More on the comms effort behind the pirate hijacking of the Biscaglia
This week’s news analysis focuses on the communications effort behind the safe release of all 28 crew members aboard the Biscaglia, a cargo ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates in November 2008. As evidenced by this story, communications played a key role in the successful resolution of this situation. However, there were a few more comms points that we didn’t have a chance to include that are important to note.
CJP credits the language skills of its account executive Gauri Mundkur, who was able to speak Hindi with some of the families. In a global world, multilingualism is sure to continue to be of importance in all sorts of communications.
James Christodoulou, CEO of Shipping Enterprises Corp, stressed the importance of face-to-face meetings during his conversations with PRWeek. The story notes his trip to India (a whirlwind 72 hours when he met with families) at the beginning of January, but he also made another trip with members of his team when the crew members returned home. Meeting with the families in-person made them trust Christodoulou and his team even more. He says crew members have even asked to sail with his company again on future trips.
The mental and emotional well-being of the crew was just as important to Christodoulou and his team as the physical well-being.
“When I look at a measure of success, I have to look at the physical and mental and emotional state of the crew and their families at the end of this ordeal,” he said.
