Ethiopian Journal

TEHRAN (FNA) - The Iranian Navy's fifth fleet of warships returned home on Saturday after accomplishing a 44-day mission in the Gulf of Aden, where it defended the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against continued attacks by Somali pirates.     

"The fifth fleet of warships has been able to escort and support 33 Iranian trade ships during the mentioned period," Commander of the Navy's Southern Fleet Admiral Ebrahim Ashkan said in a welcome ceremony in Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas this morning.

During its mission in the Gulf of Aden, the fleet opened heavy fire at pirate boats after they did not heed the warning radio messages wired to them, the commander mentioned.

The fifth fleet of warships has successfully accomplished specified mission, the commander added.

Ashkan further announced that the Navy's sixth fleet of warships has already deployed in the Gulf of Aden.

On January 23, the Iranian Navy's fifth fleet, including two warships named 'Lavan' and 'Chiro', were dispatched from the first naval zone on the extraterritorial mission to the Gulf of Aden.

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.