Russian and British naval vessels have jointly foiled an attempt by the Somali pirates to hijack a Danish ship in the Gulf of Aden, said the Russian navy on Wednesday.
The navy said in a statement that Russian patrol ship Neustrashimy and a British frigate, HMS Cumberland, were involved in the operation and added that both the ships used their helicopters to repel the pirate attack on the Danish Ship, the Powerful.
"The pirates tried to shoot at the ship using assault rifles and carried out two hijacking attempts" on the Danish ship, the statement added.
Russia deployed warship Neustrashimy off Somalia after the pirates seized a Ukrainian vessel in September with Russian arms on board. The pirates are still holding on the hijacked vessel and have demanded a $5 million ransom for the release of the vessel and its crew.
Soon after the Ukrainian ship's hijack, as many as 10 foreign naval vessels, including USS Howard of the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, surrounded the hijacked vessel to prevent it from unloading its dangerous cargo.
The coast of Somalia has been affected by piracy in the recent months and more than thirty pirate attacks have been reported in the country's waters since the beginning of 2008. Generally, the crew and the vessels are returned unharmed on receiving the demanded ransom.
The recent escalation in the number of pirate attacks off the Somali coast forced various countries, including EU member states, NATO members, India and Russia, to deploy their naval vessels in the region to protect ships against piracy.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.