Russian Warship to Continue Escorting Vessels off Somalia

A Russian warship will escort a regular convoy of commercial vessels through pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa on Tuesday, a Navy spokesman said.

The Admiral Chabanenko destroyer from Russia's Northern Fleet, which is presently replenishing its supplies from the Lena tanker, began escorting commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden on December 4.
"The warship is expected to start escorting a regular convoy off the Horn of Africa on Tuesday," the spokesman said.

A Russian task force comprising the Admiral Chabanenko and a support ship arrived in the Gulf of Aden in late November 2009 to resume Russia's anti-piracy mission.

The Russian Navy has maintained a constant presence off the Horn of Africa, with each fleet dispatching warships on a rotational basis. Russia joined international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali coast in October 2008. Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991.

The number of attacks by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia exceeded 170, with more than 30 vessels hijacked and some 600 crew taken hostage in 2009.