New Delhi - The Indian Navy foiled an attack by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and destroyed their ship, the Indian government said Wednesday.

The Indian Navy's INS Tabar stealth frigate, which has been deployed in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy surveillance and patrol operations, was attacked by pirates late Tuesday, a government statement said.

The Tabar spotted a pirate vessel 285 nautical miles, or 528 kilometres, south-west of Salalah, Oman, and asked the vessel to stop for investigations, it said.

The vessel's response "was that she would blow up the naval warship if it closed in on her," the statement said.

"Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck ... with guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers," it said. "The vessel continued its threatening calls and subsequently fired on INS Tabar."

The Indian warship retaliated, leading to a fire breaking out on the pirate vessel.

"Fire broke out on the vessel, and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel," the statement said.

Two speedboats accompanying the pirate vessel were seen escaping during the attack. The navy said the warship chased one of the boats, which was later found abandoned, while the second boat escaped.

The strike was the second successful one by the Indian Navy against pirates in Somali waters.

Last week, the INS Tabar staved off an attack by Somali pirates on two merchant vessels - one from India and another from Saudi Arabia.

The Tabar has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden since November 2 and has escorted 35 ships safely through the pirate-rich waters.

The Indian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden, which links the Middle East with Asia and Europe, since late October as the region has seen a spate of pirate attacks on merchant vessels off the coast of Somalia.

A Japanese-owned ship, Stolt Valor, which had 18 Indian sailors aboard, was freed by Somali hijackers Sunday, nearly two months after it had been seized, after its shipping company reportedly paid a ransom of 2.5 million dollars.

On Tuesday, Somali pirates seized two new ships after they hijacked the Saudi Arabian supertanker Sirius Star, which was carrying
100 million dollars of oil, on Saturday.

The International Maritime Bureau recently described the region as "the number one piracy danger zone" with 26 vessels hijacked and 537 crew members taken hostage by Somali pirates from July to September. (dpa)