<p>In the latest of four operations since Friday, eleven pirates were intercepted yesterday with the help of other ships and a Spanish maritime patrol airplane participating in the European Atalanta anti-piracy mission.<br /><br />Four mother ships and six smaller boats had been seized in the four operations since Friday, the French military said.<br /><br />The European Union launched its Atalanta mission in December 2008 in a bid to secure one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, joining forces with US-led and NATO missions, as well as other warships from other naval powers.<br /><br />But the unprecedented naval deployment has failed to curb piracy as Somalia's marauding ransom hunters moved south and started venturing further out in the less heavily-patrolled Indian Ocean, notably towards the Seychelles.</p>
<p>In the latest of four operations since Friday, eleven pirates were intercepted yesterday with the help of other ships and a Spanish maritime patrol airplane participating in the European Atalanta anti-piracy mission.<br /><br />Four mother ships and six smaller boats had been seized in the four operations since Friday, the French military said.<br /><br />The European Union launched its Atalanta mission in December 2008 in a bid to secure one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, joining forces with US-led and NATO missions, as well as other warships from other naval powers.<br /><br />But the unprecedented naval deployment has failed to curb piracy as Somalia's marauding ransom hunters moved south and started venturing further out in the less heavily-patrolled Indian Ocean, notably towards the Seychelles.</p>