NATO REQUIRES 24-HOURS NOTICE FOR SHIPS TRANSITING SUEZ CANAL
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is requiring U.S.-flag and other member-country merchant marines to give 24-hour advance notice to the NATO Shipping Center in Northwood, U.K. for ships intending to transit the Suez Canal.
The notification is in support of NATO Naval forces that are conducting surveillance and monitoring operations in the Eastern Mediterranean through Jan. 1, 2003.
The deployment is in response to tensions in the Middle East and the campaign against terrorism, the U.S. Maritime Administration said in a recent advisory.
Specifically, details are requested from ships intending to transit the canal, or which have completed the northbound transit.
Lloyds of London has said NATO's naval presence provides a stabilizing influence on insurance premiums in the region, MarAd said.