US to help tackle Somali pirates

International monitors have recorded 41 attacks in the past year

US Navy vessels have been granted permission to patrol Somali waters to fight piracy in what are seen as the world's most dangerous waters.

Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi told ministers he agreed the deal on Sunday with the US ambassador to Kenya.

Under the agreement, Mr Ghedi said the US Navy would also develop Somalia's rudimentary coastguard service.

The US Navy has recently seized pirates in international waters but has been unable to pursue them close to shore.

Hijackings and piracy off have surged in the past year as armed groups take advantage of a lack of law and order in Somalia, which has been without an effective central government since 1991.

Mr Ghedi is part of a transitional administration which only controls parts of the country.

Ransoms

Two weeks ago, pirates who seized a South Korean fishing vessel and its 25 crew were able to escape from US and Dutch navy vessels by entering Somali waters.

The ship and crew are still being held.

In February, 10 Somali men accused of piracy and arrested by the US were transferred to the Kenyan port of Mombasa for trial.

Luxury cruise liners and ships carrying food aid are among those targeted off Somalia in the past year.

The maritime gangs generally use speedboats to approach ships - sometimes impounding them and their crew at gunpoint and demanding ransoms before they are released.

The International Maritime Bureau has recorded 41 attacks since mid-March last year.

In November last year, Somalia's transitional government signed a two-year contract with US company Topcat Marine Security to help fight piracy.

The BBC's Hassan Barise in Somalia says that despite the $50m contract there has been no evidence of patrols or interceptions made by the American firm.

The piracy deal would be the first official US military involvement in Somalia since US troops were killed in Mogadishu in 1993.