Navy escort, we often hear in the news about this matter, who do they escort and how do they escort it? Recently, I experienced this small sailboat called the Epiphany Moment. The sailing ship is on a five-year global tour. This year, it is on a voyage across the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, which naturally cannot circumvent the Gulf of Aden. Pirates were raging in the waters related to the Gulf of Aden at one time. The small sailboat was not big and there were not many people on the ship. How can we safely and smoothly cross the Gulf of Aden? After thinking about it, they decided to ask our country's escort naval formation for help.

The Epiphany No. is a catamaran sailing ship, about 17 meters long and about 8 meters wide. There are only five people on the ship, including the captain Gao Min. In February this year, they set out from Sanya, Hainan and as planned, they will cross the Indian Ocean, enter the Gulf of Aden, pass through the Red Sea, and then enter the Mediterranean. With his previous experience in Pacific Rim travel, Captain Gao Min is more confident about the entire journey. Only the journey through the Gulf of Aden made him particularly worried.

Sailing Ship Captain Gao Min: Regarding our trip to the Gulf of Aden, I actually started planning half a year ago. Everyone knows that there are Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Houthi armed forces in the north. In fact, as the captain, my first priority is to ensure everyone's lives.

Pirates were raging around Somalia for a time. They used the hijacking of ships and seizing crew members as bargaining chips to demand huge ransoms. In recent years, with the joint efforts of the international community, the pirate hijacking incidents have dropped significantly, but they are still scary.

As a sailboat that is only more than 10 meters long, the safety measures that the Epiphany Moment can take are very limited. Captain Gao Min also considered hiring an armed team with live ammunition to escort. But once you encounter pirates, both sides will open fire at each other, which is still very dangerous.

After thinking about it, they began to ask whether our navy could escort them.

Sailing Ship Captain Gao Min: When we set off from Sri Lanka on April 1, we consulted through the China Shipowners Association whether the 47th escort formation escort the Gulf of Aden through the China Shipowners Association. We can escort the private sailing ship like this. The China Shipowners Association responded to us through consultation, saying that as long as the ship is a Chinese citizen, the escort formation can escort us, and let us send an email to the navy directly.

After getting the email address of the escort formation, the epiphany number was very excited. Captain Gao Min immediately sent the application email, but unexpectedly, he quickly received a reply from the Navy.

Sailing Ship Captain Gao Min: The formation replied: My escort formation will escort the Epiphany Ship, please sail as planned. As time approaches, the formation will send instructions directly to your email address.

The captain of the sailboat of the Epiphany Moment Gao Min: The 47th escort formation of the Chinese People's Navy will escort the Chinese ships traveling westward at the entrance of the Gulf of Aden on April 14.

According to the agreed time, calculate the itinerary, and sail hard towards the starting point of the escort. The closer they are to the agreed escort position, the closer they are to the risk area.

The Epiphany Time Number continued to move towards the Gulf of Aden, and the crew members entered a state of high alert.

Sailing Ship Captain Gao Min: We have officially entered the high-risk area. In the past decade, there have been pirate hijacking incidents in this area. Although we have conducted anti-pirate exercises, because our ship is too small, we have to surrender when we encounter pirates. I think we just hang the Chinese flag and see if we are Chinese, don’t beat them.

The sailboat sailed into the Gulf of Aden, and the warship escorted to ensure safety

The Epiphany Time No. After about ten days of sailing, it arrived at the agreed location. What was the scene when they met the Navy? How do naval formations escort them? Let's continue to look.

At 6 p.m. on April 12, 2025, the Epiphany Time No. arrived at the starting point of escort in advance. At 8:30 am on April 13, they received a call from the naval formation.

The one who came to escort the moment of enlightenment was the Baotou ship, a new generation missile destroyer developed and designed by my country, with a hull of 133, a length of 159 meters and a displacement of 6,800 tons.

Sailing Ship Captain Gao Min: The Baotou ship is less than one nautical mile away from our ship. We can see our warship very clearly with our naked eyes. The nervousness and anxiety of nearly a week can finally be put down.

They agreed to report the flight dynamics and surrounding conditions to the Baotou ship every four hours.

The 47th Navy Escort Form Mei Zhijun: The hydrological and meteorological conditions in the Gulf of Aden are complex. During this escort, we used accompanying escort methods to ensure the safety of the protected ships.

During the escort, the Baotou ship also sent a carrier-based helicopter to patrol the surroundings of the Epiphany Moment.

Sailing Ship Captain Gao Min: The rumbling helicopter was sailing around us, and all the crew suddenly felt safe and felt the strength and warm support of the motherland.

During driving, the engine of the Epiphany Moment of Enlightenment occurred, and had to slow down for inspection, and the reason for the slowdown was reported to the Baotou ship.

In the subsequent voyage, the huge missile destroyer was always accompanied by the sailing ship of the Epiphany Moment. Two days later, after sailing more than 300 nautical miles, they arrived at a safe area in the western section of the Gulf of Aden. This is also the end of this escort.