Australian navy thwarts Somali pirates: officialsAn Australian warship warship, any ship built or armed for naval combat. The forerunners of the modern warship were the men-of-war of the 18th and early 19th cent., such as the ship of the line, frigate, corvette, sloop of war (see sloop), brig, and cutter. intercepted Somali pirates stalking a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden Noun 1. Gulf of Aden - arm of the Indian Ocean at the entrance to the Red Sea Indian Ocean - the 3rd largest ocean; bounded by Africa on the west, Asia on the north, Australia on the east and merging with the Antarctic Ocean to the south and confiscated con·fis·cate tr.v. con·fis·cat·ed, con·fis·cat·ing, con·fis·cates 1. To seize (private property) for the public treasury. 2. To seize by or as if by authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. adj. a cache of weapons including a grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that launches a grenade greater distances, more accurately, and faster than a soldier could throw by hand. The man-portable grenade launcher , officials said Wednesday. Commander Ivan Ingham said officers from his ship HMAS Toowoomba Two ships of the Royal Australian Navy have been named for the city of Toowoomba in Queensland. The first HMAS Toowoomba J157/B251/A125 was a Bathurst boarded the pirate ship after responding to a distress call in the Gulf on Sunday night. A surveillance plane and helicopter sent ahead of the Toowoomba confirmed reports from the merchant ship BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. Portugal that it was being chased by a high-speed vessel full of armed men, he said. "On reaching the suspect vessel Toowoomba launched her boarding team to investigate, search, disarm and seize," Ingham said. "The boarding party was instructed to disarm the suspect pirates and confiscate To expropriate private property for public use without compensating the owner under the authority of the Police Power of the government. To seize property. When property is confiscated it is transferred from private to public use, usually for reasons such as their lethal military weapons." A rocket-propelled grenade launcher, six AK47 assault rifles and a G3 assault rifle were taken, as well as a large quantity of ammunition. The men said they were from Somalia but denied planning to attack the Portugal, despite being seen disposing of a ladder as the helicopter and plane approached, Ingham said. Once the pirate ship had been cleared of weapons he said the Toowoomba confirmed it had sufficient food, water and fuel for the return journey to Somalia and ordered them out of the shipping zone. "The quick response by HMAS Toowoomba ... ensured that the incident did not escalate into a direct attack on the merchant vessel," said Ingham. It was the ship's first such encounter since arriving in the Gulf of Aden from the Northern Arabian Sea on an anti-piracy mission two weeks ago, he added. Pirates have carried out more than 100 attacks in the key shipping lane that links the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal since the start of this year. Australia is among a raft of navies from around the world that have sent vessels to the area to combat the threat. 
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