China News Service, Gulf of Aden, July 6 (Jiangshan) The Panamanian Merchant Ship Captain Virgilio wrote in an email to the Chinese naval escort formation: Thank you for your escort Thank you for your service. Whenever seeing the escorted ship expressing gratitude via mail or VHF, Cai Lingong, the foreign affairs translator, is very proud: "Our efforts and hard work are affirmed, and our escort action is welcomed, this is the best reward!"
On December 26, 2008, the Chinese Navy sent a fleet of ships for the first time to perform an escort mission. Today, normalized escort has become a beautiful business card for the Chinese Navy. As a translator, Cai Lingong participated in many foreign affairs activities, and what he saw and heard made him feel a lot. "Through escort, more and more people have known the Chinese navy; through escort, the Chinese navy has also made more active contributions to maintaining the peace and tranquility of the world's oceans and realizing the community of human destiny."
On July 4, the 35th batch of convoy formation Taiyuan shipboard helicopters completed the air patrol and prepared for the ship. Photograph by Jiangshan
The safe and efficient escort operations of the Chinese navy escort fleet have won the trust and recognition of merchant ships from all over the world. More and more foreign merchant ships have actively sought escort from the Chinese navy. On July 1, local time, the 35th convoy formation of the Chinese Navy successfully escorted four foreign merchant ships to a predetermined sea area and released it, successfully completing the 1317th convoy mission.
"In order to ensure that the escorted ship is foolproof, we adopt the method of accompanying escort and regional escort, and extended the escort operation of more than 100 nautical miles on the basis of the original plan according to the actual situation." Zhang Kai, Chief of Staff of the Formation Command, said that the escorted The merchant ships are the Maltese "Adam Asnik" multi-purpose ship and the Panamanian "Innovation Road" semi-submersible ship.
The Navy's 35th batch of escort formation special combatants are on duty. Photograph by Jiangshan
Affected by the southwest monsoon in the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden has strong winds and waves, and poor visibility on the sea surface, placing higher requirements on escort operations. "In order to improve the ability to deal with emergencies and ensure the safety of escorted ships and personnel, the escort formation increased the deployment level." Yang Aibin, chief of staff of the formation command post, said that the formation sent multiple helicopters for two consecutive days to strengthen the air patrol and guard against suspicious targets. Screening; organize special operations units to conduct anti-piracy training such as covert attack, shipboard climbing, cabin search and so on.
Virgilio (Virgilio), a merchant ship of the Panamanian "Sacred Arrow", sent a thank-you email to the Chinese navy escort formation. Photograph by Jiangshan
Special combat unit assaultman Li Fangzheng is a young party member for 2 years. As the backbone of the squad leader, he led his comrades in the class to carry out search training in a small cabin. Every training is especially conscientious; every escort operation is extra vigilant. Li Fangzheng said: "Every training is for the next use. Whenever I am on duty on the deck and watch the protected ships passing through safely, I feel that it is worth the hard work."
Up to now, the Chinese navy escort formation has escorted 6,799 merchant ships for 11 consecutive years, of which 3,543 are foreign merchant ships, which has won unanimous praise from the escorted ships. (Finish)