Cruise Ship Jails and Security (A Security Officer Reveals All) - What Are They Like?

Due to the large number of guests on a cruise ship, cruise ships do have to have jails onboard. They are needed for a variety of reasons and members of the ship’s security Team manage the jail.

The cruise ship jail, or “Brig” as it is known, is not accessible to guests.

It isn’t usually visited on ship tours for security reasons. Because of this, many people forget that it exists at all.

The cruise ship Brig is only used for the most serious incidents.

This post was created in collaboration with a former cruise ship security officer.

Do Cruise Ships Have Jails?

Cruise ships have small jails onboard, they are called Brigs.

The jails are located in the crew-only areas and guests rarely see them. The onboard jails are small and used as a place to hold guests suspected of breaking the law or those who are acting dangerously or recklessly.

Although cruise lines do have jails onboard, it isn’t the intention of the cruise line to keep guests here for any great period of time.

Keeping a guest in the Brig (Cruise ship Jail) is a last resort and one that cruise lines try to avoid as much as possible.

An alternative to placing a guest in the jail of a cruise ship, is to hold the passenger in cabin arrest – where the guest would not be able to leave their cabin at all.

This may happen in a situation where a guest was drunk and disorderly.

There are some ships, usually smaller older ships, that do not have brigs onboard.

Why Are Cruise Ship Jails Called Brigs?

The word Brig is a shortened form of Brigantine, “A small, two-masted ship” with large, square sails.

These speedy sailing ships were extremely common until the late 1800s. TheY were often used as prisons after they were decommissioned from sailing use.

Brig just means a prison, especially onboard a ship, it is defined as a place for ‘temporary confinement’.

On a cruise ship, you won’t find the Brig referred to as a jail. For the purposes of this post, I use the terms Brig and Jail interchangeably.

What Are Cruise Ship Jails (Brigs) Like?

The brigs themselves are very basic. Most are a simple room with a bed in one corner and little else.

They have a similar design to modern jail cells. Many people imagine cruise ship jails to have iron bars and be similar to that which you’d find on a ship hundreds of years ago, fortunately, this is no longer the case.

The photo below is of me in the Brig of the USS Midway. This is not what the Brigs on modern cruise ships are like – but is what many people assume a cruise ship jail will be like!

Cruise ship brigs will contain:

A bed
A Toilet
A Shower

What Security Measures Are in Place at Sea?

Cruise lines have multiple safety measures in place on every cruise and the crew are trained in all aspects of crime and reporting.

Guests and their belongings are scanned whenever boarding the cruise ship. This is to check for any prohibited items. Depending on the items found, these will be removed from the guest and the guest may even be denied boarding in extreme circumstances.

Prohibited items include: Drugs, firearms, weapons, ammunition, explosives, knives, flammable substances – and in some cases drones.
Each cruise ship has a trained security team onboard with various roles. All members are trained, to some degree, in what to do should a crime be committed on board the cruise ship.

The security team is available 24/7.
All crimes that happen onboard cruise ships are reported to the relevant authorities based on where the cruise ship is sailing.

Do Cruise Ships Have Security Onboard?

All cruise lines have a security team that works onboard.

The security team consists of security guards, supervisors, guest security supervisors, and ship security officers.

It’s a legal requirement for every ship to have a ship security officer who’s responsible for the overall safety of the ship.

Other crew members also have security responsibilities.

Who Are The Security Team Onboard a Cruise?

My friend Matt was a Security officer on board cruise ships – so I thought this was the perfect question to ask him:

The Security Team is responsible for implementing and enforcing the ship’s security policies in areas including the decks, gangway, and superstructures.
Members of this team are tasked to preserve the safety of crew members, guests, and the vessel through their observations and quick reporting of unusual incidents and/or situations during safety rounds.
Matt, A Former Cruise Ship Security Officer

Matt also mentioned that most people who join a cruise ship security team will have experience in either the Military, Aviation, Hotel Security, or will have been in the Police.

