The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a multinational naval partnership founded in 2002, to keep tradelanes safe off the Horn of Africa, is establishing a Maritime Security Transit Corridor (MSTC).
“Recent attacks against merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Bab Al Mandeb have highlighted the risks associated with transiting these waters,” the CMF said in a release.
The new MSTC will consist of: the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC); the BAM TSS and the TSS West of the Hanish Islands and a two-way route directly connecting the IRTC and the BAM TSS
The purpose of this corridor is to provide a recommended merchant traffic route around which naval forces can focus their presence and surveillance efforts.
CMF assumes a leadership role.