Russia sends another warship to fight piracy

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VLADIVOSTOK: Russia's Pacific Fleet will send a new task force led by a missile destroyer with two helicopters to the Gulf of Aden on June 29, a fleet spokesman said on Friday.

"A task force, comprising the Admiral Tributs destroyer, the Boris Butoma tanker and the MB-99 salvage tug, will head to the Gulf of Aden next Monday," the official said, adding that a naval infantry unit would also be dispatched to the region.

The Admiral Tributs is an Udaloy class missile destroyer armed with anti-ship missiles, 30-mm and 100-mm guns, and two Ka-27 Helix helicopters designed for long-range reconnaissance and search missions.

The Russian Navy joined international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali coast in October 2008. Three warships have so far participated in the mission - the Baltic Fleet's Neustrashimy (Fearless) frigate, and the Pacific Fleet's Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Panteleyev destroyers.

Navy Commander Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said on Thursday Russia would conduct both separate missions and joint operations in cooperation with foreign navies in the Gulf of Aden in the future.

Around 35 warships from the navies of 16 countries are currently deployed off Somalia's coast to counter frequent pirate attacks on vital commercial lanes. According to the United Nations, Somali pirates carried out at least 120 attacks on ships in 2008 alone.

Somalia has been without an effective government since the Revolutionary Socialist Party was overthrown in 1991. The internationally recognized federal government controls only the capital city of Mogadishu and part of central Somalia.

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