Cmdr. Craig Baines, skipper of HMCS Winnipeg, said his ship has been called upon to confront Somalian pirates in the Gulf of Aden at least three times. (Photo courtesy Canadian Forces)

It may be half a world away, but there is a strong Winnipeg presence off the coast of Somalia.

HMCS Winnipeg, a guided-missile frigate that is part of the Canadian Forces maritime command, has been front and centre in the effort to keep the sea lanes open in the pirate-plagued Gulf of Aden.

The 225 crew members aboard the 5,000-tonne ship have been on patrol with a NATO mission to protect commercial traffic in the area since early April. The fleet also includes ships from Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United States.

In the three weeks HMCS Winnipeg has been involved, it has been intervened at least three times when pirates were trying to attack commercial shipping in the region, said the ship's captain, Cmdr. Craig Baines, a University of Manitoba alumnus.

The ship was called into action just a few days ago, late at night, he said.

"We turned off all our navigation lights, closed [on] the skiff [carrying pirates] at high speed and we got to within 500 yards of it before he knew we were there," Baines said. "Then, after a series of warnings and finally warning shots, he capitulated and we were able to carry out a boarding."

A team from HMCS Winnipeg boarded the skiff and disarmed the pirates before releasing them.

The rules of engagement for the crew on the ship do not include arresting pirates, but they disarm them and try to make it hard for them to continue illegal activity, Baines said.

"We've had different types of encounters — three where we actually believe we've prevented acts of piracy," Baines said. "We had another one where a vessel was actually hijacked 100 miles from us, but we did send our helicopter to confirm.

"And during that process, the helicopter [crew] talked to one of the pirates."