Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer departs for Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen to combat piracy. A total of 206 people, including members and coast guard officers, will be on board the Sazanami.
It will begin a four-month mission around mid-March, replacing the currently dispatched destroyer Akebono. In the Red Sea, there have been a number of attacks on ships by Yemen's Houthi rebels, and in November last year, they attacked ships in the area.