The hijack attempt on MSC Melody will not change the tune of cruising or scare off consumers, says ICCA.

BRETT JARDINE, general manager, International Cruise Council Australasia, said that the Somalian pirates’ failed attack on the Italian cruise ship near the Seychelles on Saturday demonstrated the adequacy of onboard security.

"Cruise lines are well prepared to evade and deal with situations when and if they arise," he said "The actions taken by MSC and other cruise lines have been successful, so clearly security is sufficient. It all comes back to awareness and taking necessary precautions."

While Jardine conceded the brazen attack on a passenger ship so far from the Somali coast was "very surprising" he does not believe it will become common.

"My personal understanding is that pirates are not interested in cruise ships – it’s more about cargo ships – but cruise lines do take the safety of their crew and passengers very seriously."

"In the three instances of piracy on cruise ships in the past 12 months, all have evaded the pirates."

“I can remember three instances of piracy on cruise ships in the last 12 months - the Seabourn, Oceania Nautica and now the Melody - and all have successfully evaded the pirates, so I can confidently say that we are well prepared for any possible attacks."

The Gulf of Aden, where most attacks take place, is now patrolled by the French, Spanish and US Navy, and ships sailing through the region are travelling in convoy. Jardine said there was no need to "go overboard" with extra security.“Obviously it’s a threat to us but it’s no different to other threats in everyday life and no worse than crossing the street and getting run over," he said. "It’s only going to impact on people on sectors of world cruises, repositioning cruises from Asia to Europe, and African voyages, which we don’t sell many of in Australia. It all comes back to reassuring the consumer - it’s their decision. Cruising is still the best value holiday."

Meanwhile, Abdirahman Mohamed Farole, President of Puntland, on the horn of Africa near the trouble spot, told ABC’s Foreign Correspondent on Tue, that piracy could be tamed if foreign governments offered aid of $3m-$5m a year.However, the French Government has so far shown an uncompromising approach, sending six helicopters with Special Forces and a sniper to retrieve $2m ransom money paid to pirates who hijacked a French yacht.The US Government also seems more likely to take its own action following the incident three weeks ago when the US Navy rescued the American skipper of the Maersk Alabama who was held hostage by pirates.

Taken from Cruise Weekly 30 April 2009