A pirate ship with ammunition and ladders to board merchant vessels has been seized by  RFA Fort Victoria in the western Indian Ocean, says Nato.

A pirate ship with ammunition and ladders to board merchant vessels has been seized by  RFA Fort Victoria in the western Indian Ocean, says Nato.

The RFA was patrolling the waters between the Somali coast and the Seychelles when it was alerted to a suspicious ship nearby. Royal Marines from the Fleet Protection Group intercepted it and found 10 people on the deck, along with a pirate ladder.

The Fort Victoria is part of Nato’s counter-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa, Operation Ocean Shield. This is an international counter piracy effort which has been in place since December 2008.

When questioned by Nato officials, the pirates said they had been at sea for 45 days without food or engine power. Their only source of power was a makeshift sail made from their boarding ladder.

They admitted to throwing their weapons overboard as the Fort Victoria approached, and ammunition was then found during a search. The Fort Victoria crew confiscated the ship and suspicious goods from the pirates, who were later released on to the Somali coast.

Captain Rob Dorey RFA, commanding officer of the Fort Victoria, said: “The combined actions of all onboard have saved merchant ships from being pirated and made the area just a little safer. In many ways the pirates were lucky that we found them as they would not have survived indefinitely – however, most importantly, we have removed one more pirate group from the Somali Basin and destroyed their whaler so it cannot be used again.”