A reduction in the threat of piracy off the eastern coast of Africa means that the second and third legs of this year's Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) may not face the disruption in the previous race of 2011/12.
That year, the Cape Town to Abu Dhabi leg involved all the boats sailing to a secret safe haven destination, where they were loaded onto an armed ship without their crew, which then took them through the safest possible route and unloaded them along the Sharjah coastline.
For the subsequent leg to Sanya, in China, the boats sailed a short distance out of Abu Dhabi before being loaded onto a ship again and taken to another safe destination, from where they finished the leg.
Improved security in the region means pirates hijacked the fewest number of merchant ships in 2013 in nearly a decade.
Two vessels were hijacked in 2013 compared to 14 in 2012, according to a report from the International Maritime Bureau.
In turn that has encouraged race organisers to believe that the threat will not impinge heavily on the second and third legs this year.
“Currently our advice is that we will sail the whole way,” Knut Frostad, the VOR chief executive, said.
“As we speak today, we will sail all the way from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi and from Abu Dhabi to Sanya without any interfering in the actual sailing.
“That said, if we do sail all the way, which is the current plan, we will not give them complete freedom into where they race.
“They will have an enforced limitation, pushing them quite far to the east.”
VOR has been running regular risk management training programmes, which cover dealing with the hazards posed by piracy.
At least based on history, the threat would appear to be minimal – only one boat has been hijacked during a race and that was in the 1970s.
Frostad acknowledged that they would continue to keep a vigilant eye on what is always a fluid situation.
“We monitor piracy all the time, both through military and private intelligence and we do that every week,” he said.
“Every week we have an assessment internally about the situation. When it comes to what we will do, it depends completely on the advice we are getting. This picture changes.
“Since the last race, it has only changed for the better.
“The frequency of piracy in the Indian Ocean has in fact moved to the west coast of Africa rather than the east coast. We actually have piracy assessments now that gives us higher risks around the north-east coast of South America rather than where we are sailing in the Indian Ocean.”
Ironically, Abu Dhabi stands to benefit from the continuing risks posed by pirates.
This year’s stopover in the capital has been extended by a week to account for any such incidents during the second leg.
The boats are expected to arrive from Cape Town between December 11 and 15 and the third leg begins on January 3, with the in-port race scheduled for January 2.
That, according to Frostad, works out well for the long-term ambitions of the race to have an enhanced presence in this part of the world.
“It was a very strategic decision for us to move the race to also include the region for many reasons,” Frostad said.
“The sport is growing here, not only Abu Dhabi but also in Oman, Dubai and other places.”
It also means that the capital will be the longest stopover of any during the nine-month race.
“I’m excited about the stopover,” Frostad said.
“It’s going to be fantastic. It was one of our most exciting stopovers last race and a very high quality one.
“It was a great experience and highlighted the local interest in sailing, which is stronger than people are aware of, with all the dhow racing on the coast.
“We really enjoyed that and Christmas in Abu Dhabi will be very good for all the sailors.”
osamiddin@thenational.ae
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