Seven Somali men accused of acts of piracy have been convicted in the Mombasa Law Courts and sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

The seven were involved in the attack in March 2009 on the FGS Spessart, a Rhoen-class tanker of the German Navy.

After they were beaten off by the FGS Spessart's security team, their skiff was tracked by three multinational taskforces and stopped by the German frigate i>FGS Rheinland-Pfalz.

This is the second case in which Kenya’s law courts have convicted a pirate crew. In March, eight pirates were sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.

The tanker owners' association, INTERTANKO, issued a statement this morning commending Kenya for its 'willingness to assume the responsibility, despite limited resources, to prosecute and incarcerate sentenced pirates'.

Peter Swift, the Managing Director of INTERTANKO, added: 'INTERTANKO once again challenges signatory nations to UNCLOS, nations with naval units deployed in the high-risk area and/or whose merchant ships receive protection during transit of the high-risk area, to assume their responsibilities to act with force and determination to apprehend suspected pirates and bring them to justice under their national judicial systems.'

Click here to access the full text of the INTERTANKO statement.