TEHRAN (FNA)- The 29th Flotilla of the Iranian Navy which has been dispatched to the Atlantic Ocean berthed at Djibouti port in Africa on Monday.
The Iranian warships plan to stay in Djibouti port for three days after 73 days of journey in the high seas.
The flotilla, which is the first dispatched to the Atlantic Ocean, but the 29th one dispatched to the international waters, consists of Khark logistic and helicopter-carrier warships and Sabalan destroyer. The warships should sail 25,000 nautical kilometers in their three-month-long mission.
The 29th Flotilla has already traversed across the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and it also once berthed at Oman’s Salaleh port during the early stages of its voyage.
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
