This problem will not go away unless something is done to deny the pirates freedom of movement and action! The armada of ships mentioned by the foriegn secretary is, quite frankly a pathetic deterrent especially when you consider the size of the gulf of Aden. HMS Cumberland should be congratulated.

Sam Darwin , mombassa, Kenya

When will the FCO stop hiding behind the European Human Rights Act in order to stop any effective anti piracy program.

Any pirates who are arrested should be returned to their own countries to face their own justice systems.

Mike, Paris, France

The pirates are well organised and they are sending a message that the international community has failed to decode. The only solution is to support a viable democratic Somali government . If not done soon they will call on the shores of North sea.

Dr Abdi Greek, London, U.K

There must be some kind of 'blanket bomb' you could newk them with for a while just to stabilise the the situation long enough to get aboard and re- newk them. Come on you guys, get creative!

Richard, Folkestone, U.K.

I do have to chuckle, we see all these Hollywood films where they can scan some master terrorist's eyeball from space and when it comes down to it - its all too difficult.

Surely pirate mother ships can be tracked from port by drones or satellites and then intercepted on the high seas?

Patrick, Brighton,

It sounds as though all concerned have surrendered to the pirates, and this article has, kindly, notified them. Why do the UK, US, et al spend a fortune on armed forces, including a navy that cannot be used? Care should be taken, if the pirates are "captured", that none of them makes it to the UK

Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

They are shimmying up the side. Replace the ships' railings with barbed wire. Its not foolproof but it has to help.

evan, east lyme,

Multiply the probability of a boat being hijacked in a year by the yearly cost of putting professional security on the ship (probably 80-100K/year/man, times a dozen or people).

It's cheaper to pay a couple million ransom than to pay security to protect your ship. Tell the military to go home.

Ben, Pittsburgh, USA

They can sneak on the tanker. They aren't going to announce their plans ahead of time. At any rate, the place to fight these pirates is not while they are on a tanker.

Get them off the tanker by paying them and then follow who gets the money and hunt them down until they are all "captured".

RobinC, Surrey, Canada

you would think a vessel carrying $100 million worth of cargo would have some sort of defence at all times, they have quite literally sailed through unsafe waters with a bank vault onboard with the door swinging wide open.

Jamie, Torbay, UK

Why can not they spray some heavy dose of non lethal sleeping gas to incapacitate pirates and then have quick commando action to seize the ship?

DPS, Mohali, India

I say arm the ships with a 57mm canon and when said small boat(s) appear, fire an air burst till they leave or...

To be honest though, I'm thinking maybe I should move to Somalia while the gettings good.

anon, anon,

I agree with Sandra, blow them out of the water. As ruthless as they are, sometimes fighting fire with fire is the only way!

Don, Milwaukee, USA

So these 'highly-trained,' 'best of the best', 'gung-ho' military units are really a waste of time?

I guess it is only in Hollywood and fictional novels that they win. But kudos to the Indian Navy for direct action - twice.

Richard, Kanagawa,

These pirates thumb their noses at international law and run unchallanged on the high seas. It's time to get tough and the owners of these ships must supply armed guards to sail with the ships and blow these people out of the water. How can the civilized world stand by when these thugs run wild.

John Fish, Toronto, Canada

The solution is harsh but necessary: all ships should carry a small professional heavily armed contingent, who at the first sign of an attack should do what the Indian Navy did - blow the pirates out of the water. The ship owners either pay a ransom or pay people to protect their ships.

Sandra Hill, London , UK