Despite the efforts of the Royal Navy and other members of the multi-national forces attempting to deal with piracy in the northern Indian Ocean and the Red Sea the risk remains very high.  This has been tragically illustrated by the March 2011 hijacking of the US-flagged yacht Quest and the murder of all four on board. The danger area extends at least 1000 miles into the Indian Ocean and the risk to yachts appears to have increased in 2011.

Very strong advice from the naval forces involved and other governmental sources is for yachts to avoid the area. 

Being slow-moving yachts must necessarily remain in the area for longer than large ships.  They are also unable to adopt many of the anti-piracy precautions recommended for larger vessels and therefore present an easy target.

The fact that prudent skippers are heeding the advice is demonstrated by 13 or so  yachts that had already reached the Maldives, in March 2011, on their way to the Red Sea.  These have reconsidered their options and are being shipped on a freighter to Turkey.  Others have abandoned their plans and returned to Thailand or Malaysia.

THE RED SEA ROUTE IS EFFECTIVELY CLOSED TO YACHTS

Yachts using the trans-equatorial route from the Maldives to Mauritius or Madagascar en route to South Africa have formerly been able to anchor in the Chagos Archipelago to wait out the period between the favourable conditions in the north Indian Ocean  (January - March) and favourable conditions in the south Indian Ocean (May-June, after the end of the main period of cyclone risk).

In November 2010 new regulations were introduced by the British Indian Ocean Territories administration in London which limit yachts to a stay not exceeding 28 days for permits applied for after 1 January 2011.  Permits are issued for 7-day periods with specific dates.   As permits must be applied for several months in advance this would seem to make no allowance for the impossibliity of predicting exact dates of arrival and make it likely that some or all of a yacht's permits will already have expired by the time of actual arrival.  Arrival without a valid permit invites a substantial fine and/or imprisonment .

These new restrictions have substantial implications for maritime safety.  Yachts now denied adequate refuge in Chagos must either take the Red Sea route with its increased risk of pirate  attack or must continue into the southern Indian Ocean before the end of the cyclone season, with its own risks.

In July 2011 the situation became further complicated with the issue by the ISAF of  warnings for yacht skippers intending to sail in the NW Indian Ocean.  This recommended that yachts should avoid the area north of 12° S and west of 78° E.  This position is 540 nM SE of Perros banhos in Chagos and appears to have been selected by taking the easternmost recorded piracy incident, off the S tip of India and the southernmost incident off the north of Madagascar and ignores the fact that there are no recorded incidents to the SE of a line drawn between these two points, which passes around 500 nM NW of Chagos.  Nevertheless it is a recommendation that should be taken into serious consideration.  The extension southwards of the area of pirate activity perhaps also calls into question the wisdom of passing north of Madagascar, which is the preferred route towards South Africa for boats travelling via Chagos and is also used by boats leaving Mauritius and wanting to avoid the rough area south of Madagascar.

There are at least 15 boats already signed up to ship from Phuket to Marmaris in March 2012  at a cost for a medium sized monohull of around USD 35000.  We got a initial idea of the cost of shipping to South Africa - about USD 60000!  Some people are considering shipping direct to the Caribbean or the W coast USA.