Chinese naval fleet carries out largest escort mission in Gulf of Aden

Source: Xinhua | 02-19-2009 08:25

ABOARD DESTROYER WUHAN, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese naval fleet completed its twenty-first mission of escorting merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, the largest operation of its kind after the fleet's arrival in the waters.

"Haikou" vessel of Chinese navy (front) escorts merchant  vessels in the Gulf of Aden, on Feb. 17, 2009. The Chinese  naval fleet completed its 21th batch of escort missions  against pirates on Wednesday.(Xinhua/Zhu Hongliang)

Ten Chinese merchant ships were convoyed, while three foreign ones, including "Hermione" from Germany, "Viking Crux" from Singapore and "Princess Nataly" from Cyprus, also asked for protection and were escorted by the Chinese fleet.