MOGADISHU (AFP) — Somali officials on Monday urged tough action against pirates holding a French yacht after an elite French paramilitary unit was placed on standby to intervene if negotiations fail.

The local governor in Somalia's breakaway northern region of Puntland, Musa Ghelle Yusuf, said he would be "happy... to see the pirates killed" as a small French warship, the Commandant Bouan, maintained permanent surveillance of the vessel.

"The French and American ships must attack the pirates. They have our blessing," Ghelle told AFP by phone, adding that the hijackers have been encouraged by ransoms paid in previous ship seizures.

"These pirates are terrorists and there is no need to negotiate with them," Ghelle said. "Attacking them will solve future piracy plans."

In Paris, a defence source said troops from the gendarmerie's elite counter-terrorism and hostage rescue unit were sent to Djibouti where they will remain until further orders.

The 32-cabin yacht Ponant, with around 30 crew members, was captured Friday. On Monday, it lay anchored off Puntland, which is relatively peaceful and has proclaimed autonomy from the rest of the conflict-wracked country.

Bile Mohamoud Ali, an advisor to Puntland's president, had said the hijackers were heading to Haradere port, a pirate haven some 500 kilometres (310 miles) north of the Somali capital Mogadishu.

However, naval Captain Christophe Prazuck of French military command later said the ship remained moored in waters near Garacad on the eastern Somali coast.

"Since (Sunday) and its arrival off this village, the situation remains unchanged and calm," Prazuck said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to host family members of the crew at the Elysee Monday afternoon.

The ship's owners, CMA CGM, stated that the crew were being "well treated".

"We know that members of the Ponant crew are on board and well treated," said a spokesman. "All we know is that they are in good spirits, that they are safe and well," he added.

The company said it was doing everything it could in consultation with the French government to ensure "the security of the hostages and bring about a speedy end to this crisis".

A family liaison group has been set up by the company, the spokesman adding that its "absolute priority is to support the families and respect their privacy in this difficult moment".

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Sunday that "we've made contact and the matter could last a long time."

He did not rule out the payment of a ransom to secure the release of the crew -- 22 French nationals and around 10 Ukrainians.

French Defence Minister Herve Morin said there could be no military intervention unless the safety of the crew could be guaranteed.

A senior Puntland government official said residents had been urged to fend off attempts by the pirates to come on shore and that two civilians were killed Sunday in clashes with the hijackers as they attempted to dock.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) called on the international community to boost security on the northern Somali coast.

The IMB's Malaysia-based Piracy Reporting Centre said anti-piracy activities, including patrols by coalition warships, had suppressed incidents on Somalia's east coast, but pirates had now headed north to the highly strategic Gulf of Aden.

"The UN Security Council or someone must take some form of action to stop these pirates from attacking innocent seafarers," its manager, Noel Choong, told AFP.

"There are a lot of tankers carrying vulnerable cargo, and we are worried about an environmental disaster if there's any attack on chemical or crude oil tankers," he added.

Somalia, which lies at the mouth of the Red Sea on a major trade route between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal, has not had a functioning government since the 1991 ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.