Russian and British warships have jointly fought off two attempts by Somali pirates wielding assault rifles to hijack a Danish ship in the Gulf of Aden, the Russian Navy said on Wednesday.
The activities of the pirates were thwarted through the joint efforts of the Russian warship and the British warship," the frigate Cumberland, with both ships using helicopters in the operation, the navy said in a statement.
The pirates tried to shoot at the ship using assault rifles and carried out two hijacking attempts" on the Danish ship, the Powerful, the statement said.
The Russian frigate, the Neustrashimy (Fearless), is currently accompanying "several ships" through the perilous pirate-infested seas off the coast of Somalia, it added.
Russia dispatched the Fearless, a ship armed with missiles and carrying a crew of around 200, to the region in September after pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter with tanks and Russian sailors on board.
Dozens of ships, mainly merchant vessels, have been seized by gangs off Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) coastline in recent years, despite the presence of Western navies deployed in the region to fight terrorism.
The pirates use speedboats and are armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. They sometimes hold ships for weeks until large ransoms are paid by governments or owners.
Topic: Russian and British warships battle Somali pirates (Read 2874 times)