A high-ranking Iranian Navy commander says the country’s naval forces have successfully saved an Iranian oil tanker from pirates south of the Sea of Oman.

The Iranian Navy’s Second-in-Command Rear Admiral Seyyed Mahmoud Mousavi said on Tuesday that the Iranian tanker came under attack on June 5 after a group of pirates on board a fishing barge approached the vessel and sought to embark.

Iranian Navy marines managed to foil the pirate attack on the vessel after engaging in a firefight. The crew members of the Iranian vessel are safe.

Iran’s 34th naval fleet, comprised of Alborz destroyer and Bushehr logistic vessel, departed Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas for the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on April 8 to provide security for Iranian merchant vessels and tankers.

Mousavi also said Iran’s Navy has so far escorted nearly 2,600 Iranian commercial vessels and oil tankers in international waters; and Iranian naval forces have clashed with pirates on 286 incidents.

The Iranian Navy’s 34th flotilla docked at Muscat port in Oman on Monday, following the 60-day mission in the Indian Ocean, Sea of Oman and the Gulf of Aden.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] This file photo shows Bushehr logistic vessel operated by the Iranian Navy.[/caption]

 

In recent years, the Iranian Navy has expanded its presence in the high seas to safeguard the vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by the Islamic Republic.

In line with international efforts against piracy, the Iranian naval forces have been also conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008.

By Press TV