( CNN ) -- Japan 's defense minister has ordered two destroyers to help fight piracy in the waters off Somalia , officials with the defense ministry told CNN . Pirates are caught on camera off the Somalian coast . The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers will be dispatched Saturday , the defense ministry said . The order , which the Cabinet approved earlier Friday , marks the first policing action for the MSDF , whose major missions overseas have focused on background support such as transport and refueling , Japan 's Kyodo news agency said . A bill approved on the same day allows the MSDF to be deployed in piracy-infested waters as needed . The move comes after Somali pirates released a Panamanian-flagged , Japanese-owned vessel that was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden in November , according to a non-governmental group that monitors piracy . The ship was released last month . The 18 Filipino and five South Korean crew members were reportedly unharmed . It was unclear whether the pirates were paid a ransom to release the ship . Japan Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the provision would be used on an interim basis , the news agency reported . Two destroyers with about 400 personnel and eight coast guard officers will be aboard the ships , whose escort mission will start in early April after about three weeks of sailing toward Somalia , according to the news agency .
The order marks the first policing action for the MSDF . Mission will start in early April after about three weeks of sailing . Move comes after Somali pirates hijacked Japan-owned vessel in November .