GAROWE (SD) – European Union and Indian naval forces have intercepted a vessel that pirates were using as a “mother ship” to launch attacks off the coast of Somalia, EU forces announced on Wednesday.

The seized Iranian-flagged fishing vessel, named the Issamohamadi, had been operating off the Somali coast after being used last week in the hijacking of the merchant tanker Hellas Aphrodite, which was carrying a cargo of oil from India en route to South Africa.

The pirates utilized the Issamohamadi, a traditional type of vessel known as a “dhow” or “mother ship” in the Persian Gulf, to conduct long-range attacks and capture larger targets.

A team from the Spanish warship ESPS Victoria boarded the dhow and reported that the Issamohamadi’s original crew were found in “good health, safe, and not being held hostage.” Iranian authorities have not acknowledged the vessel’s seizure.

The pirate “group operating in the area has effectively been disrupted,” a statement from the EU naval force for its Atalanta operation confirmed.

The EU force has “collected evidence and intelligence regarding this event, alongside evidence gathered from the Merchant Tanker Hellas Aphrodite, which will be transferred to support the potential prosecution of the suspects.”

Piracy off the Somali coast had previously peaked in 2011, with a reported 237 attacks that year.