South Red Sea News

Oil and fuel tanker traffic in the Red Sea was stable in December, even though many container ships have rerouted due to attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi militants, a Reuters analysis of vessel tracking data showed.The attacks have driven up shipping costs sharply along with insurance premiums, but have had less impact than feared on oil flows, with shippers continuing to use the key East-West passage. The Houthis, who have said they are targeting Israel-bound vessels, have largely…

The Regional Clean Sea Organization (RECSO), an oil industry co-operative organisation in the Middle East, has hosted First RECSO Enviro Spill Conference and Exhibition.In delivering the keynote speech at the opening ceremony, Abdulhakim A. Al-Gouhi, vice president of Industrial Services with Saudi Aramco, called on members to collaborate to protect the pristine Gulf environment through prevention, preparedness, and response.“We come together to demonstrate our unlimited commitment toward protecting the marine environment from any harmful effects of pollution, in general, and of oil spills in particular,” said Al-Gouhi.He noted that Saudi Aramco demonstrated its expertise in oil spill mitigation at the height of the Gulf War in 1991…

Evergreen Marine Corp. partnered with  French-based CMA CGM Grou, & Yang Ming Marine both offer new container services. Evergreen's new route, called South Red Sea Service, connects Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and countries near the Red Sea, as well as provide services into landlocked African countries like Ethiopia through the East African country of Djibouti, reports Focus Taiwan. The new Red Sea service will begin May 2 with a container ship departing from Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia. The new route will be served by five 2,200 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels -- three operated by Evergreen Marine and two by CMA CGM. Meanwhile, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.

Operation Atalanta (EU NAVFOR) provided protection to MV Gigante, a ship chartered for AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) to bring supplies to the African Union peacekeeping force based in Mogadishu. The German frigate Bremen and the French frigate Guépratte took turns to carry out this mission, from the south Red Sea to Mogadishu. As with the World Food Programme vessels, protecting logistics for AMISOM is part of the mandated tasks of the EU Naval Force -  Operation Atalanta and is part of the Comprehensive Approach of the European Union in the fight against piracy.

The increase of attacks within the past week is evidence that pirate activity can still take place during the South-West Monsoon and Masters should remain vigilant to this threat. On 18 Jun 2012 a merchant vessel was attacked by 3 skiffs at position 14 28 N 050 45 E. Each skiff had 5-6 persons on board. Small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) were used against the merchant vessel. Early morning 20 Jun 2012 a merchant vessel was attacked by 1 skiff with 5-6 persons aboard at position 20 50N 059 30E. The skiff fired upon the vessel with small arms at a distance of 1nm. Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) were also seen aboard the skiff. Due to the South-West monsoon between June and September, sea conditions in the HRA are expected to be generally unfavourable for small boats.

During the reporting period 7 – 13, June 2012, the number of piracy incidents in the High Risk Area (HRA) has remained low, with no incidents reported. Due to the South-West monsoon between June and September, sea conditions in the HRA are expected to be generally unfavourable for small boats. Pirate Activity Groups (PAG) will likely continue to focus their limited efforts in the Northern Arabian Sea (NAS), Gulf of Oman (GOO) as well as in the Gulf of Aden (GOA) and South Red Sea (SRS). There have been no significant changes over the past week. Masters are advised that fishing activity is expected to continue and likely increase in this area over the next few months. There have been no significant changes over last week in this region.