The seizure by Somalis of a Ukrainian ship with a $30 million cargo of Soviet-designed tanks is the latest in a string of acts of piracy.

The incident which began Sept. 25 in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, and the extensive practice of piracy in the area, highlights the lawlessness -- in fact, lack of government -- in that country since 1991. It also raises the question of whose responsibility it is to bring such crime to an end.

Six U.S. Navy ships have closed in on the Faina, a Belize-flagged vessel with a crew of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian. The Russians have a warship en route, while France, Germany and other European Union countries said they will send ships to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia as early as next month.

The pirates, in the face of the armed ring around them, have stuck with their original ransom demand of $20 million. For the countries concerned, one option would be to take the ship by force; another would be to pay the ransom.

But who would pay? Kenya claims the tanks and other arms are destined for their forces. Other sources say the weapons will go to the part of the Sudanese government based in Southern Sudan.

The United States has two links to this mess. One is that it gave air power and intelligence to Ethiopian forces that invaded Somalia and overthrew its government in 2006, creating more chaos. Another is the Bush administration's dislike for the Sudanese government in Khartoum and its sympathy for Southern Sudanese secessionists, some of whom are Christians.

For now, the United States should keep the heat on the pirates while something is worked out. But in the long run Washington should get out of the way and let the Somalis work out their problems.

With a bit of luck, a re-established government in Mogadishu would put the pirates out of business once and for all. What is certain is the United States should not use its warships to enforce security on the 2,000-mile Somali coast. That would be a costly, difficult and dangerous enterprise.