QE2 Used To Smuggle Weapons
For The IRA
By Mike Groves
Details have now emerged that a former sailor working on board Cunard's flag ship the QE2, has admitted that the IRA utilized the vessel during the early 1970's to smuggle guns and explosives. Brendan Hughes, a former member of the merchant navy and who also became involved in terrorism, revealed the startling information shortly before he died in 2008.
Hughes confirmed to the Boston based reporter, and which has since been verified by a former IRA activist who was also involved, that the ship was regularly used to transport caches of assault rifles and hand grenades during the period. They also made clear that they were supported by a number of sympathetic crew members who would both stash the weapons and assist in their eventual removal from the vessel.
It would appear a number of tactics were used to move these weapons, including using the lining of long coats. These could well have been the long coats issued to officers and crew in days gone by? Although exact figures do not appear to have been openly disclosed, what is clear here is that these weapons; irrespective of personal views around the conflict, would have gone on to take lives.
However the following statement from Cunard is the thing I find most startling out of all this but that said, should I really be startled by THAT company? Cunard's response was simply and quite coldly, 'the operations had been carried out without the knowledge of anyone at the company'. Their arrogance remains remarkable...
No apology, no statements of disgust or sympathy for those mothers, wives and children of murdered fathers and/or British solders - just 'it had nothing to do with us?'
It had nothing to do with them because it was not their employees involved in assisting the IRA, its wasn't their fault because it was not their ship involved in the transportation of weapons of death, and it was not their fault that their own security systems failed abysmally time and time again to locate this on-going operation. In fact it would appear that Cunard only found out about 'this operation' the same time I did - just a few weeks ago?
The 'Security Professionals amongst us' have been aware of the potential for modern day smuggling for years, it is an obvious route and one that clearly lacks the stringent security checks one would hope for, compared to airport security. Mind you they [Cunard] have shown that they don't really like security advice because they ignored me about sailing outside the designated exclusion zones off the coast of Somalia in 2005; much preferring to go beach combing instead with their Seabourn ship, and we all know what happened there don't we.
The old saying of 'trust no one and expect the unexpected' [This includes Cunard / Seabourn in my personal opinion] remains one of the most stringent ways to keep your security team on their toes and alert to suspicious activity; in addition to training. That said, there wasn't much on-going security training when I worked for them so I imagine it was virtually nil in the 1970's.
One only wonders how many of those weapons were used to take lives and how those 'employees' who facilitated their movement now feel about the blood they have on their hands?
QE2 Used to Smuggle Weapons For the IRA
Cunard employees smuggling weapons in the lining of their coats
By Mike Groves QGM
Cruise Bruise Security And Safety Advisor
April 27, 2010
