Islamic Iran’s Warships Foil Attempted Hijack of Oil Tanker

An attempt by the Somali pirates to hijack an Iranian oil tanker was thwarted after the Iranian Navy fleet deployed in the Gulf of Aden thwarted the attack with timely action.

Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Moussavi said that the Iranian oil tanker came under attack by 15 Somali pirate speedboats near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

Moussavi stated that the Iranian naval forces’ swift action and their heavy fire forced the pirates to flee the scene.

In another development, Moussavi said, the Iranian fleet of warships thwarted an attack on a trade vessel in international waters Southeast of India.

The commander said that the trade vessel had come under attack by three pirate boats.

Iran’s 16th fleet of warships, comprised of IRI Bandar Abbas Warship and the home-made Jamaran Destroyer, started its naval mission on October 9.

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 the 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.