The incident involving the 46,922-dwt Torm Kansas (built 2006) took place on Saturday, according to a statement from the Danish shipowner.

The ship was in open sea at the time of the incident, in position 07° 19’S 048° 36.7’E, en route from Sikka in India to Mossel Bay in South Africa.

Torm’s version of events says the pirates approached the Danish-flagged vessel in a skiff and opened fire.

The pirates are said to have carried on their attack and, as a counter, the guards on board the ship fired a number of warning shots.

“All actions performed were as per the procedures and the rules for the use of force and subsequently the pirates abandoned their attack,” Torm said.

“All crew members have had the possibility to speak with their next of kin back home in India and inform about their well-being.

“The Indian Master, his crew and the employed armed guards are safe and suffered no injuries as they showed great skill in deterring the attack.”

The incident comes two days after armed guards on board an unnamed chemical tanker thwarted a similar attack off the coast of Kenya.

Reports say the Hong Kong-flagged vessel has fired upon on Thursday morning while on route from Saudi Arabia to Mozambique.

One skiff with five heavily armed pirates approached the product carrier near Mombasa, according to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre.

In another incident on Friday a Bahamas-flagged oil tanker reported that two skiffs approached their vessel about 30 nm off Oman.

The skiffs approached at high speed to within 100 metres, prompting the ship’s embarked armed security team to display their weapons at which point the suspicious craft fell back.

A total of seven persons could be seen on the two skiffs. The incident was reported to have lasted for around 30 minutes.

Piracy levels are at a seven year low and only two ships have been hijacked off Somalia in 2013, according to a recent IMB report.

Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force off Somalia Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant said: “It is clear that Somali pirates still have the intent and capability to get out to sea to attack ships and take crews for ransom.

“These attacks not only cause misery to ships’ crews and their families, they also generate instability in world trade and humanitarian aid routes.

“Naval counter piracy forces and the maritime shipping industry must remain vigilant so that these pirates do not succeed.”