The Pirates of Somalia

1. A Solo Journey into Somalia's Pirate Heartland

I arrived in Somalia in the frayed seat of a 1970s Soviet Antonov propeller plane, heading into the internationally unrecognized region of Puntland on a solo quest to meet some present-day pirates.

Author's perilous arrival. Driven by a desire to break into journalism and explore a country often reduced to headlines, the author embarked on a dangerous solo trip to Puntland, Somalia, in early 2009. The journey involved multiple unreliable flights and navigating a landscape marked by civil war remnants and lawlessness. His destination, Puntland, was a self-governing region known for its pirates.

Navigating a dangerous land. Travel within Puntland was challenging and required constant vigilance. Roads were dilapidated, checkpoints were manned by armed guards, and the threat of kidnapping was ever-present. The author relied heavily on local hosts and armed bodyguards provided by the Puntland Special Police Unit for safety.

First impressions of Puntland. The region, historically known as the land of Punt, was now characterized by poverty, worn-down infrastructure, and a rapidly expanding urban landscape fueled partly by migration and illicit money. The author's initial encounters highlighted the stark reality of a place where survival often depended on knowing the right people and understanding local dynamics.

2. Pirates Born of Famine, Exploitation, and State Collapse

His story was typical of many coastal dwellers who had turned to piracy since the onset of the civil war almost twenty years ago.

Fishermen turned pirates. Many early pirates, like Boyah and Momman, were originally artisanal fishermen whose livelihoods were destroyed by illegal foreign fishing trawlers using destructive methods like drag nets. These foreign fleets, often armed and sometimes protected by local militias or even early "coast guards," decimated fish stocks and breeding grounds, leaving local fishermen with few options.

Civil war's devastating impact. The collapse of the central Somali state in the early 1990s created a power vacuum, particularly at sea. Without a functioning government or navy, Somalia's extensive coastline became vulnerable to illegal fishing and toxic dumping, further marginalizing coastal communities and fueling resentment. This lawlessness provided fertile ground for piracy to emerge as a form of vigilante action.

Economic hardship and opportunity. Years of drought, hyperinflation, and lack of formal employment opportunities, especially for young men, pushed many towards piracy. When the Puntland government stopped paying its security forces in 2008, many soldiers and police turned to piracy, bringing valuable skills and weapons. Piracy offered a quick, albeit risky, path to wealth and status in a desperate environment.

3. Clan Loyalty Trumps State Authority in Somalia

If not quite as inborn as DNA or fingerprints, amongst Somalis the concept of clan operates almost like a mental grammar, an innate neural structure that defines how one processes and interprets the world.

Clan as the primary social unit. In Somalia, clan identity is more fundamental than national identity, shaping social position, trust, and political alliances. The civil war exacerbated clan divisions, leading to massacres and the fragmentation of the country into clan-based enclaves like Puntland and Somaliland. Traditional clan law (heer) often functions as the de facto legal system.

State weakness and clan influence. The formal state apparatus in Puntland is weak, underfunded, and often beholden to clan interests. Government positions, business opportunities, and even military appointments are frequently distributed along clan lines. This makes it difficult for the government to exert centralized control or enforce laws impartially, particularly against members of powerful clans.

Piracy and clan dynamics. Pirate groups often form along sub-clan lines, providing a degree of internal cohesion and protection. Clan loyalty can hinder government efforts to prosecute pirates, as relatives may refuse to cooperate or even interfere with arrests. The fact that some pirate leaders belong to the same clan as government officials raises questions about complicity and the challenges of impartial law enforcement.

4. Khat Fuels Pirate Life and Drains the Economy

Steadily increasing in popularity in recent years, khat has become—along with livestock and fishing—one of Puntland’s most lucrative economic sectors.

Ubiquitous stimulant. Khat, a plant with amphetamine-like effects, is the drug of choice in Somalia, particularly among men. It is chewed for hours in social settings, inducing euphoria, talkativeness, and a sense of invincibility. Its consumption is a significant daily ritual, especially for pirates, who are known for their heavy use.

