Iranian Warships Return Home after Mission in High Seas

The Iranian Navy’s 19th fleet of warships returned home on Tuesday after accomplishing an 86-day mission in the Gulf of Aden and the high seas, where it defended the country’s cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates.

The Iranian Navy’s 19th fleet of warships comprised of Alborz destroyer and Bushehr logistic vessel. The flotilla started mission in the Northern Indian Ocean on March 26.

Addressing a ceremony to welcome the fleet’s personnel back home, Commander of the Fleet Capitan Nasser Dadashi said that his naval group traversed for 9,000 nautical miles during the mission.

Dadashi said that the fleet detected 275 vessels, contacted 270 cargo ships, escorted 21 trade vessels and provided safe passage for 24 non-Iranian ships.

He noted that the fleet also conducted training missions and docked at an Oman ports in a bid to convey the Iranian nation’s message of peace to the other countries.

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.