Russia deploys anti-piracy force to Gulf of Aden
Several of the 19 captured Somali pirates, seen in this Jan. 4, 2009 photo released by the French Navy, with their hands on their heads, are taken to the French naval vessel “Jean de Vienne,” which came to the rescue of two cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden. The French warship was patrolling operating in the seas off Somalia as part of a European Union anti-piracy force when it came to the rescue of a Croatian cargo vessel and a Panamanian ship. (Ho New/Reuters)
A task force with Russia's Pacific Fleet has left for the Somali coastal area in a new mission to fight piracy, fleet officials today told Russia's RIA Novosti.
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Fleet spokesman Captain Roman Martov said the destroyer Marshal Shaposhniko, the same vessel that freed a captive Russian tanker in the Gulf of Aden two years ago, will be leading the task force to the same region, according to the report.
He also said the naval group will stop at India's Mumbai for joint navy exercises.
Russia became a part of the global anti-piracy mission four years ago, reported UPI.
The Gulf of Aden is so full of pirates that Foreign Policy made a whole photo slideshow detailing efforts to combat the practice there.
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