US President Barack Obama vowed to halt the piracy off the Horn of Africa on Monday, one day after an American cargo boat captain was rescued from being taken hostage by Somali pirates.

"We are going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks," Obama said when he visited the Transportation Department. "We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise and we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes."

This undated image shows the 17,000-ton container ship Maersk Alabama, when it was operating under the name Maersk Alva, which has been hijacked by Somalia pirates with 20 crew members aboard, Wednesday April 8, 2009, while sailing from Salalah in Oman to the Kenyan port of Mombassa via Djibouti.[Xinhua]

Maersk Alabama, which is owned by a Virginia-based shipping company with 20 American crew on board, was attacked by a group of Somali pirates about 400 kilometers away from Somali coast on Wednesday.

Despite takeover of the boat by the crew, their captain was taken hostage by pirates in a lifeboat floating near the Maersk Alabama.

After days of standoff without yielding any result out of negotiations, the US Navy Seals killed three pirates and set the captain free unharmed.

"I'm very proud of the efforts of the US military and many other departments and agencies that worked tirelessly to resolve this situation," Obama said.

Earlier in the day, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whiteman told reporters that the successful end to the standoff could discourage future attacks on commercial ships sailing the Indian Ocean.

"This could be a real discourager of people for which there have been relatively few penalties when they're engaged in this activity," he said. "I think the actions that the US military took the other day could certainly have that effect."

He also called on other nations and the shipping industry to look at ways to make commercial traffic less vulnerable.

"If the last couple of days have taught us anything, it reinforces the fact that this is a complicated and serious international problem that needs to be addressed broadly. ... This is not a problem that can be solved entirely from the sea. And this is not a problem that can be entirely solved through military means."

(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2009)