U.S. Department of Transportation issues maritime advisory for the region
The group responsible for attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea in the last three months announced last week that it intended to expand the range of its activity into the Indian Ocean, according to Reuters. The announcement came just a week after the first fatalities in the group’s three-month campaign of attacks against commercial traffic in the Red Sea.
According to a maritime advisory issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration on March 18, 2024, “regional conflict, military activity, terrorist attacks, and piracy pose significant threats to commercial vessels operating in [the Southern Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden].” The advisory recommends that U.S.-flagged vessels to turn off their AIS transponders when transiting the region.