DEAL TO FREE SPANIARDS?
Seasonal monsoon rains brought a lull in hijackings but the pirates have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks and now hold at least 11 vessels and more than 200 crew.

A deal to free the 36 crew members of Spanish fishing vessel Alkrana held hostage since Oct. 2 could be on the cards, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Monday.

"The government thinks that the (hostage) situation could be on the road to a solution," he told reporters in Poland.

Earlier on Monday, the first mate of the Basque tuna boat, speaking from on board the Alakrana, said that he understood Spain's government had agreed to send two accused pirates back to Somalia in exchange for the crew's release.

"It seems almost certain that they are going to send the (captured) pirates here," Ricardo Blach told Spanish state radio. "We want to believe it, good news, even if it's clutching at straws, because of the tension we have here."

The Spanish navy captured the two Somalis soon after pirates overran the Alakrana on Oct. 2 and took its crew hostage. They are set to face trial in Spain for kidnapping.

The pirates holding the crew have said they will not negotiate a ransom for their release until Spanish authorities free their two colleagues.

"In the morning (on Sunday), they were telling us in signs that they were going to cut our throats. Now the head of the pirates is smiling," Blach said in the Spanish daily El Mundo.

Environment Minister Elena Espinosa told state TV the Spanish government was exploring various options. Judge Baltasar Garzon, who ordered the two suspects be brought to Spain, told Europa Press agency that Madrid should not cave into pressure.

"I believe there are legal ways to find a solution to this conflict and without a doubt that is going to happen," he said.

The pirates said last week they had taken three men from the Alakrana ashore. But Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said he believed the whole crew remained on board.