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Russian naval task force returns to homeport from Gulf of Aden

RIA Novosti

07:31 25/06/2010 VLADIVOSTOK, June 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Pacific Fleet commander, Adm. Konstantin Sidenko, presented sailors from a naval task force that returned from the Gulf of Aden with three roast piglets symbolizing a successful mission completion, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.

The task force, led by the Udaloy-class guided-missile destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, arrived on Friday at its home base in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok.

The naval task force accomplished its anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden on June 5. Russia is expected to resume the mission near Somalia in early July.

"The task force properly fulfilled a combat task," Sidenko said at the solemn ceremony in Vladivostok.

"The brilliant operation conducted by the Pacific Fleet group to free the Moscow University tanker's sailors seized by Somali pirates was highly assessed not only by Russia's Defense Ministry but also by the military commands of many other countries," he said.

Navy commandos from the Marshal Shaposhnikov freed the Russian Moscow University tanker during a 22-minute operation on May 6. Ten attackers were detained and one was killed. None of the crew members was injured.

Sidenko said all sailors who took part in the operation will receive state awards.

The Marshal Shaposhnikov will be replaced by the Admiral Levchenko, currently en route to the Mediterranean and expected to arrive in the region in early July.

The task force comprising the Marshal Shaposhnikov, the MB-37 salvage tug and the Pechenga tanker arrived in the Gulf of Aden on March 29 and escorted 11 convoys totaling over 100 commercial vessels from different countries.

Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Roman Martov told RIA Novosti that the heads of many foreign companies sent letters of gratitude to the Pacific Fleet, and that many foreign vessels tried to make it into caravans led by the Russian task force as the Russian naval ships accompanied them longer than other task forces did.

This, he said, provided additional security guarantees for merchant vessels.

The Russian Navy has maintained a presence off the Horn of Africa with warships operating on a rotation basis. Russia joined international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali coast in October 2008.

The task force was the fourth group of warships from the Russian Pacific Fleet engaged in the anti-piracy mission off Somalia, with the previous three task forces led by the Admiral Vinogradov, Admiral Panteleyev and the Admiral Tributs destroyers. The Northern and Baltic fleets have also contributed to the mission.