Russian Submarines Cruising the East Coast
That was a question not a statement. Apparently, for the first time since the cold war was winding down two Akula class nuclear submarines have been spotted operating about 200 miles off the east coast.While they aren’t necessarily doing anything to far out of the ordinary, as cruisers you still have to wonder if they have any impact on cruises departing from the east coast (like the one I will be leaving on next week).
Well, for those of us who will admit to being self-absorbed enough to disregard the bigger questions on why there are two Russian subs cruising the east coast are wondering what this means for cruises the news is good. The truth is there really shouldn’t be any impact on cruise departures, arrivals or itineraries. While there is a definite cause for concern any time a Russian submarine is that close to our coastlines. Submarines such as these operate in international waters all the time. This is not a situation which is foreign to the cruise industry. This time of year Carnival is probably the most active cruise line with departures from the East coast. A spokeperson from the cruise line has stated there have been no itinerary changes or delays and all of their ships are proceeding as scheduled.
It was brought to my attention that last year, the battle cruiser Peter the Great sailed to the Caribbean to participate in naval exercises with the Venezuelan Navy. The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and other support ships also tagged along for the exercise.
Those of you who have safety concerns about your cruise ship not seeing submarine need not worry. Usually submarines operate either fully submerged or on the surface of the water. If they are fully submerged they will be at a depth that poses no danger to a cruise ship. If they are on the surface these 100+ meter vessels are easily detected. In other words with two Russian submarines cruising our coastlines, a collision with a cruise ship is at the bottom of our list of concerns.
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