Russian ships will continue patrolling the oceanic territory near the Somali coast infested by
pirates, said Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov according to Interfax-AVN.
A decision on the future of the Somali pirates detained by the Russian anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev will be made in the near future, Serdyukov told journalists on Wednesday.
"We will decide on what to do with them in the near future," Serdyukov said.
Preliminary findings indicate that the detainees include "Somali pirates and also Iranian and Pakistani fishermen," he said.
"We will continue to patrol the Gulf of Aden. A convoy of civilian ships is being formed there, and our ships will escort it," he said.
Serdyukov confirmed that the Admiral Panteleyev had stopped a schooner with pirates on board about 800 nautical miles away from the Somali coast at about 6:00 p.m. Moscow time on Tuesday.
Russian servicemen found arms, ammunition, and tools for seizing vessels on board the schooner, Serdyukov said. "All the schooner crewmembers have been detained. Their [nationality] is being determined now," he said.
A Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson had told Interfax earlier that the 29 people detained on Tuesday were undergoing investigative procedures on board the Admiral Panteleyev.