(Bloomberg) — A Kenyan judge sentenced 11 Somali men to five years in prison for attacking the cargo ship, theSafmarine Asia in 2009 European Union's naval operation said.

The September 29 sentencing was followed by a report yesterday in the Daily Nation that Kenya has ended agreements with Western nations and China to prosecute piracy suspects.

Somali pirates hijacked a cargo ship with 15 Indian crew on board off east Africa, the European Union Naval Force said. The Asphalt Venture, empty and on its way to South Africa lost contact with its owners on Tuesday. With the expiration of the accords, Kenya said it was ending its cooperation in prosecuting pirates, the Nairobi- based Daily Nation reported.

The agreements posed "very serious security challenges," the newspaper cited Adan Kenyan, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations, as saying. "It's not in the interest of Kenyans to try Somali pirates here."