US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has unveiled a four-point plan to tackle piracy¹ in the Gulf² of Aden.

美国国务卿希拉里克林顿公布了打击亚丁海湾海盗的四点计划。

The French navy captured 11 pirates after intercepting³ a "mother ship"

She said an expanded international effort was needed, as well as freezing pirates' assets（资产）, and plugging gaps in the shipping⁴ industry's own defences.

Improving the situation in Somalia itself was also key, she said.

Pirate attacks have increased in the past few days, including on US vessels⁵, despite anti-piracy patrols by the US and other navies.

Mrs Clinton said: "We may be dealing⁷ with a 17th-Century crime, but we need to bring 21st-Century assets to bear."

The US Navy shot dead three pirates a few days ago in the rescue of a US cargo⁸ ship captain who had been taken hostage from his own ship.

The captain was unhurt and a fourth pirate was captured.

His crew had managed to fight off the armed pirates from the Maersk Alabama, but the captain was taken away in a lifeboat（救生船）.

Among recent developments:

• Another US ship, the Liberty Sun, was attacked by armed pirates, but escaped them with slight damage to the vessel⁶.
• The crew of the Maersk Alabama flew home to the US from the Kenyan city of Mombasa, but their captain's own return was delayed as he was still on the USS Bainbridge, the warship⁹（军舰，战舰） which had diverted（分神） to assist Liberty Sun.
• One pirate said the attack on the Liberty Sun was revenge for the recent deaths of pirates.
• The French navy captured 11 pirates after intercepting a command vessel about 550 miles (900km) off the coast of Kenya.
• The Greek maritime¹⁰（海上的，海事的） ministry¹¹ announced that a Greek cargo ship and its 24 crew, held by pirates since mid-March, had been released.

The US four-point plan includes sending an envoy¹²（外交使节，特使） to the Somali donors¹³' conference in Brussels on 23 April to work on plans to improve the situation in Somalia.

Mrs Clinton said the US would work with the Contact Group on Piracy Off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) to expand the multinational¹⁴ response to piracy.

She called for states to take responsibility for prosecuting¹⁵（实行，起诉） and imprisoning¹⁶ captured pirates.

"These pirates are criminals, they are armed gangs on the sea, and those plotting（绘图，测绘） attacks must be stopped."

 
 
Mrs Clinton called for continued work on releasing captured vessels, as several ships and their crews remain in the hands of pirates.

She also said the international group had to consider ways to track and freeze pirate assets.

"It is time to eliminate the financial payoff（清算） of piracy," she told reporters.

"We will also reiterate¹⁷（反复的说，反复的做） to all concerned the US policy of making no concessions¹⁸（让步，妥协） or ransom¹⁹（赎金） payments to hostage takers."

The state department will set up meetings with members of the Somali Transitional Federal Government and regional leaders.

"We must press authorities within Somalia to take action against pirates operating from bases within their territory," Mrs Clinton said.

Making clear the threat was not just an issue for governments to resolve（决定，解决）, she said the shipping industry had a joint²⁰ responsibility.

"I have directed the [State] Department to work with shippers and the insurance industry to address gaps in their self-defence measures."