Passengers on board the Cunard Line’s Queen Anne, which is currently making its first world voyage, were surprised recently when they were told to take preventative measures against pirates.
The ship was in the middle of a leg between Darwin, Australia, and Manila, The Philippines. To go from one to the other, ships pass through Indonesian waters and then enter the Celebes and Sulu Seas.
On March 14, the Queen Anne’s Captain Inger Klein Thorhauge told guests that the area, which the boat was entering, was known for piracy according to the New York Post.
She warned passengers that the external promenade deck would be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time that day and the next and that only the essential open deck lights would be on during dark periods according to Cruise Critic.
“We also request that you turn off your stateroom lights when not needed, and close the curtains of your stateroom window or balcony,” she added. The boat then made port in Manila early in the morning on March 16, per the cruise’s itinerary.
Islamic militants on Mindanao, specifically the Abu Sayyaf Group, have previously been linked to piracy, robbery, kidnapping and terrorism in the region by the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration.
The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism also called the Sulu and Celebes Seas the main “hotbed for crime, piracy and terrorism” in Southeast Asia in a 2021 report.
The precautions were issued as a standard procedure, and the Cunard Line told Business Insider that “was no specific threat to the ship or its guests, and our onboard experience remained uninterrupted.”
