The text would give a six-month mandate to states cooperating with Somalia's transitional government "to enter the territorial waters of Somalia for the purposes of identifying and pursuing pirates and armed robbers and of deterring, preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."

They must do so "in a manner consistent with such action permitted on the high seas with respect to piracy under relevant international law," it added.

During such hot pursuit operations inside Somalia's territorial waters, the states would be empowered to use "all necessary means to identify, deter, prevent, and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery."

These means would include actions such as boarding, searching, and seizing vessels engaged in or suspected of engaging in piracy or armed robbery.

They would also be authorized to "apprehend persons engaged in such acts with a view to such persons being prosecuted."

The text, which cites Chapter Seven of the UN Charter invoked in cases of threats to international peace and security, also asks UN chief Ban Ki-moon to report within six months "on the possibility of extending the measures provided by the present resolution to other areas affected by piracy," such as the Gulf of Guinea.

France's UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert told reporters the idea behind the text was to negotiate "a long time in advance" an agreement with the local government to "give a mandate to all states that are able to do so to pursue pirates from international waters" into its territorial waters.

The draft also urges "states whose naval vessels and military aircraft operate in international waters and airspace off the coast of Somalia to be vigilant to acts of piracy and armed robbery."

It specifically urges states using commercial maritime routes off the Somali coast to "increase their activities and coordination to deter acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."

It condemns and deplores all acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels in territorial and international waters off the coast of Somalia.

The Franco-US initiative, co-sponsored by Britain and Panama, follows a recent spate of piracy acts off the Somali coast.

On April 4, pirates seized a French luxury yacht off Somalia and held its 30-strong crew hostage for a week.

Six of the Somalis were subsequently charged by a Paris court with the hostage-taking. They had been captured by French special forces, along with 200,000 dollars (125,000 euros) of suspected ransom money, after they released the 30-strong crew on April 11.

Saturday, a Spanish trawler boat seized by pirates off the Somali coast and held for six days was freed. The Spanish government denied Sunday that it paid a 1.2 million-dollar ransom to secure the release of the trawler crew.

The coastal waters off Somalia -- which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity -- are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world.

More than 25 ships were seized by pirates in Somali coastal waters last year despite US navy patrols, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

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