The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the United Nations' (UN) maritime agency, has launched a new drive against piracy amid concerns that the seizing of ships by Somali pirates was outstripping international attempts to stop them, according to Exim News Service.
"Piracy seems to be outpacing the efforts of the international community to stem it," the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, said in a speech at the launch of IMO's initiative here.
The plan aims to increase pressure at a political level to secure the release of all hostages being held by pirates and promote greater coordination between navies.
Mr Ban said ransom payments running into hundreds of millions of dollars had created a "pirate economy" in some parts of largely lawless Somalia.
"The threat to international trade routes is clear," he said.
The IMO said 67 ships were hijacked off the coast of Somalia in the last 12 months alone, while a total of 714 seafarers are still being held hostage for ransom on board 30 ships along the eastern African country's extensive coastline.
London's Chatham House international affairs think-tank estimates that piracy costs the global economy between $ 7 billion and $ 12 billion every year.
The plan loosely examines the issue of what justice the pirates should face if they are caught.
Mr Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said at the launch that the international community wanted to see "fair and efficient trials in Somalia and in regional countries".
A prison to hold convicted pirates has opened in Somalia, partly funded by Britain, and a second jail is at the planning stage.
Somali pirates are currently facing trials in several countries, including India.
Malaysia and South Korea could become the first Asian nations to prosecute Somali pirates, after their armed forces captured a total of 12 suspects in separate raids in January.