By He Jiayu

On 18 May, the 41st convoy formation of the navy set off from a military port in Zhejiang Zhoushan, to do the escort mission in Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia. At about 9 am, eastern theater held farewell ceremony at the port. After commander of the formation applied for sailing, in the loud and clear martial music, the ships of the formation left the port one by one slowly. On the deck, officers and soldiers on the mission were in high spirits, lined up and waved goodbye.

The 41st convoy formation is consisted of missile destroyer Suzhou, missile frigate Nantong and integrated replenishment ship Chaohu, together with 2 shipboard helicopters and several dozens of special force members. Among them, it was the first time for Suzhou ship and Nantong frigate to carry out escort mission.

Nantong frigate of the navy is a new type of missile frigate researched, designed and built by China independently. Its hull number is 533. It was put into formal service in January 2019. After that, Nantong and Nantong frigate of the navy carried out routine visits, which supported building of the army with great effort, and was welcomed by officers and soldiers of the navy.

It is the first time that Nantong frigate of the navy went overseas to carry out important military task. CPC Nantong Committee and Nantong government attached great importance, according to the needs of the navy, purchased more than 30 types of goods and materials for Nantong frigate, and prepared Nantong characteristic cultural and creative products and books for officers and soldiers.