1st navy fleet heads back to China

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Source: CCTV.com | 04-19-2009 09:52

China's first naval fleet in the Gulf of Aden is on its way home. After two successful joint convoy missions with the country's second flotilla, the two warships Wuhan and Haikou were relieved of duty and set sail on Saturday.

China's first naval fleet in the Gulf of Aden is on its way home. After two successful joint convoy missions with the country's second flotilla, the two warships Wuhan and Haikou were relieved of duty and set sail on Saturday. (CCTV.com)

These five signal flares mark the successful end of China's first flotilla's escorting mission in the Gulf of Aden.

Since arriving in the Gulf at the start of January, the fleet has completed 41 missions, protecting a total of 212 merchant ships from the threat of piracy. All the ships arrived safely at their destinations.

The three warships sailed continuously for over 27-hundred hours.

Qian Runsheng, Equipment Group of 1st Flotilla, said, "We have continually monitored all the main equipment stored in these three warships. We kept them in good condition, which enabled all escorting missions to be completed successfully."