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The United Kingdom has scaled back its anti-piracy efforts and will no longer post a frigate year-round to fight pirates off the Somali coast, Britain's The Guardian reported on Tuesday (May 8th).

Despite the cuts, fighting piracy off the Somali coast remains a priority for the UK government. "The government remains fully committed to helping restore stability in Somalia, and the Royal Navy's activity to deter and disrupt pirates is only a part of the United Kingdom's comprehensive approach," the Britain's Ministry of Defence said.

The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review cut four frigates from the Royal Navy's fleet, leaving only two for contingency operations east of the Suez Canal. In the past, Britain had posted four frigates off the coast of Somalia, deployed in rotation year-round.

Several EU nations, including France, Italy and Denmark, have dedicated ships to fighting piracy off the Somali coast. In the past year, successful pirate attacks have decreased in the Indian Ocean, according to the European Union Naval Force Somalia.

The British Foreign Office told the newspaper that it is working to "set up a network of regional centres in Kenya, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Tanzania to prosecute suspected Somali pirates who, if convicted, are returned to Somalia to serve their sentences in secure and humane prisons".

Last month, the Seychelles government transferred 17 pirates to serve out their sentences in Somaliland, fulfilling a bilateral agreement reached in February.