Cruise secrets: How ships are armed to protect against pirates revealed

While there are mechanical issues that could go wrong with a ship, there are political problems that could affect the journey too although the risk is very minimal.

The last hijack happened in 2017, when Aris 13, was hijacked by pirates in two skiffs a few miles off Alula, yet this was the first hijacking of a large commercial vessel since 2012.

Those cruises that sail along the coats of Africa have been pinpointed as suffering particular risk.

This is because of what is deemed a “legitimate threat” by pirates.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia, Africa, has been a threat to international shipping since the Somali Civil War, in 2000.

Piracy experts have estimated that in 2008, pirates gained about $80million dollars through ransom payments.