"The guided missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) intercepted and apprehended nine suspected pirates today in the Gulf of Aden, after responding to a distress call from a nearby merchant vessel," the US Fifth Fleet said.

A statement said a navy helicopter fired two warning shots to force the skiff carrying the suspected pirates to stop.

After inspecting the skiff, teams from Vella Gulf and the guided missile destroyer USS Mahan found weapons and a rocket propelled grenade launcher, it said.

The Premedivya had sent out a distress call, reporting it had come under attack by a small skiff and that suspected pirates were attempting board, it added.

In Washington, US Defence Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said he could not confirm the nationality of the suspected pirates or how long they would be held.

"It's not our desire to hold suspected pirates on military vessels. Once we've been able to satisfy our information needs, collect the necessary evidence that we have, we would be looking to turn these individuals over to the appropriate legal authorities," he told reporters.

Whitman said it was possible the suspects would be handed over to authorities in Kenya, which he said has signed a memorandum with the United States on counter-piracy efforts.

"These are not POWs (Prisoners of War). These are suspected criminals, suspected pirates, conducting criminal activities, and we are in the process of gathering evidence before we can determine ... their disposition."

On Wednesday, the navy said it had arrested seven suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden after a Marshall Islands-flagged ship sent a distress call to say outlaws had tried to force their way on board.

Vella Gulf is part of the new counter-piracy multinational task force, CTF 151, operating in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

Pirates attacked more than 130 merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden last year, an increase of more than 200 percent on 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy and shipping security issues.

More than 150 suspected pirates were arrested by naval patrols in the Gulf in 2008.

Heavily armed pirates operate high-powered speedboats and sometimes hold ships for weeks before releasing them for large ransoms paid by governments or ship owners.

Only days ago, Somali pirates freed a Ukrainian ship they had held since September with battle tanks and other weaponry on board after receiving a ransom of more than three million dollars.

The release of the ship and its crew of 20 seamen after 134 days marked the end of one of the longest and most dramatic maritime hijackings in recent years.

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