WASHINGTON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The United States will join international efforts to fight against piracy off the Horn of Africa, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said here Wednesday.

    The United States and the international community will "explore ways to track and freeze pirate assets," Clinton told reporters, noting "pirates are buying more and more sophisticated equipment ... buying faster and more capable vessels."

This undated image shows the 17,000-ton container ship Maersk Alabama, when it was operating under the name Maersk Alva, which has been hijacked by Somalia pirates with 20 crew members aboard, Wednesday April 8, 2009, while sailing from Salalah in Oman to the Kenyan port of Mombassa via Djibouti.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    She also said that the United States will send an envoy to a Somali donors conference this week to seek more effective ways to halt piracy off the Somali coast.

    "Our envoy will work with other partners to help the Somalis assist us in cracking down on pirate bases and in decreasing incentives for young Somali men to engage in piracy," she said.

    Despite sustained patrols by international warships, piracy is rampant recently off coast of the war-torn Horn of Africa nation of Somalia.

U.S. ship attacked by Somali pirates

    NAIROBI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- A U.S ship carrying humanitarian aid was attacked Tuesday by Somali pirates. Damage was caused but the crew were not injured, the owner of the ship said in a statement.

Somali pirates step up new attacks to challenge int'l patrol efforts

   NAIROBI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirates have recently stepped up its attacks on ships with seizure of three vessels in the past two days, in an apparent attempt to challenge the international patrol efforts in the waters off the Somali shore.

Somali pirates threaten to revenge on France, U.S.

    MOGADISHU, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirate groups Tuesday vowed to kill American and French crews of ships hijacked by them after U.S. marines shot dead three of the four pirates holding a U.S. captain hostage, local media reports said.

Somali pirates release wave of terror with new strategy

    NAIROBI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- After months of relative calm, the waters off the Somali shore is shivering again under the shadow of the pirates with at least six ships being hijacked and one U.S. captain abducted since the beginning of this month.

Obama vows to halt piracy after rescue of American captain

    WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama vowed to halt the piracy off the Horn of Africa on Monday, one day after an American cargo boat captain was rescued from being taken hostage by Somali pirates.

 International Anti-piracy Efforts  

U.S. navy, FBI respond to pirate attack off Somalia

    WASHINGTON, April 9 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. warship and negotiators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were called in to help on Thursday, one day after a U.S.-flagged cargo ship was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia.

Chinese Navy sends diplomatic star, "stealth" frigate to continue escort mission in Somali waters

pplies are tranferred to China's destroyer DDG-167 Shenzhen from the supply ship Qinghaihu in the Strait of Malacca on April 6, 2009. The flotilla is sailing towards the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to conduct China's second escort mission. (Xinhua/Luo Yuan) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The two new warships that China has sent to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters are a destroyer often used in diplomatic missions and the latest frigate with radar-hiding functions.

EU anti-piracy mission arrests seven Somali pirate suspects

    BRUSSELS, March 30 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) anti-piracy naval mission patrolling off the coast of Somalia have seized a pirate vessel in the Gulf of Aden and detained seven pirate suspects, the mission said Monday.

NATO ship carries out 1st anti-piracy mission off Somalia

    BRUSSELS, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- A NATO warship has just completed the alliance's first anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia by escorting a shipment of supplies to an African Union mission in the country, said NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Monday.