1. THIS MARAD ADVISORY PROVIDES GUIDANCE TO VESSELS TRANSITING THE HIGH RISK WATERS OF THE GULF OF ADEN (GOA), RED SEA, THE INDIAN OCEAN AND WATERS OFF THE HORN OF AFRICA (SOMALIA).

2. THIS ADVISORY WILL BE PUBLISHED ON THE MARAD WEB SITE AT WWW.MARAD.DOT.GOV UNDER THE HORN OF AFRICA PIRACY PORTAL AND ON THE US COAST GUARD HOMEPORT SITE AT HOMEPORT.USCG.MIL/PIRACY. OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION IS ALSO POSTED ON THESE WEB SITES.

3. U.S.-FLAG OPERATORS WITH SHIPS IN THE AFFECTED AREAS ARE REQUESTED TO FORWARD THIS ADVISORY TO THEIR SHIPS BY THE MOST EXPEDITIOUS MEANS.

4. U.S.- FLAG SHIPS OPERATING IN HIGH RISK WATERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH US COAST GUARD MARITIME SECURITY (MARSEC) DIRECTIVE 104-6 (CURRENT VERSION). GUIDANCE, ADVISORIES AND LINKS TO ASSIST US-FLAG VESSELS IN COMPLYING WITH THE MARSEC DIRECTIVE AND IN COMBATING PIRACY MAY BE ACCESSED ON HOMEPORT AT HTTP://HOMEPORT.USCG.MIL/PIRACY. QUESTIONS MAY BE DIRECTED TO LCDR JAMES FOGLE, US COAST GUARD, AT 202-372-1038 OR JAMES.T.FOGLE@USCG.MIL. NONE OF THE GUIDANCE IN THIS NOTICE IS MEANT TO SUPERCEDE MARSEC DIRECTIVE 104-6 (CURRENT VERSION) OR SUPPORTING PORT SECURITY ADVISORIES.

5. NON-US FLAG VESSELS, TO WHICH THE US COAST GUARD MARSEC DIRECTIVE DOES NOT APPLY, SHOULD BE AWARE AND CONSIDER MEASURES DIRECTED TO US FLAG VESSELS. THIS GUIDANCE IS AVAILABLE IN US COAST GUARD PORT SECURITY ADVISORY (PSA) 2-09 ON HTTP://HOMEPORT.USCG.MIL/PIRACY.

6. THE MARITIME SECURITY CENTRE (HORN OF AFRICA) (MSC-HOA), RUN BY THE EU NAVAL FORCE (EU NAVFOR) IS A COORDINATION CENTRE TASKED TO SAFEGUARD MERCHANT SHIPPING OPERATING IN THE REGION BY PREVENTING AND DETERRING ACTS OF PIRACY IN THE GULF OF ADEN, OFF THE HORN OF AFRICA AND IN THE SOMALI BASIN. VESSELS SHOULD REGISTER FOR ACCESS TO MSCHOA WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.MSCHOA.ORG/. THIS SITE PROVIDES INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE FOR THE SHIPPING COMMUNITY TRANSITING THE HIGH RISK WATERS.

7. COMBINED MARITIME FORCES (CMF) IN COOPERATION WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION NAVAL FORCE (EUNAVFOR) “ATALANTA” AND THE UNITED KINGDOM MARITIME TRADE OFFICE (UKMTO) ESTABLISHED THE INTERNATIONALLY RECOMMENDED TRANSIT CORRIDOR (IRTC) THROUGH THE GOA. THIS REVISED CORRIDOR WAS INTENDED TO DECONFLICT COMMERCIAL TRANSIT TRAFFIC WITH YEMINI FISHERMEN, PROVIDE A MEASURE OF TRAFFIC SEPARATION, AND ALLOW MARITIME FORCES TO CONDUCT DETERRENT OPERATIONS IN THE GOA WITH A GREATER DEGREE OF FLEXIBILITY. DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE IRTC CAN BE FOUND AT HTTP://WWW.MSCHOA.ORG/.
(CMF) ESTABLISHED THE MARITIME SECURITY PATROL AREA (MSPA) IN THE REGION. THE MSPA WAS ESTABLISHED IN SUPPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION’S (IMO) ONGOING EFFORTS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF SHIPS AND MARINERS AT SEA. THE MSPA IS A NAVAL MILITARY TERM FOR USE BY WARSHIPS WHEN COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER POSITIONED TO MAXIMIZE DEPLOYMENT OF AVAILABLE FORCES IN AREAS OF HIGH RISK. COALITION FORCES PATROL THE MSPA ON A ROUTINE BASIS.
NEITHER THE IRTC NOR MSPA ARE MARKED OR DEFINED BY VISUAL NAVIGATIONAL MEANS. THE IRTC IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A DEDICATED TRAFFIC SEPARATION SCHEME.

8. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MARSEC DIRECTIVE AND PORT SECURITY ADVISORY (PSA) 2-09, UNLESS OTHERWISE DIRECTED OR ADVISED BY ON-SCENE MILITARY FORCES, ALL U.S. FLAG SHIPS NAVIGATING THROUGH THE GOA SHALL PLAN VOYAGES USING THE IRTC AND FOLLOW THE GOA GROUP TRANSIT (GT) IF SPEED RANGES FROM 10 TO 18 KNOTS. VESSELS THAT MAKE LESS THAN 10 KNOTS SHALL CONTACT UKMTO FOR ROUTING GUIDANCE. INFORMATION ON IRTC AND GOA GT CAN BE FOUND ON THE MSC-HOA WEB SITE.

9. IN ADDITION TO COMMUNICATIONS REQUIRED BY THE COAST GUARD MARSEC DIRECTIVE, MASTERS SHOULD REMAIN IN CONTACT WITH THE UNITED KINGDOM MARITIME TRADE OPERATIONS (UKMTO) AND THE UNITED STATES MARITIME LIAISON OFFICE (MARLO) TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE. THE EU HAS ESTABLISHED A WEB-BASED RESOURCE FOR SHIPS TO RECEIVE THE LATEST ALERTS AND TO REGISTER VESSELS PRIOR TO TRANSITING HIGH RISK AREAS IN THE REGION. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MARSEC DIRECTIVE, OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF U.S. FLAG VESSELS THAT OPERATE IN THE HOA/GOA SHALL REGISTER WITH THE MARITIME SECURITY CENTRE - HORN OF AFRICA (MSC-HOA), AT WWW.MSCHOA.ORG. ADDITIONALLY, THEY SHALL ESTABLISH CONTACT BY E-MAIL OR PHONE WITH UKMTO AT UKMTO@EIM.AE.

10. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE US COAST GUARD MARSEC DIRECTIVE, U.S. FLAG VESSELS THAT OPERATE IN HIGH RISK WATERS MUST CONSIDER SUPPLEMENTING VESSEL’S CREW WITH ARMED OR UNARMED SECURITY PERSONNEL. IF TRANSITING THE HOA/GOA, ALL VESSELS SHALL SUPPLEMENT VESSEL’S CREW WITH ARMED OR UNARMED SECURITY PERSONNEL BASED ON A PIRACY-SPECIFIC VESSEL THREAT ASSESSMENT CONDUCTED BY THE OPERATOR. SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY PERSONNEL SHOULD MEET THE MINIMUM TRAINING REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES SET FORTH IN PSA (5-09) (REV 1).

11. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE US COAST GUARD MARSEC DIRECTIVE AND PSA 2-09, AS SOON AS THE MASTER THINKS A THREAT IS DEVELOPING, CONTACT UKMTO AT +971-50-552-3215. IF ATTACKED OR BOARDED, MASTERS SHOULD ACTIVATE THE SHIP SECURITY ALERT SYSTEM (SSAS).BROADCAST ATTACKS IMMEDIATELY ON ALL AVAILABLE RADIO CIRCUITS, ADJUST SPEED AND MANEUVER, AND ACTIVATE ALL AVAILABLE DEFENSIVE MEASURES. DO NOT IMMEDIATELY SURRENDER UPON APPROACH OF SUSPECTED PIRATE BOATS. ATTACKS HAVE BEEN THWARTED IN MANY CASES WHERE DEFENSIVE MEASURES WERE USED AND THE VESSELS BECAME DIFFICULT TARGETS. AN ATTACK HAS EVEN BEEN SUCCESSFULLY THWARTED WHEN PIRATES WERE ABLE TO BOARD A SHIP BUT WERE UNABLE TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE SUPERSTRUCTURE DUE TO THE CAREFUL PREPARATIONS OF THE CREW IN SECURING ALL ACCESS POINTS.

12. ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE REGARDING PRACTICES RECOMMENDED FOR MARINERS OPERATING IN VICINITY OF HIGH RISK AREAS HAS BEEN PUBLISHED BY INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION (IMO) REVISED MARITIME SAFETY COMMITTEE (MSC) CIRCULARS. THESE DOCUMENTS CAN BE ACCESSED VIA IMO WEBSITE AT THE FOLLOWING INTERNET ADDRESS: WWW.IMO.ORG/SAFETY/MAINFRAME.ASP?TOPIC_ID=1147

13. ALL VESSELS ARE ADVISED TO CHECK IN WITH UKMTO AT LEAST 96 HOURS PRIOR TO ENTERING THE IRTC THROUGH THE GOA. CHECK IN AGAIN UPON ENTERING THE CORRIDOR AND CHECK OUT UPON EXITING THE CORRIDOR. WHILE IN HIGH RISK WATERS OFF THE HORN OF AFRICA IT IS RECOMMENDED TO REPORT VESSEL POSITIONS TO UKMTO A MINIMUM OF EVERY 6 HOURS.

14. THE FOLLOWING IS THE UKMTO REPORT FORMAT:

a. SHIP NAME:

1. IRCS:
2. IMO #:
3. CARGO:
4. LAST PORT:
5. NOON POSITION (GMT):
6. NEXT PORT:
7. ADDITIONAL PORTS:
8. SECURITY TEAM ABOARD(Y/N):
9. REPORTING VIA AMVER?:
10. PUBLICATION 117 ABOARD?:
11. PRESENT POSITION:

15. ESCORT SERVICE MAY BE REQUESTED FOR VESSELS BY CONTACTING MARLO BAHRAIN, TELEPHONE +973-973-3927, OR BY E-MAIL TO MARLO.BAHRAIN (AT) ME.NAVY.MIL.

16. IF ATTACKED OR BOARDED BY PIRATES, COMMUNICATIONS MUST BE LIMITED TO DISTRESS CALLING AND RESPONSE COORDINATION PER THE VESSEL SECURITY PLAN. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MARSEC DIRECTIVE AND PSA 2-09, INFORMATION ABOUT THE VESSEL’S MOVEMENT, CAPABILITIES, OR THE INCIDENT ITSELF SHOULD BE CONSIDERED SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT BE RELEASED TO FAMILY, FRIENDS OR THE MEDIA.

17. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT MARITIME LIAISON OFFICE (MARLO) BAHRAIN, TELEPHONE +973-1785-3925, OR +973-3940-1395 FOR AFTER HOURS EMERGENCIES (IF IN DOUBT OF THE TIME, CALL BOTH UNTIL YOU REACH A PERSON), OR BY E-MAIL TO MARLO.BAHRAIN (AT) ME.NAVY.MIL, OR THE UK MARITIME TRADE ORGANIZATION (UKMTO) AT +971-50-552-3215 OR BY EMAIL TO UKMTO (AT) EIM.AE., OR MSC-HOA AT +44-0-1923-958545 OR BY EMAIL TO POSTMASTER (AT) MSCHOA.ORG.

18. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING THIS ADVISORY, CONTACT CAPTAIN ROBERT FORD, MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF SECURITY, CODE: MAR-420, ROOM W25-207, 1200 NEW JERSEY AVE, S.E., WASHINGTON, DC 20590, TELEPHONE 202-366-0223, FACSIMILE 202-366-3954, TLX II 710.822.9426 (MARAD DOT WSH), OR EMAIL: MARAD.SECURITY@DOT.GOV.

19. FOR FUTHER INFORMATION ON THE US COAST GUARD MARSEC DIRECTIVE AND PSA 2-09, CONTACT LCDR JAMES FOGLE AT TELEPHONE 202-372-1038, OR EMAIL JAMES.T.FOGLE@USCG.MIL.