MOMBASA, Kenya, April 9 (UPI) -- Germany has handed over seven captured pirates to the Kenyan police.
The pirates, arrested by Spanish and German navy personnel last week when they attacked a German supply ship, were handed over to the Kenyan police Wednesday, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said. They had been aboard the German frigate Rheinland-Pfalz, part of the European Union's Atalanta anti-piracy mission. The vessel arrived in Mombasa on Wednesday.
"We welcome very much the cooperation shown by the Kenyan government," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner told reporters in Berlin.
It was the second time the German frigate handed over pirates to Kenya; nine Somali pirates were left with Kenyan authorities on March 9.
There was a debate over whether the pirates should be tried in Germany, but after talks between Germany and Kenyan diplomats, Berlin decided to hand over the pirates.
Pirate attacks have increased again recently, with at least six ships seized in the past week. On Wednesday, pirates seized a Danish container ship with 20 U.S. crew members on board. They were later able to regain control of the vessel, but the pirates are holding the ship's captain -- identified as Richard Phillips, of Underhill, Vt. -- hostage, The New York Times reports.
