An EU naval patrol on Saturday rescued one of four missing crew members from a French yacht after intercepting a pirate skiff, the European Union naval force (EU NAVFOR) said.
The French yacht was found unoccupied off the coast of Yemen on Thursday by an EU warship after it responded to a distress call. Yemen's coast guard said it suspected the vessel had been hijacked by Somali pirates.
The EU naval force said Spanish warship SPS Galicia on Saturday located a skiff believed to have been involved in an attack on the French yacht. It said the warship forced the small boat to stop.
"One of the crew members was released safely and all of the suspect criminals were detained. The whereabouts of the remaining crew is unknown," EU NAVFOR said.
"During the operation the hostage was not wounded or injured and all the suspect criminals were detained unharmed," it said.
The attack on the French yacht came the same week seven crew members from a Danish yacht were released after a $3 million ransom was paid. A $1 million ransom was paid last year to free a British couple also seized from their yacht.
Some analysts worry that Somali pirates may increasingly turn to seizing high-value Western hostages from yachts, as well as hijacking large merchant vessels plying some of the world's busiest shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia.
They say that by taking the hostages from the vessel, the pirates can split them up and make it harder for security forces to track down where they are being held.