Escort duties

December marks the fifth anniversary of China's escort mission to help fight pirates off the coast of Somalia. So far, China has sent 45 warships in 15 tours to engage in escort missions for vessels heading through Somali waters.

Smoke billows from the Haikou's main deck gun during a training exercise. Gao Yi / for China Daily

The Haikou participated in the first and 10th of the warships escort tours, each time accompanied by another destroyer and a supply ship. So far, the PLA navy has escorted 5,200 ships through the dangerous Somali waters.

In February 2009, the Haikou was dispatched to receive the Chinese commercial ship, the Tianyu No 8 after its release by Somali pirates. The ship had been hijacked and held by pirates for more than 80 days.

When it was released, it was running very low on supplies.

The Haikou's officers and soldiers donated food and clothes to help the commercial ship's crew after their release.

More importantly, the destroyer provided 60 tons of fuel as well as other supplies for the Tianyu No 8, despite difficulties posed by bad weather in the area.

As word of the PLA navy's safe and effective escorts spread in the area, more foreign ships, including those from Singapore, Cyprus and Greece, applied to join the Chinese escort fleets.

To meet their requests, the Haikou selected sailors who could speak fluent English to liaise with their partner ships. It set up a 24-hour bilingual signal channel and maintained contact with commercial ships from China and other countries by e-mail and fax.

The Haikou's contribution won the appreciation of foreign ships and international associations. In November 2009, the Haikou was awarded the Certificates for Exceptional Services Rendered to Shipping and Mankind by the International Maritime Organization.

jinhaixing@chinadaily.com.cn