The commander of the Chinese naval fleet that is patrolling in the Gulf of Aden on Monday warned that piracy remains a problem in the gulf and urged passing ships to be on guard.

Rear Admiral Du Jingchen said that despite recent successes in thwarting pirate raids, the Gulf of Aden is still not yet safe for commercial vessels.

In the past week alone, more than 100 raids by suspicious small ships occurred in the gulf.

The Chinese cargo ship Yandanghai was attacked February 25 by pirates in the gulf and two of its crewmembers were slightly injured.

The Chinese fleet escorted the cargo ship to safe waters and helped treat the injured crewmembers after a Danish ship chased off the pirates.

The fleet also rescued an Italian merchant ship from approaching pirates in the sea off Somalia last Thursday.

Tao Weigong, vice-director of the Shenzhen Maritime Affair Bureau who is also with the fleet, said there would be a surge in sea transportation in the Gulf of Aden in March. The ships that sail in the gulf should apply for the escort of the fleet to ensure safety, Tao said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2009)