United Arab Emirates special forces on April 2 2011 freed an Abu Dhabi-owned ship seized by pirates east of Oman in the Arabian Sea. "A special counter-terrorism unit, backed by air force units and in coordination with the (Bahrain-based) US Fifth Fleet, stormed the ship. The hijackers subsequently surrendered," the official said. "MV Arrilah-I is now heading with all its crew to the shores of the UAE, and the pirates will be handed over to interior ministry officials upon reaching Jebel Ali" port in Dubai, the official said. The manager of the vessel said that "all crew members are safe and in good health”. "The decisive operation is evidence of the determination of the UAE Government to respond swiftly and deal firmly with any acts of piracy," the source said.

Comment:

No details given on an operation itself, which is suspicious. Was crew in citadel, or was it controlled by pirates? Were there casualities among crew and pirates? Judging from statement, crew wasn’t in citadel. Vessel belongs to a big UAE company, definitely influental enough to get military response from a State. maybe later some independent sources will enlighten us on the details. Hijack news:

The Arrilah-I was attacked on 01-APR-2011 at 05:28 UTC, by a PAG in 2 skiffs with 3 pirates on board each skiff, firing automatic weapons at the vessel underway in position 19 17 0 N, 065 45 0 E, 278nm SW of Port of Veraval, India on bearing 68.8. The Bulk Carrier was boarded and it has been reported the vessel was hijacked. The vessel was enroute to Jebel Ali, UAE.

Maritime Assistance Center (MAC) Securewest International

Hijack is not officially confirmed yet, number and nationalities of the crew unknown.
Bulk carrier Arrilah-I left Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Ltd on Jan 5 2011. IMO 9522934, dwt 37000, flag Liberia, manager Abu Dhabi National Tanker, owner Abu Dhabi Nationa Oil, UAE.