Update August 2024

Unfortunate Encounter off Eritrea (first person report) August 2024 – Read here.
Including update on current situation from Wade Alarie, moderator of the Red Sea Passage Facebook group.

Latest Situation Mid-January 2024

As a direct result of the Houthi militia using drones and missiles against some commercial ships in the southern Red Sea, a few cruisers have definitely changed their plans, considering the situation too fluid, too unstable. By a change of plans, I mean that they may reroute South to South Africa, or they may stay in South East Asia for another year. While it remains true that no private yachts have been targeted by either drones or missiles, the instability of the situation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait is causing many cruisers angst. Some remain committed, but may yet change their minds. This area is very dynamic.

There are, as far as I know, no private yachts in the area between Djibouti and Port Suez at this time. The last yacht was northbound, finishing in mid-December. A few yachts that were planning to go south, are delaying their trip. A few heading West from Malaysia/Thailand have definitely changed their plans, but there are still some going to Sri Lanka and Maldives (this is the normal period to head to that area). Some are still determined to go through the Red Sea, and many are just postponing the decision. Also, since Djibouti seems to be a safe area, a few are considering leaving their boat in Djibouti.

Definitely, the number of yachts communicating with Suez Canal agents is down. At this time, it would normally be 50-60, but inquiries are only about 10-12. Many people are still waiting before making a decision to:

A. stay where they are (Maledives, Sri Lanka, Phuket, Langkawi and Pangkor) and postpone for a year;
B. move closer to the Maledives, and postpone the decision;
C. change plans and head to South Africa; or
D. head to Seychelles and/or Tanzania, and maybe postpone the Red Sea for a year.

The Red Sea Passage group has approximately 35 yachts scheduled to travel South to North and an additional 9 yachts planned for passage North to South. Admitedly, these numbers are a little lower than previous years, likely influenced by the regional instability.

To the contrary, Ayla Marina in Jordan is offering substantial discounts, more yachts are stopping in at Jeddah, Saudia Arabia, and there has been significant investment made to the marina at Ismailia (mid-way in the Suez Canal), making that an excellent place to stopover and visit Egypt.

There are no new instructions from UKMTO or MSCHOA relating to transit through the area for private yachts, although as usual, we recommend joining the Red Sea Passage Facebook Group to gather as much current information as possible prior to and during the passage.

UKMTO plot recent incidents on a map which are easy to see and read about – go to https://www.ukmto.org/indian-ocean/recent-incidents.

Red Sea Passagemaking Tips

By the end of February, yachts are busy crossing the Red Sea in both directions. Refer to Jimmy Cornell’s “World Cruising Routes” for more detail, but most traffic – Northbound and Southbound – tends to be in the December to April timeframe.

Typically, the route East of Djibouti is governed by the monsoon season. The leg from Djibouti to Suez has predominately Northerly winds, but from week to week there are always a few days of no wind, or Southerly wind. The June to September timeframe is also fine from the perspective of winds, but it is very hot.

High Risk Area (HRA) is no more

The big news is that the HRA designation has been lifted, and this should be reflected with insurance coverage starting to be offered to vessels. In September 2021, the HRA was reduced in size, but after a decade since it was put in place – the designation has been now been removed altogether as of 1 January 2023. Despite this change, it is evident that some commercial shipping traffic are still employing specialized security services.

Risks on Passage

Although the risk of pirate attack is very low, this is still quite a long ocean passage, with all the usual weather, equipment malfunction and charting challenges that you would expect. Getting shoreside support for boat system failures can be very challenging. Also, charts are incredibly poor in this area of the world, and you need recent Google Earth images to complement whatever digital charts you plan to use. There have been several yachts “lost” on reefs in this area, and this is entirely avoidable. Also, cruisers are carrying more and more fuel on deck, due to the perceived high costs of agents, limited facilities and difficulty anchoring near Egyptian military facilities. This is all discussed in our Group (the Red Sea Passage Facebook Group – see details below).

Sensitive Areas

Although Yemen is no longer at war, cruisers are strongly encouraged to avoid the coastline of Yemen, and to be aware that both government and other armed elements are sometimes seen in the area. A yacht’s passage could easily be mistaken by either government or opposition forces and that may bring unwanted attention. In May 2022, there was an attempted boarding of a French trimaran by (what I believe to have been) anti-government forces between the mainland of Yemen and the Hanish Islands. Just – stay away from mainland Yemen, and particularly from the Hanish Islands.

Starting in December 2023, the Houthis, an ally of Tehran, have been launching long-range missile and drone salvoes from Yemen at Israel and Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with the Palestinian Hamas militants fighting in the Gaza Strip. No private yachts have been targeted but the situation is very unstable.

The coastline of Eritrea is also a sensitive area. No yacht has successfully cleared in to visit Eritrea in nearly 3 years. Firstly, Eritrea reacted to the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic by closing it’s borders (as so many countries did), but they never really opened them back up. Several yachts making passage along the coastline of Eritrea have sought protected anchorages, waiting for the weather to change, but – a few of these yachts have run into problems. The Eritrean Coast Guard are a very unprofessional looking group, and often a yacht has mistaken their visit for pirates, or armed robbers. Several times a yacht has raised a MAYDAY, only to realize 30 minutes later that the approaching skiff was legitimate Eritrean authorities.

Egypt has become more difficult (due to less anchorages, because of either military presence or commercial development) and much more expensive (mostly because of agent fees). Competition is developing as Saudi Arabia is opening up (both SY Aquarius and SY Zatara have cleared in at the Jeddah Yacht Club and cruised/anchored North along the coast in the Oct/Nov 2022 timeframe. Both of these yachts have vlogs on YouTube). There have also been several visits (Nov/Dec 2022) to Jordan/Israel/Egypt marinas in the Gulf of Aqaba.

Red Sea Passage Facebook Group

Our Facebook Group is a closed group (you need to email me at wade@joana.ca to request membership) and private (which means it is not discoverable). There are nearly 800 members, including people who are making the passage, those that have already done it, those that are considering this route plus a limited number of shore side support agents in Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Djibouti, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.

Wade Alarie
SV Joana
https://joana.ca

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Related Links:

Travelling North and South through the Red Sea – Wade Alarie (2022)

Cruising Legends: Wade Alarie and the Red Sea Passage

Red Sea: Passage Report on a Successful Trip from SV Joana (2020)

Jimmy Cornell’s “World Cruising Routes”