Kenya is considering setting up a tribunal dedicated to prosecuting pirates to cope with the influx of Somalis detained at sea.

Officials said that it would improve efficiency and transparency as well as easing the burden on an already creaking legal system.

Prosecutors around the world are studying 17th-century piracy laws as navies wonder what to do with suspected pirates caught at sea.

Five Somalis are due to go on trial in the Netherlands next month and several more are being held in France.