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China navy 'stops pirate attack' Two navies 'thwart pirate raids'
(about 2 hours later)
The Chinese navy has saved an Italian merchant ship from an attack by pirates off the coast of Somalia, Chinese state media have reported. Ships from two navies in the Gulf of Aden have thwarted separate pirate attacks on two merchant vessels.
The state-run Xinhua news agency said the Liberian-flagged ship was attacked in the Gulf of Aden. A Chinese navy helicopter drove off a number of small pirate boats closing in on an Italian-owned ship, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reports.
China sent three ships to help patrol the busy shipping lane last year. And a Danish warship answered an alert from a Chinese cargo ship under attack and seized a pirate skiff and weapons, the US navy says.
There has been a surge in pirate attacks off Somalia this year.
A helicopter from one of the Chinese vessels spotted pirates close to the cargo ship and fired flares to warn them off, Xinhua said.A helicopter from one of the Chinese vessels spotted pirates close to the cargo ship and fired flares to warn them off, Xinhua said.
The pirates were approaching the Italian ship in two small vessels when the Chinese helicopter is reported to have arrived. China sent three ships to help patrol the Gulf of Aden - a crucial shipping lane connecting Europe and Asia - late last year.
Well-armed Somalian pirates have attacked dozens of merchant and fishing vessels in recent months, seizing some of them and holding the ships and crews for ransom. It is the second successful rescue for the squadron. In January, a Chinese destroyer saved a Greek ship from attack.
Warships from more than a dozen nations, including the UK, the US, France, Germany and Iran are patrolling the Gulf of Aden - one of the world's busiest shipping lanes - which connects Europe to the Indian Ocean. Evasive action
In the other rescue, the Danish ship, the Absalon, "closed on the co-ordinates given by the Chinese ship following their distress call and spotted a skiff matching the description given by the captain of the motor vessel", a statement from the US Naval Forces Central Command, based in Bahrain, said.
The crew on the Chinese ship, MV Yandanghai, had prevented the pirates from boarding by taking evasive manoeuvres and training their fire hoses on their skiff.
When the Danes arrived, they boarded the skiff and found several weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), four AK-47 assault rifles, two grenades and a knife, the US navy said.
Two of the Yandanghai's crew were reported to be lightly injured in the attack.
The International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre says that 2008 saw a record number of pirate attacks globally.
The waters off Somalia accounted for nearly 40% of the 293 attacks reported.
Vessels seized included a Saudi oil tanker and a Ukrainian ship transporting weapons, including tanks.
Both were released after ransoms were paid.
The attacks have continued this year. On Sunday the Greek-owned cargo ship MV Saldanha was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
Warships from more than a dozen nations, including the UK, the US, France, Germany and Iran are now patrolling the Gulf of Aden in an attempt to deter the pirates.