Warship rescues pirates

2008-12-05 07:52

Copenhagen - A Danish anti-piracy warship on Thursday rescued seven suspected pirates whose boat had broken down in the Gulf of Aden and then sank their heavily-armed vessel, Danish television reported.

Danish soldiers seized several anti-tank rockets and AK-47 assault rifles from the pirate ship, whose engine had failed 90 nautical miles from Yemen, a TV2 News reporter aboard the Absalon navy ship reported.

The pirates, who said they had been adrift at sea for eight days, were fed by the Danish navy and placed on zodiacs with Danish navy divers alongside the Absalon. They will be handed to Yemen's coast guard.

Denmark took command in September of the international Task Force 150, which is hunting down Somali pirates and arms smugglers in the northern Indian Ocean.

Despite the presence of foreign navies in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, Somali pirates have hijacked ships including a huge Saudi oil tanker and a Ukrainian vessel carrying tanks and other weapons.

- SAPA