The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, Combined Maritime Forces, issued a Special Maritime Advisory June 9, 2009 warning shipowners and operators about changes in the tactics of Somalia based pirates. According to a press release detailing the Advisory:
Merchants are urged to use the weather to their advantage, planning new routing off the east coast of Somalia due to the start of the southwest monsoon season. The message further details the pirates’ extended range of operations off the Eastern Somali coast, stretching all the way to and beyond The Seychelles, with the use of “mother ships.” These larger vessels allow them to operate further out from shore, providing an afloat staging platform for their attacks. Another new tactic highlighted in the advisory is the potential move into the southern Red Sea. Finally, pirates have also recently increased their number of attacks during the hours of darkness, highlighting the need for heightened vigilance of merchant mariners during both day and night time transits through the high risk areas.
The Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and coast off East Africa as far south as Kenya. The Combined Maritime Forces ("CMF") are comprised of approximately 36 ships from Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Pakistan, Canada, Denmark, the U.S. and U.K., as well as other naval forces and personnel from several other nations. The CMF patrols more than 2.5 million square miles of international waters to conduct both integrated and coordinated operations to defeat terrorism, prevent piracy, reduce illegal trafficking of people and drugs, and promote the maritime environment as a safe place for mariners with legitimate business.
