Piracy threat prompts dark sail for cruise ship in Philippine waters

For passengers aboard the Queen Anne, their cruise holiday took a dramatic turn as they approached the Philippines

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The Queen Anne is a veritable floating city capable of hosting nearly 3,000 passengers and more than 1,200 crew members. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:38pm, 26 Mar 2025Updated: 12:44pm, 26 Mar 2025

Passengers aboard a luxury cruise liner were plunged into an eerie cloak of darkness recently as the ship navigated through a stretch of water in the southern Philippines notorious for piracy.

Crew members on the Cunard-operated vessel Queen Anne instructed guests to turn off unnecessary lights, draw their curtains, and remain vigilant as the ship sailed through the Sulu and Celebes seas. The promenade deck was closed overnight and external lighting was dimmed to minimise visibility from the outside.

“This area is known for piracy threats,” a crew member announced over the ship’s broadcast system, as heard in a TikTok video of the incident. “Therefore, we will be operating at a heightened level of security alertness during the period.”

The heightened precautions were a result of Abu Sayyaf, a militant separatist group aligned with Islamic State that has conducted kidnappings and demanded ransoms in recent years.

While passengers were understandably on edge, the crew sought to reassure them, stating that the risk of piracy against a ship as large as the Queen Anne was “absolutely minimal”.

Stretching 323 metres (1,060 feet) with 14 decks, the Queen Anne is a veritable floating city capable of hosting nearly 3,000 passengers and more than 1,200 crew members.

The Sulu and Celebes seas have long been a hotspot for maritime crime. Between 2016 and 2020, Abu Sayyaf abducted 85 seafarers from 21 vessels, primarily targeting smaller ships such as fishing trawlers and tugboats, according to maritime security advisory firm Risk Intelligence.