(Photo: U.S. Navy/John K. Hamilton Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class)
The call went out from the Spanish patrol aircraft making a reconnaissance flight over the Gulf of Aden.
It had spot 2 suspicious skiffs, flying over them revealed that rather than being rigged for fishing they were prepared for armed boarding, the tell-tale drums of fuel for endurance and RPGs gave away their intent.
The UK Navy Frigate HMS Portland was on hand to intercept the pirates and did so by RHIB.
With the cover of a heavily arm Lynx helicopter, also dispatched from HMS Portland, a boarding team of Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel boarded the skiffs (Seen above at an earlier boarding).
They discovered 10 pirates and all the trappings of a team engaging in or preparing to attack nearby shipping transiting the area.
However without evidence these 10 men were actively participating in an act of piracy they were unable to arrest them and after confiscating their weapons and destroying one of the skiffs the boarding team release the pirates.
This once again raises questions over what real effect military intervention can have over the lawlessness and piracy around the Indian Ocean.
Despite the successful intervention by the HMS Portland, part of CTF 151, the 10 pirate go away from this encounter with the message that should there be any doubt of their intent, despite the evidence, they will sail free.
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