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FOGHORN
This is not a hypothetical. This violent encounter recent-
ly occurred on a passenger vessel in Hawaii. The captain 
was stabbed by a passenger while underway. How could 
this happen? Why would someone do that? The incident 
sent shockwaves through the maritime community, and 
it should. Not because violence aboard passenger vessels 
is common, but because the possibility now demands our 
attention in a way it never did before.
Crews spend hundreds of hours training for fires, man 
overboard drills, and mechanical failures. We prepare for 
the emergencies we can see coming. But what happens 
when the emergency is a person, and that person is stand-
ing right next to you?
THE UNIQUE VULNERABILITY 
OF THE MARITIME ENVIRONMENT
Passenger vessels present a security challenge unlike almost any 
other setting. You are on open water, sometimes miles from 
shore. Law enforcement cannot reach you in minutes. Your 
crew is small relative to the passenger count. And unlike an of-
fice building or a hotel, once you are underway, nobody leaves.
This combination of isolation, confined space, and limited 
crew creates conditions where a determined aggressor has 
a significant structural advantage unless you have a plan. 
And not just a plan that exists somewhere in a binder. A 
plan that has been rehearsed, internalized, and refined 
until your crew can execute it instinctively under pressure.
In my more than 30 years in public safety as both a para-
medic and police officer, I have responded to scenes that 
most people only read about. What I can tell you with cer-
tainty is this: your performance during a critical incident 
will not rise to the level of your intentions. Rather, it will 
fall to the level of your training.
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
Your First and Best Defense
Every scenario-based training I have ever delivered, wheth-
er to law enforcement, EMS, or corporate teams, begins the 
same way: “Is the scene safe?” That question is not just a 
classroom formality. It is the foundation of survival.
Situational awareness is the continuous, deliberate process 
of scanning your environment, identifying anomalies, and 
making decisions before a situation demands them. For 
vessel crew, this practice begins before boarding starts and 
never stops. What is that passenger carrying? Who seems 
agitated, intoxicated, or disconnected from the group? Who 
keeps positioning themselves near crew members or restrict-
ed areas? Who isn’t dressed appropriately for the weather? 
Your brain is always working in the background, cataloging 
information before your conscious mind catches up. Trust 
those instincts. If something feels off, it probably is.
Pre-boarding screening is your first and most valuable op-
portunity to reduce risk. Not every threat carries a weapon; 
some arrive with volatile emotional states, unresolved griev-
ances, or substance impairments that can escalate rapidly in 
confined environments. Crew members who interact with 
passengers during boarding should be empowered, and 
trained, to recognize behavioral warning signs and commu-
nicate concerns to the captain before the gangway is raised.
Consider a simple color-coded awareness model for your 
crew: Green means everything is routine and relaxed. 
Yellow is elevated awareness, meaning that something has 
drawn your attention. Orange signals a specific concern 
that should be communicated to other crew members. Red 
means the situation has crossed into an active threat. Hav-
ing a shared mental framework means your team is speak-
ing the same language before anyone says a word.
DE-ESCALATION BEFORE CONFRONTATION
Most physical altercations do not begin with a weapon. 
They begin with words, and that means most of them can 
be redirected before they become something worse. De-es-
calation is not a soft skill. It is a tactical one.
When approaching a passenger who appears agitated or 
confrontational, maintain a calm, non-threatening pos-
ture. Give them space. Do not mirror aggression. Use a 
measured tone and open-ended language that invites dia-
logue rather than demands compliance. Avoid ultimatums 
unless the situation has already escalated beyond verbal 
intervention. People in a heightened emotional state often 
just need to feel heard before they can come down.
Equally important is crew positioning during a potential 
confrontation. Never approach an agitated individual alone 
if you can avoid it. Establish a visible crew presence without 
crowding; sometimes the simple awareness that multiple 
people are paying attention is enough to change the trajec-
tory of an incident. Know your exits. Know where other 
passengers are. Know where your other crew members are.
FOGHORN FOCUS

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