The BBC has reported the Chinese navy has saved an Italian merchant ship from an attack by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
The state-run Xinhua news agency in China said the Liberian-flagged ship was attacked in the Gulf of Aden. China sent three ships to help patrol the busy shipping lane last 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. The pirates were approaching the Italian ship in two small vessels when the Chinese helicopter is reported to have arrived.
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. 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.
Source: https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7912182.stm[BBC News]
