Loss Prevention Bulletin – 1 August 2017

A merchant vessel reported being approached on three occasions by a single skiff travelling at 25Kts on the vessel’s starboard side between 1930 and 2030 hrs local time on 29/7/2017 around 20 nm north of the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), Gulf of Aden. The closest the skiff approached the vessel was within roughly 185 metres. Warning shots were fired and the skiff turned away. The vessel and its crew were reported safe. There have been a series of suspicious approaches of merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in the last months, as noted in the Association’s last bulletin on this topic of 29 July 2017. Members are advised to remain vigilant in the area and take reasonable protective measures.