Weather conditions along the Arabian and Somalian coasts will continue tobring more bad news rather than good news for the merchant marine. Typically,merchants would embrace modest waves, light winds and nearly unrestrictedvisibility. However, the type of weather forecast for the region will favorpirating for the next several weeks.The pirates have been using armed, small speedboats to attack the largevessels. For obvious reasons, large waves would greatly hinder these tactics.
The current, seasonable weather pattern favors generally clear skies and wavesgenerally of 3 to 5 feet or less. There are no big storm systems in thenorthern Indian Ocean to generally large waves and swells. Only spottythunderstorms will occur along the immediate coast from Mogadishu northward inSomalia. More unsettled conditions and building seas will be farther southtoward Kenya. No rain and nearly cloudless skies are expected around Arabia andthe Gulf of Aden.
A new moon is in store later this week. While the nearly unrestrictedvisibility by day may be a draw as far as who benefits, little or no moonlightfor the next 10 to 14 days will not aid those keeping watch at night aboardmerchant vessels. The pirate boats are not illuminated, while the large shipsmust be lit to avoid collisions with other vessels in the vicinity.
Later in May and in June, seas will typically build in the region as thesoutherly flow picks up. The moist flow also allows thunderstorms to propagatenorthward to a certain point. Until then, the merchant marine sailors operatingin the area will have to keep a watchful eye.
Story by Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski
