A Russian naval task force from the Northern Fleet led by the Admiral Chabanenko destroyer resumed on Monday Russia’s an anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa, the Navy said.

“The task force consisting of the Admiral Chabanenko destroyer and a
support ship has arrived in the Gulf of Aden. The warship will start
escorting commercial convoys after monitoring the situation in the
area,” a Navy spokesman said.

He said the Russian Navy planned to maintain a constant presence off
the Horn of Africa, with each fleet dispatching warships on a rotation
basis. Russia joined international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali
coast in October 2008.

A Russian Pacific Fleet task force returned to its base in Vladivostok
on November 23 after completing an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of
Aden.

The Admiral Tributs destroyer with two helicopters, a salvage tug, a
tanker, and a naval infantry unit escorted commercial ships, conducted
aerial reconnaissance, and searched for suspected pirate vessels off
the Horn of Africa from July 30 to October 15.

During the tour of duty, the Pacific Fleet task force escorted a total
of over 100 commercial vessels from 26 countries along the shipping
lanes in the Gulf of Aden. The task force also held two anti-piracy
exercises together with Chinese naval ships.

The task force was the third group of warships from the Russian Pacific
Fleet engaged in the anti-piracy mission off Somalia, with the previous
two task forces led by the Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Panteleyev
destroyers. Russia’s first contribution to the international
anti-piracy operations came from the Baltic Fleet.

Pirates have been active off Somalia as the war-ravaged country has been without an effective government since 1991.

There were 324 pirate attacks worldwide on commercial ships this year
to October 20, with 37 vessels hijacked and 639 hostages taken,
according to the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting
Center.

Attacks by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of
Somalia numbered 174, with 35 vessels hijacked and 587 crew taken
hostage.

Source: RIA Novosti

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