A French warship has intercepted two speedboats with eight Somali pirates as they were preparing to board a Panamanian cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, on a day when several cargo ships were attacked.

The French navy handed over the men to authorities from the semiautonomous northern Somali region of Puntland, who delivered the pirates to police in Bosasso.

Abdullahi Said Samatar is Security Minister of Puntland.

"Our forces were handed over Somali pirates by the French Navy who prevented the pirates from attacking a ship. We will bring the pirates before justice. They were caught red handed by the French Navy forces."

The French warship "PM L'Her" was patrolling the area as part of a multi-national operation to protect commercial vessels passing through one of the world's most important sea routes.

Its crews have seized weapons and munitions from the speedboats.

More than a dozen warships are now patrolling between the shores of Yemen and Somalia to try to protect commercial vessels.

Countries including Britain, India, Iran, the United States, and China have naval forces in the waters.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirates hijacked 42 ships in the Gulf of Aden last year. Of those, 14 are still in the hands of pirates with more than 240 hostages.

The pirates have been given a free hand to operate because of more than a decade of turmoil in Somalia.

An estimated 1,500 pirates are based in Somalia's Puntland region.