A suspected pirate mother-ship has been stopped by the British military forces some 300 kilometres off Somalia in the Indian Ocean.
The dhow – thought to be the launchpad for last week's attack on an Italian cargo ship – was stopped by the combined efforts of HMS 'Somerset', the supply ship RFA 'Fort Victoria', Royal Marines commandos and a Merlin helicopter from 829 Naval Air Squadron.
The Merlin helicopter had spotted the dhow at first light and shadowed it as the frigate and supply ship closed in. Shots were fired across the vessel's bow before she was boarded by marines. The men aboard desperately tossed weapons and boarding equipment into the Indian Ocean and set one of their skiffs adrift.
The boarding party found ample evidence that the vessel was being used as the launchpad for pirate attacks. There was a large cache of boarding ladders, weapons, a second attack skiff and equipment from a previously-pirated ship.
The soldiers also found 20 Pakistani sailors being held hostage. While they were free to go on their way once evidence gathering had finished, the four suspected pirates who were apprehended were handed over to the Italian authorities on suspicion of their involvement in the attack on the bulk carrier 'Montecristo' at the beginning of last week.