Russian warships to resume anti-piracy mission off Somalia in late Nov.
16:32 19/11/2009 MOSCOW, November 19 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian naval task force led by the Admiral Chabanenko destroyer will resume an anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa later this month, the Navy said on Thursday.
It said the destroyer and an auxiliary vessel were currently crossing the Mediterranean and should reach the Suez Canal on November 23.
The Navy will maintain a constant presence off the Horn of Africa, with each fleet dispatching warships on a rotation basis.
On Monday, a Russian Pacific Fleet task force returned to its base in Vladivostok after completing an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.
One of the ships, the Admiral Tributs destroyer with two helicopters, a salvage tug, a tanker, and a naval infantry unit escorted commercial ships, conducted aerial reconnaissance, and searched for suspected pirate vessels off the Horn of Africa from July 30 to October 15.
During the tour of duty, the Pacific Fleet task force escorted a total of over 100 commercial vessels from 26 countries along the shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden. The task force also held two anti-piracy exercises together with Chinese naval ships.
Russia joined international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali coast in October 2008.
The task force was the third group of warships from the Russian Pacific Fleet engaged in the anti-piracy mission off Somalia. The previous two task forces from the Pacific Fleet were led by the Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Panteleyev destroyers.
Pirates have been active off Somalia as the war-ravaged country has been without an effective government since 1991.
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