Neither NATO nor the European Union (EU) are considering blocking ports of Somalia to stop pirates from entering the sea, said officials on Monday.

Both NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and EU's foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana ruled out this option.

"Blocking ports is not contemplated by NATO," de Hoop Scheffer told reporters after a meeting of the alliance's North Atlantic Council and the EU's Political and Security Committee.

"The (relevant) UN Security Council resolutions, as they are, do not include these actions. As far as NATO is concerned, it is at the moment not in the cards," he added.

But the NATO chief did not rule out longer-term responsibilities for NATO on anti-piracy off Somalia. NATO currently has four warships in the Gulf of Aden to protect World Food Program food shipments to Somalia and also to protect commercial shipping. The EU will launch its own naval operation on Dec. 8, 2008.

Solana also ruled out port blockades, but said the EU operation will have robust rules of engagement and that force can be used.

Maritime groups on Monday called on the UN to launch an international operation to block ports along the Somali coast so that pirates can be stranded on land.

Rampant piracy off the Somali coast has posed a serious threat to merchant shipping. Although many countries have deployed warships to protect their interests, pirates, who have their land bases in Somalia, are having their way in the vast stretch of sea.

(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2008)