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BRUSSELS: A Danish warship, the Absalon, sunk a Somali pirate "mothership" in the Indian Ocean, a NATO spokesman said on Monday.
The Absalon, flagship of NATO's counter-piracy efforts off the Horn of Africa, "disrupted a piracy attack in the Somali basin on Sunday and then scuttled a mothership," the spokesman said.
The 'mother-ships' are used to move attack teams into an area from which they can launch raids on passing ships.
"This was a very well executed operation," said Commodore Christian Rune, commander of NATO's anti-piracy mission.
"Disrupting the pirates? capability just off their main pirate camps sends a strong signal to the pirates that NATO and the international community do not tolerate their actions" he added in a statement from the operation's British base.
"Disposing of their vessels before they can head to sea hits the pirates before they can present a threat to merchant shipping," he added.
Somali pirates, targeting one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes, raked in an estimated 60 million dollars in ransoms last year. - AFP/de
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