The Singapore-owned tankship Pacific Opal is chased by three skiffs in the Arabian Sea. The HMCS Winnipeg, on duty as part of NATO's Operation Allied Protector sent a helicopter to the scene:
Pilot Maj. James Hawthorne said the pirates complied with Canadian instructions, which came in the form of a sign hanging from the side of the helicopter with the word "Stop" written in Somali.
"Whatever their intentions were, they complied without instructions and allowed the merchant vessel to proceed," Hawthorne said.
He added, "After we've deterred something, if they haven't actually done an act of piracy, which in this case they hadn't because we intervened beforehand, we usually just let them carry on and try to monitor their position." (CTV News, 4/5/09 via Wikipedia)
The Singapore-owned tankship Pacific Opal is chased by three skiffs in the Arabian Sea. The HMCS Winnipeg, on duty as part of NATO's Operation Allied Protector sent a helicopter to the scene: 
