Naval Flotilla Docks in Tanzania

The 44th flotilla of the Iranian Navy berthed in the port city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on Saturday. The flotilla, comprising the Alvand destroyer and the Bushehr logistics vessel, is on a voyage to the high seas to secure maritime routes used by Iranian vessels and oil tankers. The warships will stay for three days in Tanzania and then leave the country for South Africa, Fars News Agency reported.  Iran's Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali pirates hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen. According to UN Security Council resolutions, countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the pirates and, with prior notice to the Somali government, enter the territorial waters of the country in pursuit of Somali sea pirates. The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the Suez Canal.