Twenty-one Maltese soldiers who spent four months off Somalia did not catch any pirates but their hard work made corsairs think twice before attacking a merchant vessel, according to the Dutch Chief of Defence.

General Tom Middendorp yesterday praised the Maltese contingent, which was welcomed back to Grand Harbour by overjoyed relatives.

We had been training for this for a while, so it was a pleasure to represent Malta

“Even though you did not catch any pirates over the past months, you did carry out a total of 27 friendly approaches,” he said, just before they were awarded the Dutch Medal for Peacekeeping Activities.

“The fact that it remained relatively calm in the area of operations does not mean that you have nothing to show for your presence.

“On the contrary, it has been highly effective. With professionals such as you in the area, pirates will think twice before attacking a merchant vessel. This leaves us with just one conclusion and one I fully endorse: you did an outstanding job on your watch,” he said.

A youngster records the moment on his tablet.

The group, which left in May, relieved a group of Dutch marines and formed part of a 210-strong crew aboard the Dutch naval vessel HNLMS De Zeven Provincien on an EU-mandated anti-piracy mission.

It was the fourth mission the Armed Forces of Malta participated in as part of EU Navfor Atalanta off the coast of Somalia.

But it was the first time 26-year-old Lt Andre Buhagiar, who found his girlfriend Pamela Borg waiting for him yesterday – had carried out such a task.

“Once you get used to the mission, it is a beautiful experience as we performed tasks we would otherwise not have the opportunity to do in Malta. We had been training for this for a while, so it was a pleasure to represent Malta,” he said. For the past four months, Ms Borg, 24, tried to keep herself busy and, although the two could not send pictures to each other, they texted or called every day.

Nine-year-old Ryan was also waiting for his father, Bombardier Roderick Eddleston, at Grand Harbour.

The 42-year-old, who has been on two similar missions, said soldiers would always miss their relatives but they were trained to cope and he got in touch with his family daily.

This was reiterated by contingent commander Lt Col Michael Cardona, 41, who added that now they would miss their extended family aboard the ship.

The father of four said that although he was deployed elsewhere on other missions, this was the first time off Somalia.

Initially anxious to see training transformed into action, once the group adapted to the mission, all went well. The first port visit – in Djibouti – started with a terror attack during which six Dutch crew members sustained minor injuries.

The four Maltese officers and 17 men were unharmed when suicide bombers attacked a restaurant in the country with the only US military base in Africa.

Thousands of merchant vessels sail through Somalian waters carrying food, clothing and fuel and if these were hijacked, consumer prices would rise. Piracy also increased insurance costs and fuel consumption as some routes had to be avoided, so these missions helped maintain stable prices.

AFM Commander Jeffrey Curmi said the mission was important for the soldiers and for Malta, which had one of the largest ship registries.

The island’s participation showed it cared about eliminating piracy and wanted to help guarantee international peace and stability.