March 21 On are way to Dubai

Letter was distributed to every room because of a number of concerns.  This is what it said

" Dear guest, 

I have received a number of questions concerning our forthcoming transit of the Arabian Sea towards the Persian Gulf and until we reach the Suez Canal with regard to the publicized 'piracy '  subject.  I believe that the more you know the better your understanding of the subject.  The recent film about the Maersk Alabama ' starring Tom Hanks has also improved public awareness.  First and foremost given the number of ships which transit these areas many at slower speeds and with a lower free boards and also taking into consideration the international outcry (on the Pirates) if an attack on a cruise ship was successful the likelihood of us being harassed is extremely low.

Vessels with low freeboard (the distance from the waterline to the deck) which are moving slowly, are mainly targets.  We on the other hand are moving at 20 knots and have a high freeboard.  Additionally because of the actions of the Naval Forces in the area the number of incidents has been reduced considerably.

Nevertheless it would be inconsiderate of me were I not to take precautions.

1.  Amsterdam will be reporting regularly to UKMTO in Dubai.  UKMTO is the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization who co-ordinate all the coalition warships in the area assigned to anti-piracy operation.  We are being tracked during our entire transit and although we may not see them, warships and AWAC will be monitoring us.

2. A close radar watch will be kept on the bridge.

3. We have extra security guards and they will be rotating 24 hour anti-piracy watches.

4. We have 4 long range acoustic devises, that are rigged manned and ready to use.

5. We also,have charged water hoses ready for useon both sides of the lower promenade deck.

6. We also have rigged razor wire on our freeboard deck, if a boarding were attempted, it would be on deck 3.

In the unlikely event of an attempted boarding or even if we are suspicious of a vessel, you will hear  ONE LONG RING OF THE SHIPS ALARM-followed by an announcement "TESTING TESTING TESTING" from the Captain, Staff Captain or the Officer on watch on the bridge.

Upon hearing the announcement we are asked to leave our room and stay in the middle of the ship away from windows. Also to sit down as any maneuver attempted by myself may result in heeling of the ship as we will be moving at a high speed.  We are capable of 25 knots

Signed the Master of the vessel

Captain Jonathan Mercer.

So we feel pretty safe.  Picture of razor wire on ship