LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "We believe this action by the EU Naval Force (NAVFOR) will further increase the pressure on, and disrupt pirates' efforts to get out to sea to attack merchant shipping and dhows," the commander of the EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Duncan Potts, said in a statement.

"The local Somali people ... many of whom have suffered so much because of piracy in the region can be reassured that our focus was on known pirate supplies and will remain so in the future."

The attack was conducted from the air and "at no point did EU Naval Force 'boots' go ashore," the statement said.

However, industry participants were skeptical as to how effective this new tactic would be, with some suggesting it could even drive the pirates to more concerted action.

"It could call for more desperate actions from pirates," said one industry source that declined to be named. "They rely on ransom income, so it will make them more desperate," he added.

Despite a large naval presence in the region, an oil tanker was hijacked last week off the coast of Somalia and 26 crew members were taken hostage, a timely reminder of the scope of the threat.

Piracy hit an all-time high in the first six months of 2011, with 266 attacks world-wide, up from 196 a year earlier, according to statistics from the International Maritime Bureau. Of the 266 attacks, a whopping 60 percent were carried out by Somali pirates.

According to NAVFOR's Web site, the European force is made up of around 1,400 military personnel, nine warships and five maritime surveillance aircraft.

Despite successful efforts to quell attacks in the Gulf of Aden, international navies have struggled to contain piracy in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea owing to the vast distances involved.

Somali pirate gangs on the sea have raked in an estimated $150 million in ransoms in what has become a highly organized, international criminal enterprise. Somali pirates in the failed state have carried out more than 800 attacks on ships, from private yachts to oil supertankers since 2008.

On March 23, the European Union Council decided to allow its forces in the region to take "disruption action against known pirate supplies on the (Somali) shore.

"Putting pressure on their business model by destroying their boats and eliminating their fuel dumps will make life more difficult for the sponsors of piracy and the pirates themselves," the Council said in a statement.

© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.