Economic and social costs. The khat trade is a major, albeit informal, economic sector, but it drains significant foreign exchange from Somalia as the plant is imported from Kenya and Ethiopia. High consumption costs contribute to poverty, prevent families from affording necessities like school fees, and are cited as a factor in high divorce rates. The drug's effects can also contribute to erratic and sometimes violent behavior.

Piracy's impact on khat consumption. Pirate ransoms have injected large amounts of cash into the Puntland economy, much of which is spent on khat. This influx has increased demand, driven up prices in pirate strongholds, and made the drug more accessible to young people. The pirates' lavish spending on khat highlights the often short-sighted and destructive use of their illicit gains.

5. Pirate Business: Organized, Opportunistic, and Profitable

A capitalist at heart, Afweyne was the first to realize the potential of piracy as a business, and went about raising venture funds for his pirate operations as if he were launching a Wall Street IPO.

Evolution of pirate organization. Early piracy was often sporadic and opportunistic, but figures like Afweyne transformed it into a sophisticated business. Pirate groups developed military-style hierarchies, employed venture capital models to fund operations, and invested in better equipment like motherships and GPS to extend their range far into the ocean.

Investment and profit sharing. Pirate operations require significant upfront investment for boats, fuel, weapons, and supplies. Investors, who may be local businessmen or even former pirates, finance missions in exchange for a share of the ransom (often around a third). Ransoms are then divided among attackers, holders (guards), investors, and sometimes support staff like cooks and accountants.

High risk, high reward (for some). While pirate leaders and investors can accumulate significant wealth, the rank-and-file pirates, particularly the "holders," earn relatively modest amounts compared to the risks they take. Their earnings are often quickly spent on immediate gratification like khat, cars, and temporary marriages, rather than long-term investments. The business model, while lucrative at the top, is a high-turnover, dangerous gamble for those at the bottom.

6. International Naval Forces Struggle Against a Nimble Foe

Yet these three fleets, the collective product of an unprecedented level of international naval cooperation, have been unable to stop a motley assortment of half-starved brigands armed with aging assault rifles and the odd grenade launcher.

Vast area, limited resources. Despite the deployment of multiple international naval task forces (NATO, EU, CTF-151) and independent national navies, covering the immense area of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean is a monumental challenge. Pirates operate in small, fast skiffs, making them difficult to detect and intercept before they board a vessel.

Tactical adaptation by pirates. The establishment of heavily patrolled areas like the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden initially reduced attacks there, but pirates adapted by moving operations further into the Indian Ocean, using motherships to extend their range over a thousand kilometers from the coast. They also became more adept at launching from remote coastal areas.

Rules of engagement and "catch and release". Naval forces often face complex rules of engagement that limit their ability to use force, especially when hostages are involved. Legal ambiguities regarding jurisdiction over captured pirates often lead to a "catch and release" policy, where suspects are disarmed and set adrift, only to potentially return to piracy. This perceived leniency undermines deterrence.

7. Legal Maze Hinders Pirate Prosecution, Kenya Becomes Dumping Ground

So labyrinthine is the legal maze that many foreign navies have opted simply to release suspects after confiscating their weapons and destroying their ships, thereby drawing attacks from media outlets.

Universal jurisdiction, practical challenges. While piracy is a crime of universal jurisdiction, allowing any state to prosecute, practical challenges arise when pirates are captured far from the prosecuting state's territory. Transporting suspects, gathering evidence, and navigating different legal systems are costly and complex. Many Western nations are also reluctant to bring suspects into their own legal systems due to potential asylum claims or concerns about prison conditions upon return to Somalia.

Kenya's overburdened system. Due to the reluctance of other nations, Kenya became the primary destination for pirates captured by international forces, signing agreements with the UK, EU, and US. However, Kenya's own legal and prison systems are severely overburdened. The legality of trying non-nationals for crimes committed extraterritorially was also challenged, leading to legislative changes that some argue exceeded international norms.

