TEHRAN (FNA)- The 44th flotilla of the Iranian Navy berthed in the port city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on Saturday.

The Iranian navy's 44th flotilla, comprising Alvand destroyer and Bushehr logistics vessel embarked on a voyage for the high seas to safeguard maritime routes used by the country's vessels and oil tankers operating in international waters in Africa and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Iranian warships will stay for three days in Tanzania and then leave that country for South Africa.

The 44th flotilla of warships started its voyage after the 43rd fleet of the Iranian Navy returned home.

The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.

According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the pirates and even with prior notice to Somali government enter the territorial waters of that country in pursuit of Somali sea pirates.

The Gulf of Aden - which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea - is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the Suez Canal.

By Fars News Agency