ID :
179256
Mon, 05/02/2011 - 09:02
Auther :

Iran Dispatches 14th Fleet of Warships to Gulf of Aden

TEHRAN, May 2 (FNA)- The Iranian Navy dispatched its 14th flotilla of warships to the Gulf of Aden to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against Somali pirates.
"The 14th fleet of warships, comprised of IRI Bandar Abbas Warship and IRI Shahid Naqdi Destroyer, is tasked with patrolling and providing security for our shipping lines and it was dispatched to the Gulf of Aden with a message of peace, friendship and consolidation of regional cooperation," Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Navy for Coordination General Kamran Farhang-Javid said.

He also announced the safe return of the country's 13th fleet of warships from the volatile region.

The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.

According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the pirates and even with prior notice to Somali government enter the territorial waters of that country in pursuit of Somali sea pirates.

The Gulf of Aden - which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea - is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the Suez Canal.

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