As a courtesy to our readers, Maritime Commons is sharing the content of U.S. Maritime Alert 2018-001A issued Jan. 18, 2018, to inform mariners of two suspicious maritime incidents reported in the Southern Red Sea in the past two weeks.

One incident occurred in the vicinity of position 14-46.00N, 041-58.00E on Jan. 6, 2018 as three separate merchant vessels were approached by three small boats, each with up to six armed men aboard. The second incident occurred in the vicinity of 12-31.00N, 043-29.10E on Jan. 9, 2018 as a merchant vessel was approached by two small boats, each with five men aboard. Exercise caution when transiting this area. Further updates may follow as new information is obtained.

Additional details may be found at: https://www.ukmto.org/indian-ocean/recent-incidents. This alert will automatically expire on January 25, 2018. Any general inquiries regarding UKMTO reporting and support should be directed to UKMTO at: https://www.ukmto.org/indian-ocean/contacts. Additionally, U.S. flagged commercial vessels transiting this area should make contact with the U.S. Fifth Fleet Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) Detachment via the Fifth Fleet Battle Watch Captain at phone: +011 973 1785 3879 or email: cusnc.bwc@me.navy.mil.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.