Corporate Experience(cont'd)
As the Director of Security for Princess Cruise Lines, I was required to prepare the security arrangements of the Queen Mary 2, the largest cruise ship in the world for her role as a floating hotel at the port of Piraeus in Greece during the 2004 Summer Olympics. I traveled to Greece on several occasions and met with high ranking officials of the Greek Coast Guard, Greek Navy, National Police, as well as the U.S. Defense Attaché and RSO (Regional Security Office) at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece. I was appointed the lead corporate security representative to Carnival Cruise Lines. Security planning for the QM2 was conceptualized in my “ Olympic Security Plan QM2 – Athens, Greece 2004 Summer Olympics ”. The plan included terrorist threat intelligence, contingency planning, organizational reporting, law enforcement responsibilities, and crisis response. I briefed this product several times to security members of the U.S. Embassy in Greece , members of the USSS (who visited the ship with former President George H.W. Bush), the Athens Organizing Committee (ATHOC), and the Commodore of the QM2. The visit of the ship to Piraeus was a complete success.
As the Director of Security for Princess Cruises, I concerned myself on improving the status of port security in Istanbul , Turkey , (a city and country where terrorism has recently been hit hard). Princess and Cunard ships have been regular visitors to this port of call however after the November 2004 bombings, visits had to be curtailed because of security concerns. Through my efforts with the U.S. Consul General in Istanbul , the U.S. State Department's Anti-Terrorist Assistance Branch (ATA) funded a delegation of Turkish maritime and security officials to observe maritime security operations at the Princess Cruise terminal in Ft. Lauderdale , Florida . In cooperation with a specially developed ATA security maritime program, I arranged for this group to learn how the U.S. maritime industry is regulated and operated according to the recently enacted International Ship and Port Security Codes (ISPS).
