Text of report in English by French news agency AFP
A Spanish warship Thursday [ 12 February] foiled an attack by pirates on a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, the defence ministry said.
It said a helicopter from the frigate VICTORIA, participating in the European Union's new task force in the region, fired warning shots at the pirate vessel.
The VICTORIA first received an alert from a Cypriot-registered bulk carrier, the JOLBOS, on Thursday afternoon saying it had come under attack from pirates, the ministry said in a statement.
The helicopter pilot then contacted the crew, who said their vessel had come under rocket fire but that they had taken evasive action to avoid the pirates.
The pirates then approached another merchant ship, the UAE-registered Dubai, but were scared off by warning shots from the helicopter, the statement said.
Spain last month authorised the deployment of the VICTORIA, which has 210 military personnel on board, to the waters off Somalia as part of the EU's Operation Atalanta against maritime piracy.