Three ships carrying troops and helicopters are expected to begin patrolling the Gulf of Aden within a few days, the BBC reported Saturday.

The move follows the seizure last month of Malaysian tankers from the shipping line MISC Berhad. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the military vessels would provide protection for five more MISC Berhad vessels operating in the busy shipping lanes off Somalia.

The United Nations Security Council voted in June to allow countries to send warships into the waters of Somalia, which has been without a functioning central government for 17 years and seen some of the highest piracy rates in the world. Thus far there has been little coordinated effort to intervene, say Somali officials.