TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Navy dispatched its 25th flotilla of warships to the Gulf of Aden and the high seas to protect the country’s cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates.
The 25th fleet of warships, comprised of Alborz missile warship and Larak logistic ship, left the Army’s first naval zone for a mission in the high seas on Thursday morning after the 24th flotilla returned home.
The Iranian flotilla is tasked with patrolling the Gulf of Aden to provide security for Iran’s shipping lines and to also take Iran’s message of peace, friendship and consolidation of regional cooperation to the regional nations.
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.
Via: http://english.farsnews.com/
