Norway's Fjord Line is taking no chances with its new ferry Fjord FSTR.
The 1,200-passenger catamaran has embarked armed guards for its journey through the Gulf of Aden as it heads to Norway from shipbuilder Austal in the Philippines.
The ship was delivered in February. There are 11 Fjord Line personnel on board.
Fjord Line said on Facebook that the vessel will serve a route from Hirtshals in Denmark to Kristiansand in Norway.
The vessel reached the Gulf of Aden on 19 March.
Piracy has died down in the area after increased navy patrols over the last decade.
But the waters off Yemen have posed their own threat due to the civil war there.
"Fjord FSTR therefore has a specially trained safety team on board, which helps to bring both ship and crew safely through the area," Fjord Line said.
The vessel will also be able to hit a top speed of 37 knots if pursued. This is about 70 km per hour.
"So while our high-speed catamaran has so far sailed as fuel-efficiently as possible, the crew is now getting ready to accelerate so that they arrive as quickly as possible at the Egyptian port of Suez in the northern part of the Red Sea," the shipowner added.
The vessel has already called in Sri Lanka to refuel.
On 23 March, the ferry was in the Red Sea. The ship is due to reach Hirtshals on 1 April.
