Somali pirates move north towards the Red Sea-(ISAF reaffirms warning)

by Sail-World Cruising on 2 Jul 2010 Once cruising sailors had sailed the Gulf of Aden and reached the vicinity of the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, in reach of Red Sea waters, they would sigh with relief, as this was the sure signal that they had passed the dangerous pirate zone... but no more.

Yemeni Coast Guard police, in a statement distributed to the Media Centre of the Ministry of Interior, said that the pirates of Somalia have turned their activities to the area of the Strait of Bab al-Mandab due to poor marine conditions in the Gulf of Aden.

The Coast Guard said to the security information center that Somalia pirates have attacked since the beginning of this month at least 10 Yemeni ships and one oil tanker, all foiled by the security teams of police officers and Coast Guard escorting ships.

The Yemeni Coast Guard said that the security protection team accompanying vessels thwarted all attempts of kidnapping by pirates in Somalia, which were all in the area of the Strait of Bab al-Mandab.

They added that the pirates of Somalia have used the land area of the Strait of Bab al-Mandab as a stepping-off place for their activity, and that the Coast Guard has taken all necessary measures to combat piracy in the Strait of Bab al-Mandab.

In spite of recommendations of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) to the contrary, convoys of yachts have been making successful transits of the Gulf of Aden by following instructions of the coalition and European security contingents there and also staying close to the Yemeni coast where the Yemeni Coastguard has control of their waters.
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Letter from Reader:

Sender: Alan Green

Message: Hi
Your tailpiece suggests that the ISAF recommendations are at odds with those of the coalition (sic) forces. This is not correct - our recommendations were originally prepared in close co-operation with the military forces and cruising sailors with experience of the Gulf and recent reports of groups of yachts making transits where they have been lucky enough not to be attacked, have been fully shared with the military.

ISAF has been strongly advised not to change the recommendations. Military advice, which is based on past and current experience and also intelligence reports, remains that the transit of yachts through the Gulf of Aden is extremely dangerous and yachts are still strongly recommended to avoid the area.

Editor's Note: Alan Green is chairman of the ISAF International Regulations Commission