Iranian Flotilla of Warships Berth in Indonesian Port

Iran’s 33rd fleet of warships berthed in the port of Tanjung Priok, Indonesia, on Friday morning.
The Iranian Navy’s 33rd flotilla of warships, comprised of martyr vice-admiral Naqdi destroyer and Bandar Abbas logistic warship, berthed at Colombo port earlier this month and was welcomed by the Iranian embassy officials and Sri Lankan navy commanders.

The flotilla which left the port city of Colombo in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters on February 10 continued its voyage towards Indonesia in the Southern hemisphere.

Iran’s Military Attaché in Sri Lanka Colonel Ebrahim Rouhani underlined at the time that the presence of Iranian warships in the port of Colombo displayed the high level of relations between the two countries.

“The presence of the army’s flotilla of warship in Colombo port shows our good relations with Sri Lanka,” Colonel Rouhani told FNA.

He underlined the importance of the Iranian warships’ visit to foreign countries and their presence in the waters of the Indian Ocean.

“The Indian Ocean is a stage for the big powers to display the power of their fleets, and the presence of this flotilla shows that we are active and powerful on this stage too,” Colonel Rouhani added.

Meantime, the Commander of Navy’s 33rd flotilla of warships Commodore Mohammad Reza Ahmadi Kermanshahi told FNA the presence of the flotilla would result in exchange of expertise and information between Iran and Sri Lanka.

He mentioned that the Navy’s 33rd flotilla had a two-week journey for 5,000 kilometers to reach Colombo.

The Iranian flotilla has several missions, including cadet training, and Commodore Ahmadi Kermanshahi said that the Navy cadets are undergoing practical training during the several-thousand-kilometer-long voyage.

The Iranian Navy’s 24th and 28th fleet of warships had also earlier docked in Sri Lanka.

The 33rd fleet of warships left Bandar Abbas port in Southern Iran for the Gulf of Aden late last month to protect the country’s cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates.

The Iranian Navy’s 32nd flotilla of warships ended its mission in the Gulf of Aden, and returned home mid January after thwarting 5 pirate attacks on the country’s oil tankers and cargo ships.

The 32nd flotilla, consisting of Jamaran and Bushehr destroyers, returned to Iran after 80 days of missions in the Sea of Oman, North of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden, Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea.

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.