The Security team consists of the following roles (this can change slightly depending on the company and the size of the ship):

• Assistant Security Guard
• Security Guard
• Security Supervisor
• Guest Security Supervisor
• Deputy Security Officer
• Ship Security Officer (Every Cruise Ship has an SSO)
• Company Security Officer (Normally land-based)

Cruise Ships Have Security Guards

Security guards have many jobs onboard cruise ships. They must be constantly alert and prepared to respond to unusual incidents at any time.

The security guard must report all incidents to the ship security officer.

“Security Guards conduct safety rounds, maintain gangway security, and act as the first response whenever necessary to preserve the safety of guests, the crew, and the ship.
Matt, Former Cruise Ship Security Officer

What Do Guest Security Supervisors Do On Cruise Ships?

Guest security supervisors supervise and control ship entry. They complete safety rounds around the ship and conduct security inspections on the crew cabins.

People who work in guest security must have good managerial, organisational, and conflict-resolution skills.

What is a Ship Security Officer on a cruise?

It’s a legal requirement, according to ISPS code that every ship must have a security officer on board. They have full responsibility for the ship’s security.

“The main duties of the ship security officer include implementation and maintenance of a ship security plan, while working closely with the company security officer and the port facility security officer”
Matt, Former Cruise Ship Security Officer

The main responsibilities of a ship security officer are:

• Implementing and maintaining the ship security plan.
• Conducting security inspections at regular intervals.
• Making changes to the ship security plan if the need arises.
• Propose modifications to the ship’s security plan by considering various aspects of the ship.
• Help in ship security assessment.
• Ensure that the ship’s crew is properly trained to maintain a high ship security level.
• Enhance security awareness and vigilance onboard.
• Guide the ship’s crew by teaching ways to enhance the ship’s security
• Report all security incidents to the company and the ship’s captain.
• Help company security officers in their duties

The duties of a ship security officer might change, increase, or decrease, depending on the type of the ship and situation, and the type of vessel.

However, the main duties remain the same as mentioned above.

Why Would a Guest be Placed in The Jail of a Cruise Ship?

A guest may end up in the brig of a cruise ship for a couple of reasons.

The Guest Has Committed A SERIOUS Crime

If a guest is suspected of having committed a serious crime, they may be placed in the Brig.

This would only happen if the crime in question was something very serious – like an assault or murder.

If a serious crime like this did happen, the guest would be placed into the Brig until port where the local authorities would take over.

Unfortunately, murders do sometimes happen at sea. With 30 million guests cruising annually, statistically, it is likely to happen...

To learn more about how many people die on cruise ships per year, and what they die of, check out the post below:

Cruise Ship Deaths – Annual Statistics, Causes and Real Examples

The Guest Was a Danger to Themselves or Other Guests

If the guest was being a danger to themselves or other guests they may be placed in the Brig as a last resort.

If the guest had made threats against other guests or threats to end their own life, they may be placed in the Brig.

Cruise lines do try to avoid putting guests in the Brig, but in some circumstances where no other options are available, it may be necessary.

If a guest was drunk and disorderly in some circumstances they may be asked to sign a contract that says that they won’t drink for the rest of the cruise – and if they do drink, they will be removed from the ship.

This isn’t an empty threat, cruise lines can and do disembark passengers.

A Guest Trying to Scam The Cruise Line

Amazingly some people do go on cruises to try and scam the cruise lines.

Fake “trip and slip” incidents occasionally happen at sea – with the guest hoping to secure a free cruise.

Luckily for the cruise lines, there are CCTV cameras all over the ships.

In most situations, this would be dealt with without the use of the Brig. If the passenger had committed a serious crime in pursuit of their scam – entering crew-only areas for example, the Brig may be used.

Who Decides Who Goes in The Brig?

The final decision of whether a passenger goes into the Brig is with the Captain of the cruise ship.

The security team onboard would work with the captain to decide on the best outcome.

In the majority of situations, the security team are usually able to diffuse a situation by returning a passenger to their cabin instead of the Brig.