Following a dramatic increase in pirate attacks in supposed piracy safe-zones over the last fortnight, the Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre (MMWC), a UK based, non-profit counter-piracy organisation recommends that the maritime industry implements full counter-piracy measures and MARSEC Level 2 on all vessels sailing from the bottom of the Red Sea, across to the Indian Coast line and as far south as the Mozambique channel. To support this, the MMWC free of charge counter-piracy Ship Support Service is now available to all vessels sailing in the Indian Ocean.

“Based on the recent turn of events, the military presence in the Gulf of Aden is forcing the pirates further out, which combined with the current favorable weather means that the traditional piracy hotspot is expanding to the point that vessels sailing over 600 miles from the coast of Somalia may be at risk of attack,” comments Nick Davis, Director, MMWC. “This is spreading the thirty or so warships primarily patrolling the Gulf of Aden very thin, so it is up to vessels and operators to ensure that they are prepared to avoid hijacking, as it’s now almost impossible to predict where pirates may strike.”

The most recent event, the hijacking of bulk carrier ‘Al Khaliq’ took place some 700 miles abeam of Mombasa on the morning of 22nd October 2009 whilst a number of fishing vessels and bulk vessels have also been attacked well beyond the traditional pirate waters in the Gulf of Aden over the last few weeks. Additionally, a Chinese bulk carrier hijacked on 19th October 2009 was in fact sailing in a so-called piracy safe zone nearly 850 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia at the time of the attack, so had not made any specific counter-piracy arrangements. Had the vessel been better prepared then it’s possible that the hijacking could have been avoided.

“With developments off the east coast of Africa and in the Indian Ocean changing rapidly, the MMWC is dedicated to providing vessels transiting the area with the best counter-piracy support and intelligence possible as part of our free of charge Ship Support Service,” continues Nick. “The last few weeks have shown that there is currently no real safety zone, so it is more important than ever for vessels to be prepared and we are committed to enabling this by offering our comprehensive Ship Support Service for free.”