Reuters November 03, 2008
FACTBOX - The dangerous Gulf of Aden
Nov 3 (Reuters) - Somali pirates are causing havoc in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping routes connecting Europe to Asia and the Middle East.
They have been exacting ransoms from owners of hijacked ships, pushing up insurance costs and threatening humanitarian supplies.
Here are some details about piracy and shipping in the region:
* WHERE IS THE GULF OF ADEN?
-- The Gulf of Aden is located in the Middle East with Yemen to the north, Somalia to the south and the Arabian Sea to the east. It is connected to the Red Sea by the Bab el Mandab strait. The narrowest point of the strait is 18 miles, with tanker traffic limited to two 2-mile-wide channels for inbound and outbound shipments.
* SHIPPING & OIL:
-- Exports from the Persian Gulf must pass through Bab el-Mandab before entering the Suez Canal. Nearly 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year, heading to and from the Suez Canal.
-- The Bab el-Mandab passage handles around 3.3 million barrels per day of oil that is en route to the Canal and the Sumed Pipeline for onward shipment to Europe and the United States.
-- There are alternatives, with northbound traffic being able to use the East-West pipeline through Saudi Arabia. This has a capacity of 4.8 million bpd capacity. Southbound traffic would still be blocked however.
* REGIONAL SECURITY:
-- Intelligence sources have said three suspicious trawlers are now in the Gulf of Aden believed to be pirate mother vessels looking to attack and hijack ships.
-- The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said a total of 199 incidents of piracy or attempted piracy were reported worldwide during January-September, of which 63 were in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast.
-- In the Gulf of Aden, recent attacks have brought the anti-terrorist Combined Task Force 150 into action. The multinational unit, part of Washington's Operation Enduring Freedom, is based in Djibouti and has come to the aid of many ships attacked by pirates. CTF 150 is commanded by Canadian Commodore Bob Davidson and operates in the Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
-- In late August, it announced a string of waypoints marking a Maritime Security Patrol Area or safe corridor, which warships will patrol while coalition aircraft fly overhead.
-- While there is no formal agreement between the coalition and other navies, they have been communicating with each other and sharing information to more effectively patrol the area.
* EARLIER ATTACKS:
-- In 2000 suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden rubber raft into the U.S. destroyer Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen, killing 17 U.S. sailors.
-- Two years later, the French-flagged tanker Limburg, carrying 400,000 barrels of oil off the coast of Yemen, was bombed and holed. That attack caused insurance premiums for Yemeni ports to triple immediately.
Sources: Reuters/EIA www.eia.gov/GlobalSecurity/Ministry of Defence/International Maritime Bureau. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/) (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)
© Copyright 2008, Reuters
