Sailors hold a welcome ceremony for the 39th Chinese naval escort taskforce. On March 9, the 39th Chinese naval escort taskforce safely returned to a naval port in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, successfully completing its escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. (Photo by Xiao Meng)

JINAN, Mar. 10 -- On March 9, the 39th Chinese naval escort taskforce returned to a naval port in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, completing its escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. The mission lasted 165 days, with a voyage of more than 90,000 nautical miles, during which the escort tasks for 28 batches of 48 Chinese and foreign ships were efficiently carried out.

The 39th Chinese naval escort task force, comprised of the guided-missile destroyer Urumqi (Hull 118), the guided-missile frigate Yantai (Hull 538), and the comprehensive supply ship Taihu (Hull 889), set sail from a military port in Qingdao on September 26, 2021.

During the escort mission, the task force has adopted various methods to ensure the safety of the escorted ships, and devoted to safeguarding the security of international maritime trade routes and regional peace and stability.