20091218

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch navy warship released 13 suspected Somali pirates back onto their own vessel on European Union orders because it failed to find a nation willing to prosecute them, the Dutch Defence ministry said.

The ministry said on Friday the 13 suspects were arrested two weeks ago when they tried to hijack a cargo ship and had been held on board the Dutch ship Evertsen in the Gulf of Aden while the EU tried to find a country willing to try them.

The EU has treaties with the Seychelles and Kenya but both countries declined to take in the suspects, as did Tanzania.

"The Defence Ministry regrets that the European Union has not been able to find a suitable solution," the ministry said.

Anti-piracy operations by the European Union, NATO and several individual states have failed to deter the pirates, who are still holding 11 ships, and experts have said efforts to establish an international court to prosecute the pirates will face complex legal obstacles.

The Dutch ship is now en route back to the Netherlands.