Possible pirate mother ship activity noted yesterday
Please be advised that the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has issued the following advisory:
“Possible pirate mother ship activity noted at 1151Z on 6 December 2011 near position 15-27N 058-43E, approximately 272NM southeast of Salalah, Oman in the Arabian Sea. This area will remain high risk for at least the next 24-48 hours. Possible pirate mother ship activity noted at 0705Z on 6 December 2011 near position 20-28N 064-47E, approximately 640NM northeast of Salalah, Oman in the Arabian Sea. This area will remain high risk for at least the next 24-48 hours.”
The Maritime Administrator would take this opportunity to again urge all vessels operating in the High Risk Area to actively implement recommended Best Management Practices for anti-piracy measures as follows:
- Prepare the crew (refer to Marshall Islands MG-2-11-12);
- Harden the ship before the ship enters the High Risk Area (HRA);
- When entering the HRA from the direction of either the Suez Canal, the Arabian Gulf at 26N, the south at 15S or from the east at 78E: o Register the ship with the MSCHOA (http://www.mschoa.org /+44 (0) 1923 958545); o Report to the UKMTO ([email protected] / +971 505 523 215); o Advise whether private armed security is being used; and o Continue to provide daily reports of ship’s position, course, speed and estimated and actual arrival times to UKMTO while in the HRA.
- Remember, the ship must be registered with the MSCHOA and report to the UKMTO with every intended transit of the HRA;
- Consider participating in the SSRS service (http://ssrs.org);
- Utilize the IRTC in the GoA;
- For low and slow ships, join pre-scheduled military escorted convoys through the GoA;
- Avoid navigating through the Mozambique Channel whenever possible;
MSD 001 (11/01) 2 of 2 MSA No. 173-11 - Continue to maintain a heightened state of awareness;
- Maintain strict 24 hour anti-piracy visual and radar watches at sea and in port anchorages; and
- Report all attacks and suspicious sightings to the UKMTO, MARLO (+973-3940-1395), COMUSNAVCENT (+973-1785-3879), IMB Piracy Reporting Centre ([email protected], +603-2031-0014) or NATO Shipping Centre (NSC) (+44 (0) 1923 956574, [email protected]).
Source: ONI