The U.S. government says it will sanction individuals or groups if they provide any type of funding to Somali pirates.

The U.S. Treasury says that President Barack Obama earlier this month signed the order that would freeze assets held within the U.S. by persons or companies who offer any kind of financial support to Somali pirates.

The order also bans port calls in the U.S. by any shipping firm that violates the order.

This applies not only to companies in the U.S. but also their overseas branches and U.S. chapters of Korean companies.

Concerns have been raised as to whether ransoms paid for hostage release would fall under the category of funding for pirates.