A full-blown international tribunal for Somali pirates is among options the U.N. chief proposed Wednesday to better prosecute ongoing ship attacks off the African coast. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered the Security Council seven options for grappling with the piracy problem, ranging from simple legal support for individual nations to a full international court established by the council, the U.N.'s most powerful body. Ban also condemned Tuesday's deadly hotel attack in the Somali capital of Mogadishu _ the latest example of violence and anarchy that has plagued the country for two decades. Gunfire and a suicide explosion killed 32 people in the attack by militants on a small hotel. Piracy has become a lucrative business for organized criminal gangs who board ships in the Gulf of Aden or the Indian Ocean _ one of the world's busiest sea lanes _ and hold them, their crews and cargos for ransom. Ban said that during the past seven months there have been 139 piracy-related incidents off Somalia's coast. Thirty ships have been hijacked. Seventeen ships and 450 seafarers currently are being held for ransom. The 15-member Security Council has imposed sanctions on pirates and authorized countries to pursue them in Somalia's territorial waters, using «all necessary means to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.» But prosecution of accused pirates has proved difficult, even for the United States. Last week, an American judge dismissed piracy charges against six Somali men accused of attacking a Navy ship off the African coast. -- SPA
