Spain pledges continued collaboration against pirates |04 May 2009

He did so when he called on President James Michel at State House on Thursday in the company of Commander Juan Garat on the warship Numancia, which helped arrest nine suspected pirates last week.
Ambassador Gaspar said Seychelles and Spain shares common interests in the Indian Ocean, noting his country has the largest fleet of fishing vessels in the region.

“We have reiterated to the Seychelles Government our commitment to fight piracy in the framework and are working in partnership with the different allies,” he said.

Commander Garat who was also in charge of the European Union naval force patrolling the sea off Somalia for pirates said he was sure when the nine were caught they were inside Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone.

He also said although no weapons were found on them, there was a lot of evidence to show they were pirates.