As the international cruise ship industry expands, concerns about terrorism are growing, according to documents obtained from Transport Canada.
The documents, released under the Access to Information law, say demand for cruising worldwide nearly doubled between 1999 and 2009, with the number of passengers increasing to 16.93 million from 8.59 million. In addition, vacationers are coming from an increasing range of national, racial, ethnic and religious groups.
The documents say these trends likely will make cruises more appealing targets for terrorists who are “looking to maximize lives-lost and create publicity.”
Cruise lines are also expanding their operations to new, remote and potentially dangerous areas, such as the Middle East, which the documents say increases ships’ chances of dealing with foreign marine facilities whose security practices are not up to par.
Transport Canada withheld information about the documents’ author and publication date, and refused interview requests.
However, Dane Rowlands, director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, said there is no publicly available evidence that suggests terror attacks on cruise ships are a big problem.
There have been five terrorist attacks on cruises in the last 55 years, according to the book Cruising for Trouble by Mark Gaouette, a former security director for American cruise line Princess Cruises.
The most recent assault occurred in 2004 when terrorists belonging to an Islamist separatist group bombed the SuperFerry 14 in Manila Bay, Philippines. The attack resulted in 116 deaths.
However, Rowlands said recent attacks on cruise ships by Somali pirates in 2005, 2008 and 2009 are fuelling concerns about marine security.
“I think people are drawing a link from what they’re observing on the piracy front,” said Rowlands, who studies terrorism and counter-terrorism activities. “They’re saying, ‘Wait, criminals can do it… why not terrorists?’”
Although the number of terrorist attacks on cruise ships is relatively low, Rowlands said it’s important for governments and intelligence agencies to anticipate terrorists’ next moves. He said once a terrorist group’s ability to act in one area — such as air travel — is limited, it will shift to different tactics.
And there is evidence this is happening. Documents seized from an al-Qaeda operative in Berlin in 2012 revealed the terrorist group’s plans to hijack cruise ships.
The Transport Canada documents outline four recommendations for improving cruise ship security, including increased risk assessment and information sharing between governments. Rowlands said cruise lines worldwide should also look at standardizing screening practices in the way airports have.
A paper published in 2006 by the Rand Center for Terrorism Risk Management Policy, a non-profit research institution, says cruise security checks remain “far less stringent” than those in airports.
According to the website for Cruise Lines International Association Inc. — the world’s largest cruise industry association — cruise passengers, crew and baggage must pass through a security checkpoint before embarking or disembarking. Additionally, crew members must undergo pre-employment background screening. But the website does not specify whether screening methods vary by cruise line or not.
The association did not respond to requests for an interview.
Rowlands said he thinks cruise ship companies tend to be more reactive than proactive with security practices because they don’t want to hurt business.
“This is a classic case where you’re more likely to see the barn door being closed long after the horses have galloped across the field,” he said.
Canada doesn’t own any cruise lines but the documents say Canadians represent about one-quarter of all cruise vacationers, not including U.S. passengers. Because of this, Rowlands said Canada should have an interest in helping improve cruise ship security.
“You don’t always want to be fighting the last war.”
BBritneff ATI Transport Canada Previously Released Records (Text)
EXPLANATION FOR THE ABOVE TRANSPORT CANADA RECORDS
1) What is the information?
The above pages are extracted from a larger document or paper that I think was written in 2011, but there’s no way to be certain. The pages contain information about trends within the cruise ship industry that the author believes might give rise to certain challenges, particularly terrorism, to marine security. The author breaks down the trends and explains why they might make cruise ships more appealing targets for terrorists. At the end of this section, there is also a short list of recommendations for improving cruise ship security worldwide.
The information also includes a detailed list of new cruise ship destinations in different regions of the world, scheduled for 2011.
Lastly, the information includes a list of facts and statistics about the international cruise ship industry.
2) From which department and level of government did you obtain these pages?
I obtained these pages from Transport Canada, a department of the federal government.
3) Why was this information helpful?
This information was helpful because it gave me the necessary foundation for a well-rounded story. It provided a twist on a popular mode of travel and thus gave me a news hook. The information was also helpful because it included some context and recommendations that inspired my research, my interview questions and the direction I took for story development.
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