Command at Sea International, which provides security services for luxury yachts, has just released a report stating that both attempted and successful piracy attacks off the Somalian coast in Africa are now less than a quarter of what they were at this time last year.

This news caught my attention because the Somalian coast is a key corridor that yachts can use to move from the summer cruising ground in the Mediterranean to the winter cruising grounds in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. I first reported back in 2009 about how piracy attacks off the Somalian coast were hindering these emerging winter charter destinations. The reduction in piracy as of summer 2012 is great news for any yacht owners who want to skip the Caribbean this winter and instead offer his yacht for charter in the Maldives, the Seychelles, Thailand, and beyond.

The press release from Command at Sea International also highlights the fact that commercial ships, as opposed to yachts, are still most often the victims of piracy attacks.

"While the potential harm from such a security threat as piracy is enormous for a yacht owner, the actual risk of such an event befalling a typical yacht is actually quite small compared to tankers and other commercial vessels who are forced to sail in riskier waters," Command at Sea International CEO Brian Peterman states.

The reduction in piracy is credited to factors including increased use of high-tech navigation and surveillance technology, installation of safe "citadel" spaces, effective training and deployment of countermeasures such as sound cannons, and reliance on more sophisticated intelligence reports. Command at Sea International makes all of these services available to yacht owners.

It will be interesting to see whether more yacht owners choose to move their boats into the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia this winter, now that the piracy threat has lessened. So far, I'm seeing about the same number of yachts as last year moving to the Caribbean as opposed to these alternative destinations. But it is still early. By November or early December, we all may start to see more announcements than expected. Stay tuned.

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