TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari lauded his forces for their success in repelling pirate attacks and providing a safe passage for Iranian and foreign cargo ships and oil tankers.
“We have had no piracy in the last 6 months and that signifies the power of the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the seas since it has been able to ensure security in the said regions,” Sayyari told FNA in Iran’s Northern city of Bandar Anzali, adding that the Navy is conducting anti-piracy missions in the North of the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb.
“Almost 3,000 ships have so far been escorted and the shipping routes are now secured,” the commander stated, adding that his forces have so far had about 130 clashes with pirates.
In similar remarks in January, Sayyari said his forces have such a full security control over the volatile sea routes in the region that pirates do not dare to attack Iranian cargo ships.
“Now pirates do not have the courage to get close to our vessels due to the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy’s 100% control over the region,” Sayyari said at the time.
In January, the 24th fleet, including two warships named Sabalan and Khark, were dispatched from the first naval zone on an extraterritorial mission to defend the country’s cargo ships and oil tankers against the continued attacks by pirates.
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 through the Suez Canal.
Via: http://english.farsnews.com/
