NAIROBI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- European Naval Force on Monday rescued a German-flagged and owned container ship east off the Somali coast with 13 crew members on board, officials confirmed late on Monday.

The EU Naval Force said in a statement that the MV Taipan of deadweight of 12,612 tons, was on route to Mombasa, Kenya, from Djibouti when pirates attacked and took control of the ship, about 500 nautical miles east off the Somali coast early on Monday.

The statement said the pirates attacked and go onboard the MV Taipan but were later overwhelmed, leading to the arrest of ten gunmen. "As the pirates boarded the ship, the MV Taipan crew followed EU NAVFOR Best Management Practice, retreated to a secure strong room and locked themselves in; they were able to stop all engines and thereby disable the ship, before alerting EU NAVFOR that the ship had been taken," it said.

According to the statement, the EU Naval force sent HNLMS Tromp immediately to the scene and located the pirated ship.

"Initially HNMLS Tromp attempted to negotiate with the pirates to avoid casualties but when it became clear that the pirates intended resisting, HNMLS Tromp launched a highly professional operation to recapture the ship," it said. "Marines from the TROMP have now boarded and retaken control of the ship from the pirates," the statement said.

It noted that the crew of two German, three Russian and eight Sri Lankan nationals have been released unharmed while 10 pirates have been taken into custody.

The latest attacks came as the world's maritime body IMB issued an alert to vessels plying the waters off East Africa after five ships were attacked within 12 hours by heavily armed Somali pirates late March.

Hijackings off East Africa are a cause of growing international concern, spurring a number of international navies to patrol the pirate-wracked Gulf of Aden.

An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia's northern coast.