KD Hang Tuah that had just ended their stint in Ops Fajar 3/2009 in the Gulf of Aden had returned to Lumut Naval Base on the 14 of May 2009 without much fanfare and was only reported by a regional Malay newspaper in their articles “Misi iring kapal dagang Negara” and “Operasi Fajar beri pengalaman berharga” last Friday in their Perak State Edition. KD Hang Tuah had departed for Somalia on 4 February 2009 with a crew of 204 and only met with indirect threats from the Somalian pirates although one crewman claimed that they had five confrontations with the pirates. This may be the reason why there was no spotlight on their return despite the fact that KD Hang Tuah had conducted twelve convoy escort missions for 17 merchantmen and 4 tugs during their tour of duty in the Gulf. Now KD Sri Inderapura has left to continue Ops Fajar 4/2009 on the 10th of May, 2009 and if she has a similar quiet mission until she is relieved in June, you can bet that she too will quietly return home although the escot duties is no less important than facing a firefight with the pirates.
Post Edit : 23 May 2009. Sin Chew Chinese Newspaper did make a report, from which article the photo above was taken.
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