On Aug. 18, an airstrike targeted boats along the coast of Garmal in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, killing four people. Less than 48 hours later, another strike hit boats and people on the shore in the Jifley area, killing nine more.
Sheikh Mahmoud Salad Gini, an elder of the Issa Mahmoud clan, one of Puntland’s largest clans, told MBN that those killed were fishermen and that local elders had asked groups of pirates to leave the coast because their presence put residents at risk. He blamed officials in Turkey and Somalia for the strikes.
Somalia’s federal government offered a different account. Somalia’s defense minister said 14 pirates were killed in fighting to free a vessel hijacked off Puntland’s coast. The minister thanked the Turkish navy for its cooperation in the 10-day operation.
The Lotov, a vessel carrying Turkish cargo, was hijacked on Aug. 17 off the coastal area of Eyl in the Nugal region, one day before the first airstrike. MBN could not independently verify the identities of those killed or establish whether they were involved in piracy. Clan elders buried the dead before authorities were notified, Gini said.
Distinguishing fishermen from pirates in the waters surrounding Somalia can be difficult because both often use the same types of boats and operate in the same areas.
But it seems certain that piracy, after years of dormancy, is seeing a resurgence.
That’s bad news for fishermen who may be caught in the crossfire as governments fight back. It also poses another threat to international shipping — including crude oil shipments — in a region already grappling with disruptions through the straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb from expanding conflicts in Iran and Yemen.
Fishermen Caught in the Crossfire
Mohamed Said Abri, head of the fishermen’s union in Eyl district, told MBN that those killed in the recent airstrikes were fishermen working along the coast, though he said there were pirates near the area.
Eyl is one of the main areas where pirates operate, sometimes bringing hijacked vessels there and holding crews for ransom. Abri said the presence of pirates had directly harmed fishermen.
Traditional fishermen and pirates use small, fast boats made of wood or fiberglass common along Somalia’s 3,300-kilometer (2,050-mile) coastline. Fishermen say that resemblance puts them at risk when they need to approach commercial vessels for water, fuel or assistance, because ship guards may mistake them for attackers.
Fishermen working at night have been fired upon and had boats and equipment taken, Abri said.
For years, shipping companies have employed armed guards to protect vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. In some cases, security protocols allow guards to fire at small boats that get too close.
Fishermen have died in cases of apparent mistaken identity. In one of the best-known examples, two Italian navy marines killed Indian fishermen in 2012 while protecting the oil tanker Enrica Lexie from what they allegedly thought was a pirate attack.
Fishermen in Puntland told MBN that the recent strikes had made them too scared to go out on the water.
A Return After Years of Decline
Modern piracy in Somalia emerged in the 1990s after the fall of President Siad Barre’s government and the collapse of state institutions. It wasn’t until around 2005, however, that it developed into an organized activity that generated large sums of money.
By the early 2010s, Somali pirates were hijacking dozens of vessels a year, and companies and governments were paying millions of dollars to secure their release.
Governments whose trade was being disrupted responded by deploying a large naval presence to the region, including forces attached to NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield and the European Union’s Operation Atalanta.
Commercial shipping companies also adopted tighter security measures, and local authorities improved their ability to target pirates on land. As a result, the number of attacks by Somali pirates fell sharply.
But they have begun to tick up again.
Somali pirates were responsible for 94% of crew members held hostage in piracy incidents recorded during the period, according to the International Maritime Bureau, a non-profit group that tries to prevent maritime crime.
The groups can strike far from the coast — attacks have been recorded more than 1,000 nautical miles from Somalia. Sometimes the pirates use hijacked vessels as launch platforms for smaller boats.
Puntland’s coast guard commander said pirates have become increasingly capable of operating far from shore. Some groups now possess heavy weapons and have links to criminal networks in Yemen, the commander said.
Money Behind Piracy
Somali journalist Omar Abdelkader, who is based in Puntland, told MBN that piracy originally was a quick way out of poverty for young Somalis who had few other opportunities.
But the perception of pirates has changed, he said, with some communities in Puntland increasingly opposed to the activity because of the violence and economic disruption it has brought.
Piracy now is often the province of organized criminal networks that provide boats, weapons, fuel, food and khat. A World Bank report found that financing networks receive as much as 30-50% of ransom payments. Those who do the hijackings receive considerably less, the report said.
Abdelkader said some pirates receive support from people and organizations outside Somalia, taking advantage of the authorities’ limited ability to monitor the coastline.
Sheikh Gini said clan elders had negotiated with pirate groups on several occasions. But he added that that effort is complicated by the fact that the groups do not operate under a unified command.
Illegal Fishing
Pirates have long justified their actions by saying they have been trying to protect Somali waters from foreign fishing vessels since the collapse of the state in 1991. International reports documenting fleets operating without permits inside the exclusive economic zones of Somalia and Yemen have backed up the allegations.
Global Fishing Watch, for example, has documented extensive activity by foreign vessels, including large numbers of Iranian and Pakistani ships. Nearly 300 instances of Iranian-flagged vessels entering Somalia’s exclusive economic zone were recorded in 2023.
Abri of the Eyl fishermen’s union said some foreign fishing vessels drive local boats away from fishing grounds, while armed crew members have fired at fishermen who approached them.
A report from Risk Intelligence, a maritime security firm, cited incidents involving Somali boats being rammed, fishing nets being cut and warning shots being fired.
On Aug. 20, pirates seized a tanker linked to Iran’s shadow fleet at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden as it sailed under the Eritrean flag. They took the vessel and its crew toward the Puntland coast, where the pirates waited for payment.
International Shipping
Piracy in the region is of global concern because the Gulf of Aden is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. According to the Royal United Services Institute, about 20,000 vessels pass through the area each year.
At the height of Somali piracy in 2011, the activity cost the global economy an estimated $7 billion, according to published estimates. The World Bank estimated that pirates collected more than $400 million in ransom payments between April 2005 and December 2012, a period in which 179 vessels were hijacked off Somalia and the Horn of Africa.
During the first half of 2026, the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre recorded 38 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in various locations.
In August, the International Maritime Organization called for urgent action after a rise in attacks in the Gulf of Aden, saying more than 90 seafarers were being held hostage aboard vessels taken by pirates to the Puntland coast.
Shipping companies also incur additional costs for insurance, security and rerouting, while wages for workers operating in high-risk areas have increased. The cost of a security team for a three-day journey through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden ranges from $5,000 to $20,000.
The European Union’s Operation Atalanta continues to operate off Somalia to combat piracy.
But the limited number of vessels in the fleet makes it hard to patrol so large an area. Somalia meanwhile faces its own shortage of patrol boats and can only pay its coast guard. personnel sporadicly, adding to the difficulties of monitoring the country’s long coastline.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
