Warships ward off Somali pirates

The number of ships captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia has dropped dramatically in the past two months because of the presence of an international flotilla of warships plying the waters there and a new willingness on the part of merchant vessels to defend themselves.

"People are acting differently, behaving differently, than they were just six months ago," said U.S. Rear Adm. Scott Sanders, commander of an anti-piracy task force in the region.

Military and shipping officials expected a spike in attacks when the monsoon season ended in early August, said Kim Hall, a Center for Naval Analyses specialist at U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

There has only been one ship captured since then: a Spanish-flagged fishing boat with a crew of 36 seized Oct. 2. In August and September last year, pirates seized 16 ships, Navy records show. In the same period this year, no ships were seized.

Earlier this year, piracy was threatening to spiral out of control. Armed bands operating from Somalia were hijacking ships and holding crews for millions of dollars in ransom.