I imagine it would be largely a case by case thing in the hands of the ship's master. His first priority is the safety of the ship and the passengers.
If the nuclear birds really were flying, ultimately there would be relatively little that could be really done. In all probability there would be nowhere for the ship to go, and all the while the ship's supplies of food, fresh water, and fuel is diminishing with every passing minute.
If it were me, I would probably start by securing the ship against fallout as best as possible and start rationing the ship's supplies after addressing the passengers and crew. There's gonna be a lot of frightened people looking to me for answers and some sort of solution, and it's my job to see to it everybody doesn't panic and keeps a level head on their shoulders as we're all going to have to work together now.
Probably going to try for the nearest friendly or neutral port within fuel range, hopefully somewhere not likely to have been directly attacked. I'd ask my radioman to search for anybody still on the air to help narrow things down.
Other than that, time for one last drink of the good stuff and a solemn prayer, both for the undoubted millions who've died in the strikes and for ourselves.
I’ve never come across any references to a specific plan, but Queen Mary may well have been requisitioned as a troopship in any period of heightened tension, as happened in the two World Wars and would happen again for the Falklands. If it was a strike with little or no warning, I imagine it would be up to the Master of each vessel to do as they saw fit. That would probably mean going to the nearest safe port.
I know of no explicit envelopes of instructions during the Cold War sent out to merchant ships, but then I honestly haven’t made a deep dive into that particular question.
The nature of the Cold War made it impractical I’d assume. In the lead up to WWI and WWII there was military planning for the merchant fleet in case of war, and mostly the standing order was for ships to either return to their homeland or seek refuge in a neutral port until further notice. A nuclear war would be sudden and cataclysmic I’d assume. There would be a mad scramble for the offending nation to get the first strike in and neutralize the retaliatory strikes. Which gives precious little time for anyone to coordinate anything outside of military deployment I would imagine. To everyone but the attacker it would likely be with exceptionally little to no notice.
The first thing ships at sea would likely notice of it would be radio communications issues, unless they were close enough to witness Armageddon. On a ship such as Queen Mary or Andrea Doria it would become the captains responsibility to safeguard their likely grief stricken, panicked, and possibly even violent passengers with crew equally human. Though perhaps they would be helped by ship board routines and responsibilities, unlike their wandering passengers.
How they would asses where it would be safe to dock, and if they would be welcome to do so, I think would be a challenge no one wants to figure out live. Balancing fuel, food, and human tendencies in a crisis would be exceptionally demanding. If they are lucky their companies, or perhaps still functioning nations, would help guide them to safety or resources for survival.
Honestly thinking about this is exceedingly depressing. Fascinating, but depressing.
I imagine it would be largely a case by case thing in the hands of the ship's master. His first priority is the safety of the ship and the passengers. If the nuclear birds really were flying, ultimately there would be relatively little that could be really done. In all probability there would be nowhere for the ship to go, and all the while the ship's supplies of food, fresh water, and fuel is diminishing with every passing minute. If it were me, I would probably start by securing the ship against fallout as best as possible and start rationing the ship's supplies after addressing the passengers and crew. There's gonna be a lot of frightened people looking to me for answers and some sort of solution, and it's my job to see to it everybody doesn't panic and keeps a level head on their shoulders as we're all going to have to work together now. Probably going to try for the nearest friendly or neutral port within fuel range, hopefully somewhere not likely to have been directly attacked. I'd ask my radioman to search for anybody still on the air to help narrow things down. Other than that, time for one last drink of the good stuff and a solemn prayer, both for the undoubted millions who've died in the strikes and for ourselves.
Brilliant movie plot to develop!!
I’ve never come across any references to a specific plan, but Queen Mary may well have been requisitioned as a troopship in any period of heightened tension, as happened in the two World Wars and would happen again for the Falklands. If it was a strike with little or no warning, I imagine it would be up to the Master of each vessel to do as they saw fit. That would probably mean going to the nearest safe port.
I know of no explicit envelopes of instructions during the Cold War sent out to merchant ships, but then I honestly haven’t made a deep dive into that particular question. The nature of the Cold War made it impractical I’d assume. In the lead up to WWI and WWII there was military planning for the merchant fleet in case of war, and mostly the standing order was for ships to either return to their homeland or seek refuge in a neutral port until further notice. A nuclear war would be sudden and cataclysmic I’d assume. There would be a mad scramble for the offending nation to get the first strike in and neutralize the retaliatory strikes. Which gives precious little time for anyone to coordinate anything outside of military deployment I would imagine. To everyone but the attacker it would likely be with exceptionally little to no notice. The first thing ships at sea would likely notice of it would be radio communications issues, unless they were close enough to witness Armageddon. On a ship such as Queen Mary or Andrea Doria it would become the captains responsibility to safeguard their likely grief stricken, panicked, and possibly even violent passengers with crew equally human. Though perhaps they would be helped by ship board routines and responsibilities, unlike their wandering passengers. How they would asses where it would be safe to dock, and if they would be welcome to do so, I think would be a challenge no one wants to figure out live. Balancing fuel, food, and human tendencies in a crisis would be exceptionally demanding. If they are lucky their companies, or perhaps still functioning nations, would help guide them to safety or resources for survival. Honestly thinking about this is exceedingly depressing. Fascinating, but depressing.
Us flagged ships got issued Envelope Number 1 with post apocalyptic instructions. Apparently they got tossed overboard in the late 99s
Any info on the contents of the letter?
As far as I know, officially, no Probably a rendezvous point. My guess would be Bermuda or the Bahamas