Update on Eritrea Incident reported 8 April

Created by jimmy. Last modified on 2008-04-12 06:05:51
Topic: Piracy
Countries: Eritrea

Noonsite has received from Lodewyk Brust the following comments on the recent report on an incident in Eritrean waters:

We note the report dated 8th April from sailing yacht Tactical Directions that they were approached in Eritrean waters and asked to stop by an apparently civilian boat.

We have just completed a voyage down the Red Sea, with the Vasco da Gama Rally, and we think it is important for yachtsmen sailing in that area to be aware of the following:

When sailing in Eritrean waters yachts should expect to be approached by the military, especially in the vicinity of the Islands such as Difnein which have military posts. Although this is an area subject to a large military presence they do not have their own navy or coastguard boats but are likely to use plain fishing or utility boats. Also they may not be uniformed! However they have every right to ask to see papers. In our experience they have always been courteous and on one occasion they waved us on after checking that we were flying an Eritrean courtesy flag. (Of course any yacht sailing in a country's waters without flying a courtesy flag is asking for trouble.)