The alliance's Portuguese warship Corte-Real gave chase and captured the pirates and their small boat, which also contained two ladders.

NATO confiscated the vessel and the weapons, but freed the eight pirates after consultations with Portuguese authorities.

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No casualties were reported among the pirates or the crew of the freighter off the Somali port of Bossaso. Many nations are wary of hauling in pirates for trial for fear of being saddled with them after they serve out prison terms.

There is talk of setting up a special piracy tribunal there akin to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

Somalia has long been a lawless, war-torn country, and the waters off its coast are now the world's worst piracy hotspot.