COVID19: Cruise Lines Cancel Antarctica Cruises
by Victoria Klesty (Reuters) – Norway’s Hurtigruten has called off its remaining Antarctica cruises from January to March next year and will reduce capacity along the Norwegian coast because of...
I have received a few emails regarding Sunday’s story about a DHS agreement to crew one quarter of LNG ships with American mariners. In a post titled Could American Officers on LNG Ships Stop Terrorists From Using Them as WMDs?, Hunt of the Sea Wolves sums up the contrary opinion stating:
Of course, this is all conjecture, but so is the thought that a few American officers aboard an LNG ship could possibly stop armed killers intent on destroying a city and all who live in it.
My Response? While I agree that American mariners are probably not any more capable of preventing a determined terrorist, they do have the ability to harden the target. I have many reasons for this opinion but here are the ones of greatest importance.
Some will paint this opinion as xenophobic or protectionist but again I disagree. Take all references to “U.S.” out of the story and you’re left with sound policy. There is no reason ¼ of all ships going to Australia, India, Japan… shouldn’t be crewed with local mariners. LNG ships are primarily on liner runs, if they were tramp ships my opinion might differ.
For a good insider’s perspective on this topic view this MaritimeLinks posts:
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