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Old 22-04-2019, 00:33   #1
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Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

Friends of mine are trying to decide how to sail the last leg of their circumnav, back to Europe.


Anyone have any good information about the current situation in Somalia and Yemen for cruisers? I know there has not been a successful ship hijacking since 2013 -- are yachts still threatened?


I know that piracy has mushroomed in the Southern Caribbean, but haven't heard much about the Gulf of Aden lately.
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Old 22-04-2019, 00:47   #2
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

Are they planning to visit Oman by chance? A visit should be included in any circumnavigation in my opinion

There is currently one cruiser here in Muscat who is contemplating to either sail or transport. Currently transporting is only possible from Dubai to Genoa. But one of the things we were discussing the other day is to try set up a system where boats can be transported from Salalah to, for example, Sharm al Sheikh or maybe Port Said.

Recently I was told various cruisers did crossed thru the Red Sea successfully and that most piracy has shifted to Africa's west coast but thats all hear-say on my part.

However please feel very welcome to visit Oman where you will only be greeted by friendly fisherman!

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Old 22-04-2019, 01:11   #3
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

Suggest they ship it and end the worry.
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Old 22-04-2019, 01:18   #4
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

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Originally Posted by Kenomac View Post
Suggest they ship it and end the worry.

The problem with shipping it is that you miss that entire leg of the circumnav, making it arguably no longer a circumnav at all, and missing some memorable places.


It's all a question of risk. If you don't want any risk at all, you can ship the boat all the way around the world



If the situation has settled down and, for example, there hasn't been an incident in say five years, then it might be a risk many people would be ok with. If on the other hand piracy is still going on full blast, and sailors are getting killed and ransomed by the droves, then that is obviously a different situation. Hence, current information is needed.
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"You sea! I resign myself to you also . . . . I guess what you mean,
I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me;
We must have a turn together . . . . I undress . . . . hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft . . . . rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet . . . . I can repay you."
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Old 22-04-2019, 01:20   #5
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

Quote:
Originally Posted by BaledAlSalaam View Post
Are they planning to visit Oman by chance? A visit should be included in any circumnavigation in my opinion

There is currently one cruiser here in Muscat who is contemplating to either sail or transport. Currently transporting is only possible from Dubai to Genoa. But one of the things we were discussing the other day is to try set up a system where boats can be transported from Salalah to, for example, Sharm al Sheikh or maybe Port Said.

Recently I was told various cruisers did crossed thru the Red Sea successfully and that most piracy has shifted to Africa's west coast but thats all hear-say on my part.

However please feel very welcome to visit Oman where you will only be greeted by friendly fisherman!

You are a great ambassador for your country!


A good friend of mine lived in Oman for 2 years in the '90s, and loved it, and told a lot of fascinating stories. Those of us who have never been there tend to think of the Gulf region as a homogeneous place with baking hot sand and camels and not much else but a few palm trees. But this is obviously not true, and Oman is obvious quite different in geography and even culture.

Definitely on my list of places to visit and see for myself.
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"You sea! I resign myself to you also . . . . I guess what you mean,
I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me;
We must have a turn together . . . . I undress . . . . hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft . . . . rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet . . . . I can repay you."
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Old 22-04-2019, 01:22   #6
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dockhead View Post
The problem with shipping it is that you miss that entire leg of the circumnav, making it arguably no longer a circumnav at all, and missing some memorable places.


It's all a question of risk. If you don't want any risk at all, you can ship the boat all the way around the world



If the situation has settled down and, for example, there hasn't been an incident in say five years, then it might be a risk many people would be ok with. If on the other hand piracy is still going on full blast, and sailors are getting killed and ransomed by the droves, then that is obviously a different situation. Hence, current information is needed.
Then tell your friends what’s most important, is to not miss completing their circumnavigation and suggest several quaint and picturesque ports of call along the beautiful Somali and Yemen coastlines, which should ultimately make their journey that much more “memorable.”

Your friends can also do as Dale did, and head down to Madagascar, then onto South Africa; they don’t absolutely have to pass by Yemen and Somalia.
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Old 22-04-2019, 01:39   #7
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

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Originally Posted by Kenomac View Post
Then tell them what’s most important, is to not miss completing their circumnavigation and suggest several quaint and picturesque ports of call along the beautiful Somali and Yemen coastlines.

Now that's a helpful comment!




Seriously, shipping the boat means missing not just Somalia and Yemen, but the entire Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, Egypt, Israel, and even the Eastern Med (unless you double back). And it would be a shame to do a whole circumnavigation and never see anything of Africa. Djibouti is accessible on this route, and from there you can visit Ethiopia by rail -- places I would love to see, personally.


