DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A European Union naval force on Friday reached a Malta-flagged tanker earlier attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia , finding all its 24 mariners safe after an assault that raised renewed fears about piracy in the region.

The seizure of the Hellas Aphrodite, carrying a load of gasoline from India to South Africa, ended as the ESPS Victoria came alongside the vessel. Special forces from the Spanish frigate boarded the tanker and “released the 24 crew members” who had locked themselves inside the ship's citadel when the attack began Thursday, the private security firm Diaplous Group said.

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