NATO Sinks Pirate Mother Ship Off Somalia

(March 1) -- A NATO task force intercepted and sank a pirate mother ship off the Horn of Africa in a pre-emptive bid to disrupt the raiders' attacks on merchant ships ahead of peak piracy season.

An assault team from the Danish destroyer HDMS Absalon, the NATO force flagship, boarded and then scuttled the large open boat after it left a well-known pirate camp in eastern Somalia, the alliance announced Monday. Without that ship, which served as a floating dock and supply depot to smaller and faster attack vessels, the pirates are expected to have a harder time waging successful assaults.

Danish Navy vessel Absalon at sea off the Danish coast, 2005.

SCANPIX / AFP / Getty Images

A NATO force from the Danish destroyer HDMS Absalon, shown here, intercepted and sank a pirate mother ship off the Horn of Africa.

The scuttled boat, loaded with what NATO described as pirate equipment and supplies, was heading to offshore hunting areas on Sunday at the outset of what has in recent years been the most lucrative season for pirates operating in the region. With the northeasterly monsoons coming to an end, the wind and sea conditions for March, April and May are favorable for piracy in waters that carry a substantial amount of the world's seaborne trade among the Middle East, India, Eastern Asia, Europe and Africa.

"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," said Danish Commodore Christian Rune, the mission commander. "Disposing of their vessels before they can head to sea hits the pirates before they can present a threat to merchant shipping."

The Absalon leads Operation Ocean Shield, a three-ship NATO flotilla off Somalia that includes the U.S. Navy's USS Boone and the British Royal Navy's HMS Chatham. American and European Union task forces are on patrol elsewhere in the region to thwart pirates and possibly terrorists who use sea lanes from Pakistan to the Gulf of Aden.