different vessel. The nine suspected pirates were disarmed and given sufficient fuel and provisions to return to Somalia. The next day, the Danish warship intercepted an Iranian-flagged dhow after identifying it as a potential pirate mother ship. Warning shots had to be fired before a search team boarded. In addition to the crew of 5 Iranian and 9 Pakistani nationals, the team seized 25 pirates. The captured pirates were then taken aboard Absalon to determine whether they should be prosecuted. A third pirate vessel was intercepted on 13 January. RFA Fort Victoria fired off warning shots to stop the vessel and then launched a boarding party. The pirates surrendered without incident and search uncovered several rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. Royal Marines held the pirates for further investigation. HDMS Absalon had been observing a pirate mother ship for several days when it attempted to leave the coast of Somalia on 28 February. Danish forces fired on the ship, forcing it to stop. On board were 17 pirates and 18 hostages, though two of the hostages later died from wounds sustained. NATO said that an investigation would be held regarding the hostages' deaths. 2013 On 11 October, pirates attacked Hong Kong registered tanker Island Splendor and attacked a Spanish fishing vessel three days later. Suspected to have been carried out by the same group of pirates, they were tracked down by RFA Fort Victoria, supported by , , European Union flagship , and a Seychelles-based maritime patrol aircraft from Luxembourg. The pirate skiffs were tracked by Melbournes Seahawk helicopter, a boarding team from Melbourne searched the skiffs, they successfully apprehended nine pirates and later destroyed two skiffs and their equipment. By December 2013, the US Office of Naval Intelligence reported that only nine vessels had been attacked during the year by the pirates, with no successful hijackings. Control Risks attributed this 90% decline in pirate activity from the corresponding period in 2012 to the adoption of best management practices by vessel owners and crews, armed private security on board ships, a significant naval presence, and the development of onshore security forces. 2016 In 2016 the , , , and USS Ponce came under attack as they moved through the Bab al-Mandeb strait on the southern end of the Red Sea during support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Horn of Africa. Shortly after the attacks, the USS Nitze destroyed three radar sites in Yemen