also am interested in what security concerns and challenges they must be confronted with on these colossus that also routinely travel upward of 24 knots in heavy seas.
In my pursuit to learn more as to the similarities of these ship captains to yacht captains, I booked a couple of cruises, one in familiar Caribbean surroundings and the other in the not so familiar Mediterranean. The captains and cruise lines are not being identified to protect the captains’ positions on these sensitive security matters.
Security on these super ships is not taken lightly. As soon as I broached the subject of security, the mood of the conversation changed and the captains became guarded to a degree that is not easy to explain. In short, both were extremely serious on the subject and there was no doubt they were not going to discuss this topic freely with an outsider.
Any security procedures discussed here are based solely on my independent observations as a trained security professional and not on any information the captains provided to me pertaining to their internal security procedures. Additionally, these observations are for the sole purpose of comparing the security procedures in place on board ships versus those found on yachts for professionals within the industry.
As with most ships, especially those carrying passengers, the chain of command is clear to all crew. Most cruise ships have at least four officers with the rank of captain, plus a master captain who is master of the ship and to whom the other captains report.
The responsibilities normally break out this way: Captain of the Deck, responsible for the crew operation; Engineering Captain, responsible for propulsion; IT Captain, responsible for all information technology, navigation aides and communications; and Hotel Captain, responsible for all cabins and guest-related services.
The position of Security Officer of the Ship is normally held by a senior officer with dual reporting to both the ship’s master and to the Director of Security for the cruise line, who is based on land at a corporate headquarters.
The onboard Senior Security Officer will have a significant number of dedicated security officers assigned with the sole function of maintaining a safe and secure cruise for its passengers and crew.
The visibility of security officers during the Caribbean cruise was significant compared to that of the Mediterranean cruise. These officers moved about the ship, keying on areas where crowds assembled at certain times of the day. Keen observations by supervisors as well as experience dictated where the uniformed officers took up their posts. On the Med cruise, roaming security was not only the responsibility of those dedicated to the security task but also shared by the entire officer compliment.
My goal in this exercise was to learn as a yacht captain if there is something in the realm of security on these behemoths that we can take and apply to our operations. Are they doing something that we are not that can improve our security operation?
The single most important fact that I took from this exercise is that security of the passengers and crew is, as Ford Motor Co. says, Job 1. Today’s elevated consciousness of security issues and the strong economic cruise segment in a down economy means that any incident can have dire consequences, not only to the specific ship but also to the entire industry.
My conversations with the ships’ masters were similar to conversations I have had with captains of yachts over the past several years. The parallels to our own operations are clear; it does not matter how big or small the yacht; we should all have the same security priorities when at sea or port.
The following comments by the ships’ masters demonstrate the similarities of our mutual security concerns:
“Security is what keeps me awake at night, right up there with the competence of port pilots.”“I make sure that all of my officers understand my commitment to security protocols and their specific responsibilities.”
“No matter how minor or seemingly insignificant, if it pertains to passenger or crew safety, I need to know now.”
After meeting with these captains, I am still in awe of their ships but I’m glad I chose a different career path. The similarities to the yacht captain far out weigh the differences. We all just want to stay safe and have a great cruise.
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