Piracy experts said Thursday that most of the hijacked ships off the coast of Somalia had ignored safety precautions, and at least 25 percent of the commercial ships that pass through the Gulf of Aden continue to do so.

An informal band of nations and organizations fighting piracy along Somalia's vast and lawless coastline vowed to try to persuade more merchant vessels to follow precautions adopted by the world's leading shipping, cargo and insurance organizations.

These self-protective measures, ranging from increased lookouts to zigzag maneuvers to the use of razor wire and fire pumps, are based on recommendations by the European Union's maritime security center for the Horn of Africa. The pirates usually seize the ships or the crews without harming them, and they often receive what they want — tens of millions of dollars in ransom, paid in cash.

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