At the presence of Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the Navy's 42nd Fleet, comprising Martyr Naghdi destroyer and Lavan logistic warship, departed for Bab-el Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden on Monday morning to conduct anti-piracy patrols.
Presence of Iran's naval warships in the Gulf of Aden and Bab-el Mandeb Strait is aimed at establishing security for cargo ships and sending message of peace and friendship to the regional countries.
Also, the Iranian Navy's 41st fleet of warships, which had been dispatched to the high seas on a 48-day mission, was welcomed after returning home in Bandar Abbas port in Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.
During its mission, Iranian Navy’s 41st fleet, which comprised Martyr Naghdi destroyer and Lavan logistic warship, rescued an Iranian-owned oil tanker from 12 pirate boats carrying 115 armed pirates in the vicinity of Bab el-Mandeb Strait which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Iran’s Navy, as a strategic force, has so far been successful in bolstering security of the country’s border lines on high seas and international waters.
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.
Linking the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Aden is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the Suez Canal.
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