A passenger onboard a cruise ship sailing from Darwin to South East Asia has shared the chilling moment people onboard were told to turn off their lights and close their curtains amid pirate concerns.
A TikToker by the name of @lillydapink, who specialises in mostly cruise-based content, posted a video of an announcement made on Cunard’s Queen Anne ship on March 13.
The ship had been crossing from Darwin to Manila, Philippines when the announcement was broadcast to the entire ship.
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“This area is known for piracy threats,” the announcement, understood to be made by the captain, said.
“We will be operating at a heightened level of security alertness during this period.
“The external promenade deck will be closed on both sides from 9pm to 5am overnight between the night of 1March 14 and 15.
“No guests will be allowed access during these times for the duration of the transit.”
Passengers were then told to keep their lights off and close their curtains when possible.
“During the hours of darkness, only essential open deck lights will be on to reduce the ship’s external lighting,” the captain said.
“We also request that you turn off your stateroom lights when not needed and close the curtains of your stateroom window or balcony.”
The captain then assured guests the likelihood of the ship encountering pirates was slim and the safety and security of guests and crew members was paramount.
“I assure you that measures to prevent any unlikely incident have been well planned and the likelihood of this happening on a big ship like Queen Anne is absolutely minimal,” he said.
The TikTok video went viral, amassing almost nine million views.
Among the thousands of comments, many expressed how scared they would feel if they were onboard.
“How do people relax after hearing this,” one person said.
“Well, that sounds terrifying,” another said.
Cunard told 7NEWS.com.au the announcement was standard maritime procedure when sailing through “certain regions”.
“There was no specific threat to the ship or its guests, and our onboard experience remained uninterrupted,” the cruise line said.
