Navy Thwarts Pirate Attack on Iranian Oil Tanker in Red Sea

An attempt by pirates to hijack an Iranian oil tanker in international waters was foiled by the timely action of Iran’s warships present in the region.
Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced on Tuesday that the Navy’s 29th fleet of warships has saved the Iranian oil tanker from the pirate attacks in the Red Sea.

“Two groups of pirates who were attempting to attack an Iranian oil tanker in Bab El-Mandeb Strait faced the Navy’s 29th Flotilla which is present in the Red Sea and fled the scene,” Admiral Sayyari said.

The Admiral underlined that the Iranian oil tanker was, then, escorted by the Navy flotilla through the waterway and continued its path towards its destination fully safely.

Last month, Admiral Sayyari announced that his forces have foiled tens of attacks by international pirates on the country’s cargo ships and oil tankers.

He noted that the Iranian Navy warships have escorted some 2,000 merchant vessels and freighters in the same period.

In relevant remarks in December, a senior Iranian commander praised the exceptionally good performance of the country’s naval forces for maintaining security to the international waters by escorting thousands of vessels in the high seas.

“In the last three years, around 3,000 cargo ships and oil tankers have been escorted by the Navy’s commandos and vessels,” Commander of the Iranian Navy’s Missile Program Admiral Ali Vafadar told FNA.

He also said that pirates’ attempts to hijack 147 cargo ships and oil tankers in international waters have been aborted due to the timely action of the Iranian warships deployed in the region.

Vafadar said that the Iranian naval forces have also managed to seize control of a number of pirate boats and vessels, arrest their crews and transferred them to Iran to stand trial for their crimes.

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.

The Iranian navy has been developing its presence in international waters since 2010, regularly launching vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates operating in the area.

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.