UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned on Wednesday a surge of piracy off Somalia`s coast and backed international efforts to combat it.

Ban `expresses his concern` at the pirates` attacks in recent days and `reiterates his condemnation of all acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea wherever they occur,` said the UN chief`s spokesperson in a statement.

Shipping groups have reported a new surge in hijackings off Somalia in recent weeks, and identified a rising trend in piracy this year.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said pirates based in the lawless African nation were `out of control`.

The secretary general `strongly supports efforts by member states to address this scourge and is working closely with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, the IMO (International Maritime Organization), NATO, the EU, and other member states to ensure a coordinated international effort to fight piracy.`

Ban also `welcomes the EU`s decision to authorize the deployment of a maritime force off the coast of Somalia, and the efforts of individual member states to send vessels, which will strengthen security in the area.`

According to figures from the IMB, 94 vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden were attacked by Somalia-based pirates this year.

On Wednesday an Indian warship destroyed a pirate `mother vessel` in the Gulf of Aden. At the same time bandits demanded a ransom in its most brazen sea raid to date in the hijacking of a Saudi super-tanker containing crude oil worth up to 100 million dollars.

An EU naval operation to combat piracy in the Gulf is due to begin on December 8, according to France`s Defense Minister Herve Morin.