SECURITY: Piracy in Indian Ocean

"International naval forces have thwarted pirate attacks in progress, engaged pirate skiffs, and successfully taken back hijacked ships during opposed boardings," said Shapiro.

He added: "We have worked together to create safer shipping lanes through the Gulf of Aden for commercial shipping vessels by establishing the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor."

"The transit corridor is heavily patrolled by naval forces and has helped reduce the number of attacks within the Gulf of Aden," he said. But at the same time he added that pirates have adapted to these efforts.

"The expanded use of mother-ships has enabled pirates to expand their area of operations all the way to the west coast of India. This makes it difficult for naval or law enforcement ships to reach the scene of a pirate attack quickly enough," Shapiro further said.

In order to ensure better protection from pirate attacks, the US government has accelerated its efforts to empower the maritime industry, the official concluded.