An attempt by pirates to hijack a Panamanian ship was foiled by the Iranian fleet of warships present in the region, Fars News Agency reported.

The Panamanian cargo ship, Cruiser Heilan, with 25 crews on board was on its route to Singapore when it came under attack by a number of pirates on several speedboats in the Sea of Oman.

The Iranian warships rushed to the scene after they received SOS signal from the Panamanian cargo ship.

The Iranian naval forces' swift action forced the pirates to flee the scene.

The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.