A Russian Pacific Fleet task force, departed on an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden from the Far Eastern port of Vladivostok on Tuesday.
The task force comprises an Udaloy-class missile destroyer, Marshal Shaposhnikov, a salvage tug and a tanker.
The Russian Navy has maintained a permanent presence off the Horn of Africa, with warships operating on a rotation basis. Russia joined international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali coast in October 2008.
The task force was the fourth group of warships from the Russian Pacific Fleet engaged in the anti-piracy mission off Somalia, with the previous three task forces led by the Admiral Vinogradov, Admiral Panteleyev and the Admiral Tributs destroyers.
During the tour of duty, the Pacific Fleet groups escorted a total of over 100 commercial vessels from 26 countries along the shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, and thwarted over 20 pirate attacks.
