Royal Australian Navy frigate seizes $400m of hashish in waters off Middle East

About $400 million worth of hashish has been seized by the Royal Australian Navy from two small wooden boats in the Arabian Sea.

The eight-tonne haul was uncovered when Navy officers boarded rubber duckies and intercepted the vessels on March 3.

Photos of the raid, released by the navy to 9NEWS, show two beautifully-painted wooden boats floating in calm waters in the late afternoon sun.

But what officers found underneath the deck stands in stark contrast, as they unloaded bag after bag of narcotics, compressed into bags and ready for further distribution.

When officers raided the boats, they disturbed the traffickers’ dinner.

The photos show food laid out on the floor in preparation for an evening meal. 

The drugs were loaded back onto HMAS Warramunga where they were weighed and documented.

They will be dumped at sea in an unspecified location.

Those aboard the boat were released without charge.

"This has been a high tempo deployment for HMAS Warramunga, but we have been fortunate in seeing significant quantities of narcotics not reach their final destination," Commanding Officer Dugald Clelland said.

It is the 66th time HMAS Warramunga has visited the region since 1990.

The vessel is currently deployed as part of the Combined Maritime Forces operation. The taskforce focuses on countering terrorism, preventing piracy and supporting a safe maritime environment.

Nine vessels have now been intercepted by HMAS Warramunga on this latest deployment.