Potential new trend in pirate tactics in an area of the Red Sea off Eritrea

Some useful information for anyone considering a Gulf of Aden and Red Sea passage can be found in the article by Neptune Maritime Security on www.MarineLink.com

Our thanks to Jim Logan for bringing this article to noonsite’s attention, who says: “these attacks were occurring well inside the Red Sea, approximately 20 NM from the Eritrean coastline. Having sailed through this area in 1999 and again contemplating it in the near future, I believed that once past Bab el-Mandeb, a yacht was relatively safe from pirate attack. The attacks mentioned in the article, describe groups of pirate, up to 20 boats, attacking en mass. A helpless yachtsman would be overwhelmed and anyone assuming that there is safety in numbers, i.e. convoy, would be sadly mistaken.”