Iranian Oil Tanker Rescued from Pirate Attack in Bab Al-Mandab
6 pirate boats sought to attack an Iranian oil tanker but Destroyer Sabalan rushed to the scene of the attack after an emergency request by the oil tanker and forced the pirates to flee under its heavy fire power, the Iranian Navy’s Public Relations reported on Wednesday.
Destroyer Sabalan was dispatched to rescue the oil tanker by the commander of the Iranian Navy’s 37th flotilla of warships.
The Iranian Navy’s 37th fleet of warships left Bandar Abbas port, in Southern Hormuzgan province, for the Gulf of Aden on December 1 to protect the country’s cargo ships and oil tankers against pirate attacks.
The Navy’s 37th fleet, comprising Destroyer Sabalan and Tonb logistic warship, is tasked to conduct anti-piracy patrols in the high seas and the Gulf of Aden.
The Iranian navy overhauled Tonb logistics warship to send it to this mission.
The 36th flotilla of warships, comprised of Jamaran destroyer and Bushehr logistic and helicopter-carrier warship, returned to Iran late last month after a 76-day voyage in the high seas.
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.
