"You can expect to see another NATO naval operation off the coast of Somalia in the spring," spokesman James Appathurai told reporters in Krakow, Poland, where NATO defence ministers were holding informal talks.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the anti-piracy work would involve vessels from a six-ship standing naval group as they sail to Singapore and Australia, via the Gulf of Aden, on a series of port visits.

"It's a considerable strengthening, I think of the anti-piracy operation," he told reporters. "We are also seeing the end of the monsoon season so I would not be surprised if piracy goes up again."

Parts of that trip could be changed to allow a short anti-piracy mission.

The defence ministers looked at the operation's "details. Which ports do we do, how long do we do it and they might cancel one or two (visits). For political reasons, they can't cancel some," one NATO official said.

Germany, the Netherlands and Spain have vessels in the group.

Pirates attacked more than 130 merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden last year, more than double the 2007 total, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy and shipping security issues.

More than 150 suspected pirates were arrested by naval patrols in the Gulf in 2008.

Heavily armed pirates operate high-powered speedboats and sometimes hold ships for weeks before releasing them for large ransoms paid by governments or ship owners.

In late October, NATO launched its first ever naval mission against pirates, patrolling the waters off lawless Somalia, with two other ships protecting UN food aid convoys to the strife-torn Horn of Africa country.

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