By 7:40 pm Manila time on 27 April 2009, the Chinese navy frigate Huangshan had successfully escorted MT Stolt Strength, a Philippine-registered chemical tanker, to a safe point adjacent to the territorial waters of Oman. The tanker’s next port of call would be Salalah, Oman.

At high noon on 25 April, Frigate Huangshan joined up with the needy tanker and provided the latter with emergency supplies of food, drinking water and medicine. The escort began at 7:30 pm Manila time. After a 48-hour-long voyage, the tanker was guarded to a rendezvous point at 100 nautical miles (nm) north of Yemen’s Scotra Island at 5:00 pm Manila time on 27 April.

The rendezvous point was set up by the Chinese naval escort convoy in internationally recognized safe waters as the completion point of each mission. At the request of the tanker, frigate Huangshan continued the escort and bode farewell to the tanker in safe waters 25 nm northeast beyond the rendezvous point.

The Chinese side wishes to see MT Stolt Strength return home safe and sound.