1. It owns and operates a variety of merchant fleets of some 600 vessels with a total carrying capacity up to 31 million tons.
2. Four ships were deployed earlier this week to the Gulf of Aden to relieve the current fleet that is protecting merchant vessels from Somali pirates.
3. China's fifth Gulf of Aden mission took over the escort of merchant vessels through the troubled waters in a handover ceremony last week.
4. China sent three warships to the Gulf of Aden on December 26 last year in its first overseas escort mission for merchant vessels.
5. Navigation safety has become a big concern in the South China Sea, which is an important waterway for merchant vessels.
6. The warships'main duty will be to escort Chinese merchant vessels as well as ships carrying humanitarian relief material for international organizations.
7. The first warships had escorted 104 vessels and rescued three foreign merchant ships from pirate attacks.
8. The Chinese Navy has sent some ships to waters off Somalia to protect its and foreign merchant vessels from attacks by pirates.
9. " Pirates remain a big threat to merchant vessels on the sea, " Yao told reporters on the eve of his fleet's departure.
10. The ship will sail to the Gulf of Aden today to protect merchant vessels from pirates.