Always at the ready: AdvanFort witnesses latest Gulf of Oman pirate threats; moves quickly to protect clients

At approximately 0950Z on 20 December 2012, a suspicious approach by suspected pirates was reported by a merchant vessel as being at position 24:46N 057:54E, some 72 nm east of Fujairah, UAE.

The potential threat came just five days after other pirate activity --a pirate boarding and a suspected pirate approach, the latter taking place approximately 50nm northeast of Muscat, Oman, in what is normally considered the safe side of the Persian Gulf.

That suspected pirate approach put AdvanFort into high alert, especially as its SG Ohio counter-piracy ship was positioned not far away from where the skiff had approached a tanker underway.

The SG Ohio ship captain immediately sent a warning to all client vessels, while AdvanFort decided that the SG Ohio move quickly up north to meet one of its clients much earlier than previously arranged, before it entered the HRA.

Putting into effect its state-of-the-art multi-layered protection, AdvanFort made sure that its own guards were at the ready for visual ID of skiffs or mother ships in order to protect its clients and other shipping in the area. At the same time, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence issued a special advisory warning that "mariners should remain vigilant for the potential presence of a pirate attack group in the Gulf of Oman. The area will remain at high risk for at least the next 48-72 hours."

Although the monsoon season is approaching, AdvanFort's most recent Piracy Threat Analysis Report notes that sea states are still currently conducive to pirate small boat operations.

The AdvanFort Company is privately held and headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with offices in London and Tallinn, and soon in Germany, Greece, Turkey, Japan and China. AdvanFort provides world-class global security solutions as well as government relations consulting. Its staff and consultants have the technical skills, capabilities and international experience to meet the complex needs of its clients.