US Navy to patrol Gulf of Aden
Washington, 22 August (IranVNC)—The US Navy announced today that it will begin patrolling the dangerous waters off the Gulf of Aden, following the hijacking of four vessels off the Somali coast yesterday.
By: IranVNC
Published: Friday, August 22, 2008
13:00GMT—9:00AM/EST
GULF OF ADEN – SECURITY
Washington, 22 August (IranVNC)—The US Navy announced today that it will begin patrolling the dangerous waters off the Gulf of Aden, following the hijacking of four vessels off the Somali coast yesterday.
“While they [US Navy] have conducted routine operations in the area in the past, the establishment of the Maritime Security Patrol Area [MSPA] will focus [on] efforts to counter destabilizing activities in the region,” a press release by the US Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs Office said.
According to the release, US Navy warships will patrol the area, and aircrafts will fly in the airspace above.
Yesterday, the four ships – an Iranian bulk carrier, a German cargo ship, a Japanese chemical tanker and a Malaysian oil tanker – were attacked and seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
Reuters reports that a warship deployed by the international naval coalition is tracking three of the ships today.
The waters off Somalia are considered some of the world’s most dangerous. There have been 35 hijackings this year, with 29 along the northern Gulf of Aden coast, the London-based Telegraph reports.
More than 17,000 ships per year and 3.3 million barrels of oil per day pass through the Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.
Sources: US Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs Office, Telegraph website, Reuters
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