It was the third such operation since Friday for The Esbern Snare, a comnmand and support ship, in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, said Finn Baye, deputy head of the navy's international operations.

The warship, part of NATO's anti-piracy operation, found seven people on board some 215 kilometres (120 nautical miles) off the Somali coast and confiscated equipment for use in potential attacks, he added.

Other presumed weapons had been thrown overboard.

"Each time we released the suspected pirates, because it is impossible to charge them if they are not caught in the act of a crime," Baye said.

A record number of pirate attacks were registered in 2009 with more than 200 cases and ransoms paid estimated at some 50 million dollars (39 million euros).

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