Application: All Shipowners, Operators, Masters and Officers of Merchant Ships and Authorised

barbados maritime

INFORMATION BULLETIN No. 266

MARSEC LEVEL 2

Application: All shipowners, operators, masters and officers of merchant ships and authorised classification societies

In accordance with advice fron the UK Government, security levels have been amended and a current listing is shown as follows:

SECURITY LEVEL 3: Libya plus waters of Gulf of Sirte south of 32° 56 N (between Misrata and Benghazi).

SECURITY LEVEL 2: Countries - Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey,Yemen. (SL2 does not apply to vessels transiting the Bosporus or Dardanelles, which remain at SL1)

SECURITY LEVEL 2: Sea Areas –Bab el Mandeb Strait, Gulf of Aden, Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea.

SECURITY LEVEL 1: All other countries and sea areas.

Where the government of the country or sea area concerned has set a higher security level than is mentioned above, the higher security level is to be maintained on board Barbados registered ships while in that country or sea area.

It is strongly advised that ships should not call at Libyan ports until further notice.

Gulf of Aden: Mariners should be aware of the threat of piracy in the Gulf of Aden region. All vessels should register in advance with MSCHOA (http://www.mschoa.org/) and report to UKMTO Dubai () to obtain the latest information. Operators should also ensure that their ships are following the 4th edition of the Best Management Practices for Protection Against Somalia Based Piracy, available on the IMO website at http://www.imo.org/MedicalCentre/HotTopics/piracy/Pages/default

Gulf of Guinea: The Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade - Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) is now operational. All merchant vessels are encouraged to report to it:

+33 (0)2 98 22 88 88

BIMCO, ICS, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO have jointly released an updated version of ‘Guidelines for Owners, Operators and Masters for Protection against Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea Region. This document supersedes the previous version and should be read in conjunction with the 4th edition of the Best Management Practices for Protection against Somalia Based Pirates as amended (BMP4). The revised guidelines may be downloaded free of charge from the pir websites.

The role of the MDAT- GoG is similar to the model employed in the Indian Ocean.

Information Bulletin No. 254 is hereby cancelled.

13th December 2016