One of the victims of the hijacking of the tug Svitzer Korsakov earlier this year, Fred Parle, talked to MJ recently. He agreed that something needed to be done immediately, but, unlike some who have recently expressed an opinion, he comes down in favour of non-violent action. In his singular case and after being in close contact with the pirates, he said he 'would be disappointed' if it meant even more bloodshed. Mr Parle has also been concerned about the lack of 'good, solid , hands-on advice', on piracy issues available to crews of all nationalities traversing the area.

Mr Parle was the main negotiator for the ransom of the Svitzer Korsakov, and believes that there are many ways to combat the threat of piracy . For example, 'one possible route to start the process would be simply to turn 'poachers into gamekeepers', he says. 'Go to the source.

Even if this seems a little unorthodox, many people now agree it is time to make a concerted effort. Pirate activity in the area has stepped up in recent weeks - last month saw four ships taken inside two days.

The US navy has already intervened in keeping Gem of Kilakari out of pirate hands. French forces captured the hijackers of Le Ponant, and now Beluga Shipping managing director Niels Stolberg has asked the German Navy for action to assure safety of the routes.

The difficulty of naval involvement up to this point has been partly a legal one. Piracy has traditionally been a 'policing' issue, although the German Navy is part of a joint mission to combat terrorists in the area. Politicians have needed a guarantee, now given by international maritime lawyers, that they won't be tripping over a fine line into international or constitutional problems.

Biven this lead, it may be that other forces may decide to step up their action to combat the threat. There are many actions that can be taken against pirates. Captured fishing vessels have been identified as 'mother ships' and confiscating these may help alleviate the problem.

US forces are also responding to the threat by setting up a security patrol but the stationing of US forces in the area is fraught with political difficulty. A more popular move may be to deploy UN peacekeepers in the region. It is gaining support across the board, especially since the funds from piracy seem to financing paramilitary groups in the region.

However, the problems are expanding deeper into international waters. David Hunt, marine analyst for Exclusive Analysis said that 'the whole area is dangerous and pirates are proving that they will not confine themselves to coastal waters.' It was noted in May that vessels could be in danger 200 nautical miles into the Indian Ocean off Somalia's east coast.