BERLIN – The German navy foiled a pirate attack on a container ship in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia on Tuesday and arrested nine pirates, the military in Berlin said.

The frigate Rheinland-Pfalz received a distress call early Tuesday from the German-owned ship saying she was under fire from pirates armed with bazookas and machine guns, a statement said.

The frigate dispatched a helicopter which together with another chopper from the US naval ship Monterey stopped the attempted attack by firing warning shots.

The US helicopter then returned to its ship and the Rheinland-Pfalz steamed the 50 nautical miles to the area, boarded the pirates' vessel and took the nine into custody, the German military said.

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The military said it had 48 hours to interrogate the pirates.

The container ship in question was the MV Courier, sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda. According to the shipping firm running her, the pirates fired bazookas at the vessels but missed their target.

No one was injured, Jens Winter, a director at the company told AFP.

More than 100 ships were attacked last year by pirates in the Gulf of Aden which is now patrolled by naval warships from the United States, EU and other countries including China to protect vessels in the vital waterway.