Supply ship Qiandaohu of Chinese Navy Eighth Escort Task Force arrives in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, Aug 28, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

HANGZHOU - After serving in Somali waters for six months, the 8th naval escort squad sent by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy returned home Sunday to a naval base in eastern China's Zhoushan Islands.

During their 189-day mission in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters, the flotilla escorted 507 vessels to protect them from pirates and rescued another seven from pirates' pursuits. It also provided aid for two foreign vessels.

Prior to the ships' return, the team also visited Qatar and Thailand.

China sent its first convoy fleet to the Gulf of Aden and the Somali waters in December 2008.