VLADIVOSTOK, March 29 (RIA Novosti) - A task force
from Russia's Pacific Fleet left Vladivostok on Sunday for the
Gulf of Aden to take part in ongoing anti-piracy operations.
The Admiral Panteleyev destroyer, a salvage tugboat, and a
tanker will replace a task force led by the Admiral Vinogradov
destroyer, which has been involved in the anti-piracy operation
off the coast of Somalia since the beginning of January.
"Russia has again entrusted sailors of the Pacific Fleet
with the task to participate in a difficult but honorable
international operation to thwart piracy off the Horn of
Africa. This is a complex task because pirates are acting
aggressively and understand only the language of weapons," Vice
Admiral Konstantin Sidenko, commander of the Pacific Fleet,
said at the departing ceremony.
The Admiral Panteleyev is an Udaloy class missile
destroyer, armed with anti-ship missiles, 30-mm and 100-mm
guns, and Ka-27 Helix helicopters.
The Admiral Vinogradov and the Boris Butoma tanker have
completed their anti-piracy mission around the Horn of Africa
and are expected to return to their home base in Vladivostok at
the beginning of April.
Around 20 warships from the navies of at least a dozen
countries are involved in anti-piracy operations off Somalia.
According to the United Nations, Somali pirates carried out at
least 120 attacks on ships in 2008, resulting in combined
ransom payouts of around $150 million.
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