Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, resulting in 3 pirates wounded, 4 remaining pirates captured, and the freeing of 23 Filipino hostages after gunfighting aboard the vessel. In the early morning of 22 January, 15 ROKN UDT/SEAL members boarded the 11,000-ton chemical freighter which was taken by 13 pirates six days prior; killed 8 pirates and captured 5 without taking any casualties after three hours of intense firefighting. All 21 hostages were secured, with one hostage suffering a non-fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen. On 12 April, intercepted a pirate vessel, capturing 34 pirates and freeing 34 hostages. Later that day, opened fire on another pirate vessel, killing 2 pirates. A hijacked dhow was hailed by on 10 May, after which 7 pirates on board immediately surrendered. The ship's 15 crew members claimed they were hijacked six months prior and their ship was used as a mothership for the pirates. On 16 May, exchanged fire with Jih Chun Tsai 68, a known pirate mothership. When a boarding team arrived, they found 3 pirates dead and captured 2 pirates. The Danish Navy vessel, HDMS Esbern Snare exchanged fire with a hijacked boat, killing 4 pirates on 17 May. A boarding team subsequently captured 24 injured pirates and freed 16 hostages. On 11 September, a Spanish Navy patrol boat engaged Somali pirates, freeing a French hostage after sinking the pirate skiff and capturing 7 pirates. The woman was taken hostage after pirates killed her husband and left her catamaran off the coast of Yemen. On 11 October, Royal Marines embarked on board freed 23 crew members of a hijacked Italian cargo ship after it had been captured by pirates five days earlier. USS DeWert was the first vessel to arrive on scene after gathering intelligence on the whereabouts of the vessel and deploying counter intelligence surveillance units in the area. On 3 October, the Tanzania navy freed a hijacked vessel and apprehended seven pirates, They are handed over to civilian police for further action. On 31 October, the Kenyan military announced that they had captured two pirate skiffs, sunk three, and killed 18 pirates. 2012 Acting on intelligence from other counter-piracy forces, boarded the Indian-flagged dhow, Al Qashmi on 6 January. By the time the search team boarded, all evidence of potential piracy had been disposed of, though the crew said they were hijacked by the nine pirates on board from a