TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari lauded his forces for their success in confronting Somali pirates and providing safe passage for Iranian and foreign cargo ships and oil tankers, and warned about a hike in pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
Iranian ships have succeeded to safely pass through the Gulf of Aden with the help of Iran’s naval force which was engaged in 18 separate conflicts with pirates since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21), Sayyari said.
He made the announcement Friday night in a local ceremony held in Rasht city, Northern Iran. The commander added that marine conflicts were on the rise in North of the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and the Bab of Mandeb (Gate of Tears) regions. The Strait of Mandeb located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti, North of Somalia in the Horn of Africa connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The Iranian fleet has, so far, escorted one thousand of oil tankers and commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden, said the commander. He added that 12 separate special 100-men naval teams were presently tasked with safeguarding security for ships passing through the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Iran started continued trans-regional missions in 2008 and has already dispatched several flotillas of warships to the high seas, mostly the Gulf of Aden. The Iranian Navy’s 14th fleet of warships returned home in July after accomplishing a 66-day mission in the Gulf of Aden, where it defended the country’s cargo ships and oil tankers against continued attacks by Somali pirates.This article was posted by MaritimeSecurity.Asia via https://english.farsnews.com/. To find out more, please visit MaritimeSecurity.Asia
Source
Permalink
