Piracy In Gulf of Aden

[JPA Cate]

I think Atoll's post (#90) makes an interesting point: are current insurances covering yachts for the Red Sea journey? If not, that would cause many cruisers to take the Cape of Good Hope route.

To Muckle Flugga and Bulawayo, IMHO, your posts would be easier to read, and more persuasive if you kept to facts and left sarcasm lying un-aroused. It is clarity of statements and documentation which are convincing.

Personally, I view the whole Middle East as heating up politically for the foreseeable future, which is why I supported the OP for using the southern route. If the situation were to resolve and become politically moderate, one could re-consider.

Ann

[philip.cat]

I have sailed from Malaysia to Cyprus via the Suez Canal and at the moment I am in Larnaca, I left Langkawi at the end of January had a good fast trip to Sri Lanka but a very slow trip to Djibouti I sailed through the Pirate area and the only drama was no wind.I did not actually sail my boat up the Red Sea as I had to fly back to Australia urgently but two very good friends took the boat for me up to Larnaca, they had a fast sail for 600 miles then no wind to 35 knots on the nose, they had a few problems with the boat mostly engine related but otherwise it was just a very hard slog. My point being boats are still doing the trip and there has not been any attacks this season, when I was going down into the Gulf of Aden an Aeroplane came over every morning I stayed more or less in the middle of the Gulf. Just to let people know I did my trip from Malaysia to Djibouti solo. The cost of going through the canal was 680 us dollars for a 17 mtr Catamaran and no baksheesh. I am waiting for a new generator to be installed as the one on-board failed, it had only done 200 hours so Beta Marine in England are replacing it under warranty plus all installation costs.. That is my small say on the matter about the pirate situation. If any one wants to be in touch please email me, philip@lacey.id.au I will gladly reply to you.
Phil

[atoll]

Originally Posted by atoll

I would be interested to know which insurance companies are offering cover for cruising yachts transiting the straits and gulf of aden,and what,if any their exclusions are?

anybody with recent information regarding insurance?

[beneteau-500]

Atoll re-insurance yes you can get insurance for Red Sea and up the suez but yes you can't get full cover insurance in the gulf of Aden ( I do have the lat & long of no go area for insurance of yacht on yacht will get over week end ) ,
And muckle flugga the people I work for are Not mercenaries they are employed by shipping companies cruise companies and mega yacht charter companies , as for weapons only one in eight people are armed under strict conditions out of a crew of 37 per vessel the company provides various services with the main aim is the prevention of pirates boarding vessels by erecting temporary structures in vulnerable points on vessels and stating up of high pressure water jet systems ,

I would like to say more but I would be banned for calling some people certain things and whilst the original poster most likely did not realise this was discussed last yr and I said the same things then .

Atoll don't forget our bet or has that slipped your mind

[beneteau-500]

Originally Posted by philip.cat

I have sailed from Malaysia to Cyprus via the Suez Canal and at the moment I am in Larnaca, I left Langkawi at the end of January had a good fast trip to Sri Lanka but a very slow trip to Djibouti I sailed through the Pirate area and the only drama was no wind.I did not actually sail my boat up the Red Sea as I had to fly back to Australia urgently but two very good friends took the boat for me up to Larnaca, they had a fast sail for 600 miles then no wind to 35 knots on the nose, they had a few problems with the boat mostly engine related but otherwise it was just a very hard slog. My point being boats are still doing the trip and there has not been any attacks this season, when I was going down into the Gulf of Aden an Aeroplane came over every morning I stayed more or less in the middle of the Gulf. Just to let people know I did my trip from Malaysia to Djibouti solo. The cost of going through the canal was 680 us dollars for a 17 mtr Catamaran and no baksheesh. I am waiting for a new generator to be installed as the one on-board failed, it had only done 200 hours so Beta Marine in England are replacing it under warranty plus all installation costs.. That is my small say on the matter about the pirate situation. If any one wants to be in touch please email me, philip@lacey.id.au I will gladly reply to you.
Phil

Well done see it can be done ,

oh the plane that does regularly fly over is most likely to be the Australian military survailance aircraft who then co-ordinates possible unwanted sightings to naval forces mainly the Dutch

[atoll]

Originally Posted by beneteau-500

Atoll re-insurance yes you can get insurance for Red Sea and up the suez but yes you can't get full cover insurance in the gulf of Aden ( I do have the lat & long of no go area for insurance of yacht on yacht will get over week end ) ,
And muckle flugga the people I work for are Not mercenaries they are employed by shipping companies cruise companies and mega yacht charter companies , as for weapons only one in eight people are armed under strict conditions out of a crew of 37 per vessel the company provides various services with the main aim is the prevention of pirates boarding vessels by erecting temporary structures in vulnerable points on vessels and stating up of high pressure water jet systems ,

I would like to say more but I would be banned for calling some people certain things and whilst the original poster most likely did not realise this was discussed last yr and I said the same things then .

