(CNN) -- For the first time, a submarine will be combating the rising tide of piracy in the seas off the East African coast.
The Dutch navy is deploying the submarine in September, the Dutch defense minister announced on a visit to monitor operations off Somalia on Tuesday.
Eimert van Middelkoop said the vessel will primarily be used to monitor communications between pirate vessels and their warlord masters on shore while remaining undetected itself.
The ship will be part of NATO's Ocean Shield anti-piracy mission, aiming to keep the busy shipping channels there safe from attack.
The fleet has been successful in disrupting pirate operations off the East African coast, forcing marauding ships to attack farther out to sea.
The International Maritime Bureau, which monitors piracy, reported Monday that the overall number of attacks has dropped sharply in the first months of this year compared to a year ago. It warned, however, that the pirates are stretching their range up to 1,000 nautical miles out to sea in response to more international patrols close to shore.
