In news that was well hidden from the mainstream media, Cruise Bruise has located incidents of mass mugglings on a beach, similar to that recent in Limon, where a dozen cruise ship passengers were muggled by three armed men, while enjoying the beach in Limon.
This time the beach was in Durban, South Africa. According to their local newspapers, muggings of tourist are common place there, so much so, the locals wonder why a cruise ship would call there, given the risk to their passengers.
This was not an isolated incident, by any stretch of the imagination. Several groups of passengers of the 600 total from the cruise ship MS Amadea reported on November 19, 2006, that they had been robbed at gun and knife-point by thieves after they had been taken by tour bus to the beachfront – a perfectly logical place for any tourist to visit.
South African news reported three busloads of passengers were taken to the beachfront where each group was mugged and had goods stolen from them at knifepoint in quick succession. Jewelry, cameras, video cameras, cell phones and cash were taken from the passengers.
The passengers were on the German owned MS Amadea, when they called at the hub of cruise ship operations in Africa, Durban, South Africa.
Tourist are not treated any better by the government. A few years ago South Africa lost a golden opportunity of hosting a cruise ship throughout the summer months by one of the largest international cruise operators.
Immigration officials in Johannesburg who discovered that the tour director, who arrived on an invited fact finding mission, had a visa that that expired a day before his intended departure. Efforts to extend it for a few days were fruitless and he was ordered out of the country.
The tour director’s response was to be expected – his message to head office was that if this was how he was treated then it would also be how his passengers could expect to be treated, and the company was not prepared to take the chance.
In early December 2006 a French woman was brutally gangraped. The 26-year-old French visitor, who had come to Durban to attend the International Paralympic Committee's Swimming World Championships, was attacked in front of some beachfront pools across the road from a string of luxury and less expensive hotels.
Shortly thereafter, another French tourist was attacked in Durban, and this time the victim was jumped by a gang of five men whose leader was wielding a large saw-edged knife.
"He threatened to kill me. I thought my last moments had come," said Karl-Andre Gandor, 44, who was knocked unconscious and ended up with a bump on his head and a knife cut on his face.
Gandor's family, his wife Claudine, daughter, Sarah, 20, son Florian, 15, and 10-year-old daughter, Anne-Claire, had been enjoying their holiday in KwaZulu-Natal after driving from Pretoria, where one of Gandor's relatives is a diplomat.They parked their rented car at South Beach and spent several hours walking along the beachfront where the attack took place. The thieves got a video camera, expensive cellphone and R1 200 Ray-Ban glasses.
"There were a lot of people, plenty of security and we felt perfectly safe," said Gandor's wife.
More recently, in early February 2007, Seven Seas Voyager cancelled a call at Durban. This was disclosed on board the ship in Richards Bay harbour on Wednesday, when it was said that when Regent Seven Sea Cruises drew up its itinerary a previous security problem in Durban led to the decision to avoid the KZN port.
"Our guests do not feel safe getting off the ship in Durban where passenger facilities are not secure, so we chose Richards Bay instead, said the ship’s master, Capt Dag Dvergastein."
Despite the perception that Durban is ‘unsafe’, he said that South Africa and Africa remained a popular destination among the passengers, who visited the nearby game parks and the St Lucia World Heritage Wetland Park while the ship was in Richards Bay.
How is Durban dealing with the problem. One local says, "Whenever there is a major event that involves overseas dignitaries the city is literally swept clean before the event. A high profile international conference or trade show at the ICC is all the trigger they need to take action to minimize or even prevent any undesirable incidents from occurring during this period.
A few days before the event you will see vans driving around picking up street kids, lurkers and beggars. They get taken to places of safety for the duration of the event where they are kept out of sight. As soon as the conference is over they are left to their own devices again."
This means for cruise ship passengers, they are the victims these criminals are waiting for, when the city does nothing to reduce crime.
Cruise Ship Passengers Mugged
Durban, South Africa
Phoenix Journeys MS Amadea - November 19, 2006
