Cruise ship passengers asked to close curtains and turn off lights when passing through this common piracy hotspot

While sailing through Southeast Asia on its global voyage, Cunard’s Queen Anne cruise ship issued a broadcast to alert passengers of piracy risks in the region. The captain warned of a “heightened security alert” and requested that passengers turn off the lights in their cabins and close the curtains. Additionally, the outdoor promenade deck was closed overnight as a precaution.

The Sulu and Celebes Seas border the shores of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines—a region historically associated with piracy. In January, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) downgraded the threat of crew kidnappings from “moderately low” to “low.” Consequently, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) advises vessels passing through these waters, like the Queen Anne did recently, to “remain vigilant while transiting the Sulu-Celebes Seas and report any incidents” to local authorities.

A Cunard spokesperson explained to Business Insider that the announcement was “part of standard maritime procedures” and clarified that there was “no specific threat to the ship or its passengers.”

The Sulu-Celebes Seas have recently seen a period of calm, but their history is marked by piracy and kidnappings. Since 2016, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) expressed concerns about the rise in maritime kidnappings, with the threat level reaching “high.” It wasn’t until May 2022 that the alert was downgraded to “potentially high,” and finally, in January 2025, the threat level was classified as “low.” However, the region’s legacy of piracy remains significant, with 237 incidents recorded in 2011 alone.

Pirate organizations in Sulu-Celebes

Several pirate groups operate in the region, but kidnappings are often attributed to Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic separatist group based in the southern Philippines. According to the US Maritime Administration, Abu Sayyaf received substantial funding from global Islamist networks, including Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah, during the 1990s and early 2000s. Following the 9/11 attacks and coordinated international efforts against terrorism, the group lost external funding and shifted its focus to kidnappings and extortion in the southern Philippine seas.

Kidnapping patterns

Between January 2014 and January 2019, Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 85 crew members in the Sulu-Celebes Seas, with over two-thirds of these incidents occurring in 2016.

The attacks were concentrated within a 250-mile radius stretching from Lahad Datu in Malaysia to the Zamboanga Peninsula in Mindanao, Philippines, crossing the Sulu Archipelago.

During those years, hostages were taken from fishing vessels (30) and tugboats (32), as well as from yachts, bulk carriers, and heavy cargo ships. On average, captives were held for 151 days—roughly five months.

By the end of January 2019, of the 83 crew members abducted, 45 had been released, 16 were rescued, seven managed to escape, nine died in captivity, and eight were believed to still be held at that time.

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