Flawed justice and human rights concerns. The influx of pirate suspects strains Kenyan prisons and courts, leading to lengthy pretrial detentions. Defence lawyers argue that suspects face unfair trials, lack adequate legal representation, and are held in poor conditions. The "dumping ground" approach raises concerns about due process and human rights, potentially creating resentment among the Somali community.

8. Hostage Experiences Vary, But Fear and Uncertainty Prevail

"We treat the hostages very well," he continued. "We bring them all the food and drink they want. They've become fat."

Treatment varies by pirate group. While some pirate groups, like the one that captured the Victoria, treated hostages relatively well, providing food, water, and allowing limited communication, others, particularly those operating further south, were known for brutality and psychological torture to pressure shipping companies. Mock executions and beatings were sometimes used as negotiation tactics.

Life aboard a captive ship. Hostages typically spent months confined to limited areas of the ship, living under constant guard. Daily life involved waiting, watching movies, playing cards, and dealing with the pirates' presence and demands. Supplies like food, water, and fuel often became scarce as captivity dragged on, adding to the hardship.

Psychological toll and return home. While some hostages, like the young cadet Matei Levenescu, claimed the experience wasn't psychologically damaging, others undoubtedly suffered trauma. The uncertainty of their fate and the constant threat of violence took a toll. Even after release, the journey home could be fraught with anxiety, fearing recapture.

9. Pirate Myths vs. Reality: Beyond the Swashbuckling Stereotype

Somalia’s modern sea bandits may lack some of this colour, but, aided by the news media’s inexorable search for a good yarn, they are already on their way to amassing their own canon of folklore.

Dispelling common myths. The book challenges several prevalent media-fueled myths about Somali piracy:

• Myth: Somali waters are teeming with pirates (Reality: Hijacking risk is statistically low for most vessels).
• Myth: Pirates are controlled by Islamists (Reality: Links are opportunistic, Islamists have sometimes suppressed piracy).
• Myth: Piracy is run by an international cartel (Reality: Groups are decentralized, often clan-based, with international contacts but not a formal mafia).
• Myth: Pirates use sophisticated intelligence networks (Reality: Attacks are largely opportunistic, relying on publicly available shipping data and visual scouting).
• Myth: Pirate money fuels Nairobi property boom (Reality: Ransoms are insufficient to significantly impact a major city's real estate market).

The human element. Beyond the myths, the book portrays pirates as complex individuals driven by desperation, opportunity, and a mix of motivations ranging from perceived justice against foreign exploitation to simple greed. They are not uniformly bloodthirsty villains, but their actions have devastating consequences for their victims.

A new kind of folklore. While lacking the romanticized elements of historical pirates, modern Somali pirates are generating their own stories and legends, fueled by daring hijackings and media attention. These narratives, however, often obscure the harsh realities of their lives and the impact of their crimes.

10. Puntland's Complex Role: Haven, Adversary, and Potential Partner

Puntland was the perfect area for pirates to operate because it’s just stable enough, but also ungoverned enough.

A semi-autonomous haven. Puntland's relative stability compared to southern Somalia, combined with its weak central government and extensive coastline, made it an ideal base for pirate operations, particularly in towns like Eyl and later Garacad. Pirate groups could organize and launch missions with relative impunity from state interference.

Government efforts and limitations. The Puntland government, particularly under President Farole, has publicly condemned piracy and made efforts to crack down on land, including arrests and a religious/educational campaign. However, its capacity is severely limited by a tiny budget, lack of infrastructure, and the pervasive influence of clan loyalty, which can undermine law enforcement efforts.

Potential for partnership. Despite its challenges and past accusations of complicity, Puntland is seen by some as a necessary partner for any effective land-based solution to piracy. Investing in Puntland's police, justice system, and coastal infrastructure, and coordinating intelligence with international forces, could help contain piracy at its source, offering a more sustainable approach than relying solely on expensive naval patrols.

Last updated: June 9, 2025