The existing pirate transit corridor through the Gulf of Aden has been replaced by a new corridor, according to military authorities. It will come into force on 1 February 2009. Warships will patrol the existing corridor until the new one comes into effect and will then monitor both corridors during the transition period from 1 to 4 February. Neither corridor is marked or defined by visual means. All vessels planning to transit the Gulf of Aden ahead of, or during the transition, should use the old corridor. All ships transiting after that time should use the new one. The original corridor was set up by the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) in response to a surge of piracy last year. One senior officer then with the CMF told Fairplay that it would have been "inconceivable" not to act. The idea was to help CMF concentrate its forces in a relatively small sea area, and so better protect shipping. As the pirate attacks were being launched from the direction of Somalia, it was logical to put the corridor as close to the Yemeni coast as possible.
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