The European Union Naval Force said it would not emulate successful raids by Malaysian and South Korean counterparts that rescued two ships and their crew from Somali pirates because they could endanger hostages.
Malaysia's navy is holding seven Somali pirates seized in the second dramatic commando raid within hours on ships raided near the African coast, authorities said.
The operations gave both Malaysia and South Korea dramatic successes in the battle against pirates who have long tormented shipping in the waters off the Horn of Africa.
The Royal Malaysian Navy said its commandos wounded three pirates in a gun battle and rescued the 23 crew members on the Malaysian-flagged chemical tanker MT Bunga Laurel early on Friday, shortly after the pirates stormed the vessel in the Gulf of Aden with assault rifles and pistols.
The operation came on the same day as another stunning raid by South Korean commandos who freed a hijacked freighter sailing towards Oman under the escort of a South Korean destroyer.
But EU Naval Force spokesman Wing Cmdr Paddy O'Kennedy said despite these successes the force would not change its approach towards tackling piracy.
"Our priority is the safety of the hostages. The pirates are using the hostages as human shields and if we get too close to the pirates they threaten to kill the hostages... I am sure they will carry out the threats if we got too close," he said.
The force now has four ships patrolling the pirate-infested waters of the Indian Ocean. The EU's force for Somalia, also called Operation Atalanta, escorts merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid.
The force said it also "protects vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean" in an effort to deter and disrupt piracy.
Wing Cmdr O'Kennedy said the force disrupted 64 attempted hijackings by Somali pirate groups last year. The EU force has also used a strategy of destroying pirates ships, which normally includes several skiffs and a mother vessel.
Somali pirates in the end will not be brutal with hostages because, he says, they know they will eventually get money.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, during which time piracy has flourished off its coast, sometimes yielding millions in ransoms.
There are now 29 vessels and 703 hostages being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
The country lies next to one of the world's most important shipping routes, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea beyond.
Malaysia's navy said it sent a ship and a helicopter to the Bunga Laurel, which was then 14 miles away, after crew members locked themselves in a safe room and activated a distress call on Friday morning.
Crack security forces managed to board the ship and overpower the pirates after an exchange of gunfire, it said. No-one in the rescue team or the ship's crew was injured.
Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said he was informed that seven pirates were captured. Authorities were considering whether they should be brought to Malaysia to face trial, he said.
"I am proud of our (navy), which acted with full efficiency and demonstrated courage," Mr Najib said.
Laterthat day the raid by South Korean commandos killed eight pirates and captured five others, ending the week-long captivity of 21 crew members, including eight South Koreans, aboard the Samho Jewelry.
The wounded captain of the South Korean freighter, Seok Hae-gyun, was being treated at a hospital in Oman for a gunshot wound in the stomach by a pirate, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.
The captain helped the rescue operation by steering the vessel in a zig-zag pattern to stall for time after the pirates demanded that the ship be taken towards Somalia, Yonhap said.