A Supreme Court sitting in Seychelles has sentenced 11 pirates to imprisonment which ranged from 18 months to 16 years for committing acts of piracy and operating pirate vessel between 7-11 May, 2012.

CEOAFRICA.com gathered that the pirates had been apprehended by the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate, HNLMS Van Amstel on 11 May 2012, after the warship’s Lynx helicopter sighted a suspicious fishing dhow towing 2 skiffs, 40 nautical miles off the Somali coast.

According to sources, when the warship’s boarding team approached the dhow, the Dutch Navy crew found 11 suspected pirates of Somali origin and a total of 17 hostages on board.

After taking the suspected pirates to HNLMS Van Amstel, the Dutch boarding team found significant evidence that linked the 11 men to an armed attack on Motor Tanker ‘Super Lady’ a few days earlier.

Meanwhile, the 17 freed hostages, who were Iranian fishermen, expressed their gratitude to the Dutch sailors for rescuing them from the armed pirates.