Russian Navy to continue African anti-piracy patrols in 2011

11.01.2011 Russian Navy command made a decision on permanent presence of Russian warships near the Horn of Africa in 2011, told a source in the Navy Main HQ to the Central Navy Portal.

At present, Pacific Fleet large ASW ship Admiral Vinogradov protects civil shipping from pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Having arrived to the area of dense traffic on Dec 22, the ship instantly started to escort a convoy of 5 vessels and had completed the task without any incidents. On Dec 28 Admiral Vinogradov began to escort the second convoy consisting of 3 vessels.

It is planned to station Russian warships in piracy-risky regions on the permanent basis in 2011; all Russian fleets will dispatch their ships to perform escort duties.