Atoll don't forget our bet or has that slipped your mind

no, I'm anticipating my case of beer with relish

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by beneteau-500

Atoll re-insurance yes you can get insurance for Red Sea and up the suez but yes you can't get full cover insurance in the gulf of Aden ( I do have the lat & long of no go area for insurance of yacht on yacht will get over week end ) ,
And muckle flugga the people I work for are Not mercenaries they are employed by shipping companies cruise companies and mega yacht charter companies , as for weapons only one in eight people are armed under strict conditions out of a crew of 37 per vessel the company provides various services with the main aim is the prevention of pirates boarding vessels by erecting temporary structures in vulnerable points on vessels and stating up of high pressure water jet systems ,

I would like to say more but I would be banned for calling some people certain things and whilst the original poster most likely did not realise this was discussed last yr and I said the same things then .

Atoll don't forget our bet or has that slipped your mind

So then, the protection is for mega yachts, cruise ships and large commercial vessels. Ok.

And 37 people per vessel. High pressure jet systems. 1/8 armed with standoff weapons, presumably military grade arms, and fortified positions on the protected vessels constructed for the onboard guards and to deter boarding. Seems rather a lot for a completely safe area. And not sure what use it is for small private individuals in slow moving plastic leisure boats…

And so, no insurance company will offer cover in the Gulf of Aden. Will be interested to hear the coordinates of the "no go area".

Thank you for the information.

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by beneteau-500

Well done see it can be done ,

oh the plane that does regularly fly over is most likely to be the Australian military survailance aircraft who then co-ordinates possible unwanted sightings to naval forces mainly the Dutch

Who at any point said it could not be done? The question has always and only ever been whether it is wise, prudent or reasonable to do so, given the current circumstances?

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by beneteau-500

Atoll re-insurance yes you can get insurance for Red Sea and up the suez but yes you can't get full cover insurance in the gulf of Aden ( I do have the lat & long of no go area for insurance of yacht on yacht will get over week end ) ,
And muckle flugga the people I work for are Not mercenaries they are employed by shipping companies cruise companies and mega yacht charter companies , as for weapons only one in eight people are armed under strict conditions out of a crew of 37 per vessel the company provides various services with the main aim is the prevention of pirates boarding vessels by erecting temporary structures in vulnerable points on vessels and stating up of high pressure water jet systems ,

I would like to say more but I would be banned for calling some people certain things and whilst the original poster most likely did not realise this was discussed last yr and I said the same things then .

Atoll don't forget our bet or has that slipped your mind

Of course, since last year the entirety of the Yemen has collapsed into a chaotic Islamic sectarian civil war, and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has set up a proto state along the eastern end of the Gulf of Aden, including control of large quantities of state level heavy, medium and light weapons, multiple ports on a long stretch of coastline, and a large port city. Not to mention that the US has been forced to leave its Yemeni bases from which it was flying drone strike missions against this very group, as they have been captured by the Houthies.

[Bulawayo]

Originally Posted by beneteau-500

Well done see it can be done ,

oh the plane that does regularly fly over is most likely to be the Australian military survailance aircraft who then co-ordinates possible unwanted sightings to naval forces mainly the Dutch

I have just been given this website for updates of the piracy situation:

NSC | Daily Piracy Update

[JPA Cate]

Thanks for the link, Bulawayo.

Ann

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Thanks for the link, Bulawayo.

Ann

Advice to yachts from that NATO website:

"Sailing Yachts

Sailing yachts should avoid transiting the HRA. Past activity has shown that pirates will attack both large and small yachts passing their way. Despite the fact that attacks on merchant vessels appear to have decreased, the possibility of attacks and the successful pirating of sailing vessels remains likely due to their vulnerability and the reduction of revenue sources from pirated merchant vessels."

And a little further down the same page:

" Merchant vessels are still observed transiting very close to the Somali east coast. These vessels are an obvious target of opportunity. It is highly likely that the pirates retain the capability of conducting acts of piracy against vessels of opportunity.
…
"It is imperative that merchant vessels remain vigilant at all times in transit and at anchorage and fully implement protection measures set down in BMP4 across the whole High Risk Area (HRA) as it can make the critical difference of being approached, attacked, or pirated. Masters are reminded that BMP4 highly recommends maintaining best possible vessel speed when transiting the HRA to deter pirate boarding."

NSC | NSC Weekly Update

[Muckle Flugga]

So, since there are some who are still skeptical of what I have been saying for the past number of days, here is a superb discussion with regional analysts from Yemen, Somalia, and Kenya and with reference to Djibouti, Puntland, and specifically AQAP, and the likelihood of massively increased militant and terrorist activity [at sea] as well as people, weapons and materiel smuggling and other militant related activity across the Gulf of Aden.

Those who are interested in this situation should watch this and listen CAREFULLY to such as actually know what they are talking about in this area:

Crisis in Yemen and the Horn of Africa - Al Jazeera English

[JPA Cate]

And thanks to you, too, Muckle Flugga.

Although you and Bulawayo have different takes on this issue, possibly due to the human trait of valuing our own experience over warnings, I really do appreciate all the links you guys are posting. You both have put a lot of effort into it.

Thanks again,

Ann

[Travis McGee]

One more possible solution is to extend your motoring range with extra diesel for the Red Sea. It's not hard to build a custom pallet that will securely carry a pair of 55 gallon drums on deck. Or you could purchase blivets and keep the fuel below. What would 100 extra gallons of fuel do for your max range? Racing boats coming back from Hawaii (and other deliveries) do this quite often to extend their motoring range.