NATO warships arrive to deter Somali pirates

Somali welcomed seven NATO ships to their coast to help battle against the pirates in their region. The NATO ships will help with the acts of piracy that continues to threaten the region. In the past year, more than 60 ships have been attacked by these Somali pirates. Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein said "We are so delighted with the arrival of those NATO ships into our waters and they have our full consent to fight against the pirates. NATO can carry out any acts including military actions in our waters against the pirates." NATO responded to a request from the United Nations that authorized the fleet of naval vessels to help protect U.N world food program ships carrying relief suppliers to Somalia. Pirates are still holding a Ukrainian ship hostage off Somalia's coast demanding $20 million ransom. The ship was seized and is being monitored by U.S. naval ships. Hassan said the pirates are an "absolute risk" to Somalia and the rest of the world. If theses pirates are such a risk how come the government of these countries can't go out in the ocean and put a stop to them? With 60 ships being attacked in just this year alone, how come it has taken Somalia this long to get NATO ships to help with the attacks?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/10/19/somalia.nato.pirates/index.html