Iranian Navy said it folded an attempt by pirates today to hijack an
Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden. IRIN’s 28th Task Force was
escorting the tanker when the pirates attacked, Fars News Agency reported. No
further details were released.
“The Iranian oil tanker was attacked by 12 pirate boats this morning
but they failed due to the timely action of the 28th flotilla of warships and
the pirates fled the scene,” said RADM2 Siyavash Jarreh, IRIN’s deputy
commander for operations. (Fars News Agency, 8 January)
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. The Gulf of Aden - which links
the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea - is a vital
energy corridor.
Photo credit: IRIN RADM2 Siyavash Jarreh (Fars News Agency)
