Early this morning, suspected pirates attacked two different merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. A distress call was picked up by the Italian EU NAVFOR warship, MAESTRALE, which immediately sent a helicopter to the area. The first ship  attacked was a Greek-owned vessel, which was fired upon with RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade).

The pirates, however, turned their interest towards another merchant vessel in the area, a Danish-owned ship. When the warship helicopter arrived on the scene, it fired warning shots toward the pirates in order to stop the attack.

Thereafter a boarding team was sent out from the MAESTRALE on arriving at the scene, whereupon nine (9) pirates were captured. The pirates are at present being detained on the MAESTRALE pending further investigation.

Earlier this spring, Italian frigate MAESTRALE , joined the European Union Op ATALANTA in the waters off Somalia. She is one of 12 warships tasked under EU NAVFOR.