New piracy advice for cruisers in risk areas

The Royal Yachting Association and World Sailing have published new guidance for cruisers regarding piracy and safety abroad, particularly for yacht skippers.

The new information – ‘Danger of Piracy – Guidelines for yachts’ – can be found at sailing.org and includes new guidelines written this year, intended for sailors who may be considering a passage through the Gulf of Aden, Yemeni and Somali waters, including the north-west Indian Ocean north of 5°S and west of 60°E.

While shipping organisations recently declassified a section of Indian Ocean coastline (the ‘Indian Ocean High Risk Area’, as shown on UKHO Chart Q6099) because the number of successful pirate attacks on merchant shipping in the area has greatly reduced, World Sailing and The

RYA guidelines emphasise that the danger of piracy and consequent loss of life and property in the

Gulf of Aden, Yemeni and Somali waters (up to 750 miles offshore) is high and yachts are strongly recommended to avoid the area.

The guidance points out the reduced number of attacks on shipping vessels is explained by greater deployment of private armed security contractors – which may make vulnerable yachts more of an appealing target.

The document also highlights the fact that an increased use of firearms in autumn 2022 indicates rising levels of aggression. Specifically, the guidance says carrying arms is not advised due to a serious risk of escalation of the levels of violence, neither is the use of flares or other pyrotechnics.

The guidelines include passage planning, timing, navigation and lights best practice, advice for concealing documents and valuables, and how to react if pirates do board the vessel.

The guidance is also intended to be relevant to yacht skippers in other high risk areas, notably the Malacca Straits, South China Sea and the Gulf of Guinea.