Russia sends destroyer to protect vessels from piracy off Somali coast

Russia sends destroyer to protect vessels from piracy off Somali coast

2011-05-13 06:44:14 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday informed that a Russian task force led by Northern Fleet's destroyer Severomorsk was deployed to protect vessels from piracy off Somali coast.

According to RIA Novosti, the anti-submarine destroyer will start patrolling the pirate-infested waters in the Gulf of Aden in June. The Severomorsk departed from its home base in northern Russia on May 8.

"A task force led by Northern Fleet's Severomorsk destroyer will start escorting commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa in the first half of June," said Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

The Udaloy class destroyer will be joined on route to the Gulf of Aden by the Yelnya tanker from the Baltic Fleet and a tug boat from the Black Sea Fleet. Russia has maintained presence in the region since October 2008.

The latest Russian anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden was carried out by a Pacific Fleet's task force led by the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer. On April 17, its four-month-long patrol duty came to an end after successfully escorted 14 convoys of commercial vessels.

In recent years, Somali pirates have hijacked hundreds of ships, taking in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom, but hostages are usually treated well and released in healthy conditions after a ransom is paid.

The European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) is leading operations to patrol the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce hijackings, but the anti-piracy force has warned that attacks are likely to continue.

According to a recent study, maritime piracy cost the global economy up to $12 billion last year, with Somalia-based pirates responsible for 95 percent of the costs. The United Nations said that 400 attacks on merchant vessels were registered in 2010 while 790 crew members were abducted by pirates.

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