Kuala Lumpur - A global anti-piracy watchdog on Friday hailed what it called a "perfect cooperation" between international naval forces in warding off pirates from attacking a Chinese ship this week off Somalia's coast.

Malaysian warship KD Sri Inderafakti and naval helicopter Fennec responded to an emergency call by crew members of the Zhenhua 4 Wednesday after pirates had boarded the Chinese vessel, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Nine armed pirates had boarded the ship when the 30-member crew sent a distress message to the bureau, Choong said.

The Malaysian warship and helicopter along with another naval helicopter from a task force consisting of the United States, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Britain, Pakistan and Canada succeeded in forcing the pirates to abandon the ship after a four-hour ordeal, he said.

"This is a perfect example of a perfect cooperation between international naval forces in combatting piracy," Choong said.

He applauded the speed and efficiency of the international forces in responding to the distress call.

"This shows that the rampant piracy can be stemmed if all parties continue this form of cooperation," he said.

Somali pirates have hijacked more than 40 vessels off their country's coastline this year with many of the seizures taking place in the Gulf of Aden, which is one of the world's busiest waterways.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday adopted its third resolution of the year authorizing states to take enhanced and "robust action" and coordinate to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia. (dpa)