Wednesday, October 5, 2016 - 10:58 by ce-press
Amsterdam is improving the security of river ships and passengers. This is one of the fastest growing sectors within the city’s tourist industry. More than 1,800 river cruiseships and over 450,000 passengers are visiting this year.
“We attach great importance to the security of our visitors. Recently, to our regret, we received several reports regarding burglaries taking place on board the river cruise ships which were docked in our port area. Monitoring our river cruise mooring locations should impede calamity and give the passengers an extra sense of security. Therefore, from this point, the busiest river cruise locations in the Amsterdam port area will have extra surveillance during the night.”, said Alma Prins, sales manager cruise Port of Amsterdam.
For the extra surveillance the port has joined forces with M&M Security. “Sea cruise security is statutory regulated through an ISPS code and all checks, security and X-ray scanning of passengers and luggage is executed by certified officials. But, for river cruise ships there are hardly any security regulations,” said Mo Khalfaoui, managing director at M&M Security.
The company will be deployed for nighttime surveillance and security at De Ruijterkade, quays 17 and 18; De Ruijterkade Oost, quays A,B,C,D; De Ruijterkade West; Veemkade (PTA) and Javakade.
“Nowadays, security is a much talked-of issue. Together with the river cruise shipping companies, we are going to research how we can further explore this subject in depth for future developments. In any case, we will take the lead this season and next season, pursuing an optimum customer experience,” commented Koen Overtoom, acting chief executive officer Port of Amsterdam.