Therefore, one may want to dig a little deeper than this superficial view.
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"You sea! I resign myself to you also . . . . I guess what you mean,
I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me;
We must have a turn together . . . . I undress . . . . hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft . . . . rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet . . . . I can repay you."
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Old 22-04-2019, 01:40   #8
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

Recent incident on Noonsite: https://www.noonsite.com/General/Rou...-february-2018
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I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me;
We must have a turn together . . . . I undress . . . . hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft . . . . rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet . . . . I can repay you."
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Old 22-04-2019, 01:44   #9
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

A good place to look is the "IMB Piracy Reporting Centre".....

https://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php/pi...porting-centre
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Old 22-04-2019, 01:49   #10
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

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Originally Posted by IslandHopper View Post
A good place to look is the "IMB Piracy Reporting Centre".....

https://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php/pi...porting-centre

Which says "Red Sea / Gulf of Aden / Somalia / Arabian Sea / Indian Ocean: Attacks related to Somali pirates have reduced. However, the risk of being approached or attacked still exists. Vessels are advised and encouraged to remain vigilant and comply with all BMP4 procedures."


I'd like to know whether yachts are still getting hijacked.


From the report above on an attempted hijacking last year, it sounds like there are now a lot of military assets in the area.
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"You sea! I resign myself to you also . . . . I guess what you mean,
I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me;
We must have a turn together . . . . I undress . . . . hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft . . . . rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet . . . . I can repay you."
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Old 22-04-2019, 01:53   #11
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

Ultimately.... how enjoyable will the trip be if your friends will be constantly worried about being kidnapped or killed? Imagined or real.

Why not head down towards Madagascar, then on to South Africa instead? Personally, I’d like to stop and see Venezuela this winter, but it might not be the best choice at this time, so it’ll have to wait.

My suggestion (what I would do in their Topsiders).... ship the boat, and while I’m waiting for it to arrive in the Med, take a river cruise down the Nile, see Egypt and or maybe a trip to Kenya.
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Old 22-04-2019, 02:03   #12
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

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Which says "Red Sea / Gulf of Aden / Somalia / Arabian Sea / Indian Ocean: Attacks related to Somali pirates have reduced. However, the risk of being approached or attacked still exists. Vessels are advised and encouraged to remain vigilant and comply with all BMP4 procedures."


I'd like to know whether yachts are still getting hijacked.


From the report above on an attempted hijacking last year, it sounds like there are now a lot of military assets in the area.
You lost me, It's not just for commercial stuff!

Try here also.........

https://www.ukmto.org/
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Old 22-04-2019, 02:22   #13
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

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Ultimately.... how enjoyable will the trip be if your friends will be constantly worried about being kidnapped or killed? Imagined or real.

Why not head down towards Madagascar, then on to South Africa instead? Personally, I’d like to stop and see Venezuela this winter, but it might not be the best choice at this time, so it’ll have to wait.

My suggestion (what I would do in their Topsiders).... ship the boat, and while I’m waiting for it to arrive in the Med, take a river cruise down the Nile, see Egypt and or maybe a trip to Kenya.

If the risk is significant, then of course it doesn't make any sense when there are other alternatives. It might well be the real situation.


And yes -- some of these places can be visited by public transportation. I guess it might sound funny to some people, but I wouldn't mind a bit of cruising on an actual cruise ship for a change myself, especially a river cruise vessel. Where there are actual engineers on board being paid to fix everything and all I have to do is relax and be a tourist!





But in any case, you can't make this decision without information, and gathering such is the purpose of this thread.
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"You sea! I resign myself to you also . . . . I guess what you mean,
I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me;
We must have a turn together . . . . I undress . . . . hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft . . . . rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet . . . . I can repay you."
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Old 22-04-2019, 02:24   #14
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

Quote:
Originally Posted by IslandHopper View Post
You lost me, It's not just for commercial stuff!

Try here also.........

https://www.ukmto.org/

Didn't find any yacht attacks on either of those sites, but I did find an attempted one last year on Noonsite.


I might judge this a risk worth taking if people are getting through, and that's the only thing which has happened in the last five years. Maybe.
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"You sea! I resign myself to you also . . . . I guess what you mean,
I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me;
We must have a turn together . . . . I undress . . . . hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft . . . . rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet . . . . I can repay you."
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Old 22-04-2019, 02:54   #15
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Re: Current Situation With Piracy -- Horn of Africa

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Didn't find any yacht attacks on either of those sites, but I did find an attempted one last year on Noonsite.


I might judge this a risk worth taking if people are getting through, and that's the only thing which has happened in the last five years. Maybe.
Check UKMTO Weekly Report 17 - 23 Feb 2018, thats the Noonsite one you found, interesting conclusion they made about the attempt....

https://www.ukmto.org/indian-ocean/p...y-reports/2018

Did you speed read through all the reports for 2018 - 2019??
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