South Africa's navy could be escorting billions of dollars worth of cargo through treacherous East African waters within weeks as attacks by pirates around the continent continue to escalate.

This was revealed on Friday during a media briefing by the South African National Defence Force's joint operations division in Pretoria.

In scenes reminiscent of convoy escorts during World War 2, the South African Navy could soon be involved in patrolling and escorting hundreds of vessels off the coast of Somalia and the rest of the continent's eastern coastline.

It is believed that South African ships would escort vessels from South Africa's territorial waters into Somali waters where other navies, currently patrolling those seas, would take over the escort duties.

It is believed that South Africa is being requested to escort ships between South Africa and Somalia because of fears that the attacks could move further south.

In June, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution allowing ships from foreign nations that co-operate with the Somali government to enter Somali territorial waters "for the purpose of repressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea".

A Nato flotilla is patrolling the Gulf of Aden to help the US 5th Fleet in anti-piracy patrols and to escort cargo vessels. The 5th Fleet together with Russian and British forces have repelled numerous pirate attacks since August last year.

About 20 000 ships sail through the Gulf of Aden and Somalia's waters each year, compared to 13 000 that pass through the Panama Canal and 50 000 that traverse the Straits of Malacca - formerly the most pirate-infested waterway in the world.

The planned proposal for South African Navy frigates, the SAS Isandlawana, SAS Spioenkop, SAS Mendi and the SAS Amatola, to escort merchant vessels comes after South African Defence Minister Charles Nqakula recently requested an appraisal of the Somali situation after several high-profile pirate attacks.

Vessels that have been attacked include the Sirius Star, a ship which was carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil, the Ukranian cargo ship, the MV Faina, which was carrying military hardware including 33 Russian-made tanks and anti-tank weapons destined for Kenya and the attempted attack on the cruise liner, the Nautica.

The Nautica was able to outrun its attackers.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, in 2008, 32 crew members were injured, 11 killed, 21 missing and presumed dead and 889 taken hostage in 263 pirate attacks.

Of these attacks 111 took place in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast.

On Saturday a naval source said it was just a matter of time before a concrete decision was made on South Africa's involvement.

"The bottom line is that the current situation cannot be allowed to prevail. We, as South Africa, with all the latest military hardware, cannot be seen to be sitting back and allowing the situation to continue as it is.

"Africa has to solve Africa's problems and this one is developing into far more than just an African problem. It has become an international problem affecting the trade of hundreds of countries and the lives of millions of people across the globe," he said. It is believed that Nqakula's advisers recently revealed that the situation along the continent's eastern coastline, especially off the Somali coast, was not going to improve anytime soon despite the presence of several international navies.

Nqakula's spokesperson, Siphiwe Dlamini, confirmed that the minister had done an appraisal of the Somali situation and that it was currently on the tables of various government departments awaiting a decision.

Rear-Admiral Philip Schoultz, Joint Operations Division's chief director of operations, said one of the many operational scenarios that the navy had been training for was convoy escorting. "We have been training people for a spectrum of operations, including convoy escorting," he said.