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In April 1973 QE2 was chartered by Mr Oscar Rudnik of Massachusetts-based Assured Travel of Worcester. His plan was to use the ship to take passengers from Southampton to Israel for the 25th Anniversary of the State’s birth.
Two cruises were planned – an Easter / Passover Cruise from 14 to 28 April, and a Silver Independence Day Cruise from 28 April to 13 May.
Naturally, given the almost permanently tense situation in the Middle East, it was assumed that QE2 could be attacked in some way by Arab activists at some point during the cruise. As a result, security was extremely tight and even involved the Ministry of Defence.
So, while the passengers due to sail on this noteworthy voyage may have felt secure as a result of the significant measures taken, there weren’t actually many of them to benefit from it. Widespread publicity about the potential threat and the consequent security acted as a great deterrent to travellers, and instead of the anticipated 1,200 passengers on each cruise the charterer ended up with half that number. The crew complement remained virtually the same, however, so service levels were never better.
An addition to the ‘crew’ was a complement of 11 rabbis to ensure that the entire main kitchen and restaurant complied with the strictest Kosher requirements.
When the liner put into Southampton on 12 April, the number of guards on the gangways was tripled and frogmen continuously inspected the area around the berthed ship. Lorries were searched as they delivered stores. Police vans and cars were to be seen inside and outside the docks and more than 20 police were stationed on the area leading to QE2’s gangways. Some police wore yellow armbands and were believed to be armed but the authorities would not confirm this.
The National Union of Seamen, on behalf of the crew, demanded £50 danger money for the voyage plus four years’ wages should they fall victim to Arab terrorists during the voyage, while at the same time claiming:
“There was never any problem over the liner’s crew. The majority of them are from the old Queen ships, and they look on this voyage as just another job of work”.
And still on the subject of money, MPs demanded to know who was paying for all the security. Since Cunard was, that particular complaint went no further.
The passengers, who were mostly American Jews, arrived at Heathrow aboard six chartered EL-AL or TWOA jets, and were given a huge police escort to Southampton. 15 coaches were used to transport them and police were on duty at vulnerable points on the route.
On arrival at the docks they had to pass through eight checkpoints before they embarked. They and their luggage went through electronic doorways, and security opened and searched some of the cases. There was also a rigorous check on crewmembers.
SAS members were carried on board throughout the voyage to guard strategic areas – and such was the sensitivity surrounding the arrangements of the SAS, that the Irish crewmembers were given leave for the duration of the cruise just in case any might identify the SAS men to the IRA. In addition, the ship carried 30 Royal Marines, many armed, and sniffer dogs alert for explosives!
Dockers handling baggage for QE2 stopped work asking that in the event of death caused by terrorist action through baggage explosives relatives should be granted four years’ wages similar to the liner’s crew. The management agreed and work resumed after 30 minutes.
QE2 left 40 minutes late because the last jet into Heathrow had been delayed. Helicopters – believed to form part if the security system – circled over the ship as tugs took her out into Southampton Water. Thousands of people, attracted by the publicity the liner had received, thronged the waterfront in the afternoon sunshine to see her sail away on Sunday 15 April.
QE2 was soon making 25 Knots.
Her first port of call was Lisbon on 17 April, where the authorities took the precaution of closing the Salazar Bridge while QE2 passed beneath. The passenger terminal was closed to all visitors and passengers were searched before being permitted to rejoin the ship if they went ashore. Portuguese frogmen made regular searches of the ship’s hull during her 12-hour call there.
The liner took a northern passage through the Mediterranean in order to keep distant from the North African coast, largely in order to avoid seeming unduly provocative.
QE2’s arrival at Ashdod on 21 April marked her inaugural visit to Israel and was a unique occasion for Ashdod itself – the first-ever visit by a passenger liner. QE2 stayed four days in Ashdod prior to proceeding to Haifa where the former Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, visited the ship. After a few days she returned to Ashdod.
Anti-personnel devices were detonated in the harbour at night around the floodlit ship in order to deter unfriendly divers.
On 29 April the passengers from the Easter / Passover Cruise flew home and the passengers for the Silver Independence Day Cruise joined the ship for a reversal of the itinerary.
QE2 spent just over two weeks in Israel before leaving on 8 May under similar strict security, arriving home on Sunday 13 May.
Despite all the security arrangements, Staff Captain Doug Ridley described the cruise from his perspective as “monotonous”: “The only threats I know of are what we have read in the newspapers”.
But, of course, the Staff Captain didn’t know everything – and a man who did made some astounding revelations the following year.
In July 1974 President Anwar Sadat of Egypt revealed in a BBC Panorama interview that he personally had countermanded an order to torpedo QE2.
President Sadat said that he was awoken early one morning and asked to confirm orders to an Egyptian submarine issued by President Gadaffi of Libya, with whom Egypt was sharing a political and military alliance at the time.
Sadat immediately countermanded Gadaffi’s orders which had been to sink QE2 to avenge the Libyan airliner shot down by Israel over Sinai late in 1972, killing more than 100 passengers.
Sadat claimed that when he found out about the ‘Sink the QE2’ plan he only had two hours in which to countermand the order:
“Fortunately he [Gadaffi] tried to use one of my submarines rather than his own. I was told about this at 1.30 am and I stayed up until 3.30 am making sure the submarine captain had returned to Alexandria”
