BRUSSELS?A Danish warship, the Absalon, sunk a Somali pirate "mothership" in the Indian Ocean, a NATO spokesman said Monday.

The Absalon, flagship of NATO's counter-piracy efforts off the Horn of Africa, "disrupted a piracy attack in the Somali basin on Sunday and then scuttled a mothership," the spokesman said.

The ?motherships? are used to move attack teams into an area from which they can launch raids on passing ships.

"This was a very well executed operation," said Commodore Christian Rune, commander of NATO's anti-piracy mission.

"Disrupting the pirates? capability just off their main pirate camps sends a strong signal to the pirates that NATO and the international community do not tolerate their actions," he added in a statement from the operation's British base.

"Disposing of their vessels before they can head to sea hits the pirates before they can present a threat to merchant shipping," he added.

Somali pirates, targeting one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes, raked in an estimated $60 million in ransoms last year.