# Piracy off Somalia: the groups, the peak and the response > Piracy off Somalia from the 2000s to 2026: why it began, the main networks and bases, ransoms, the naval and onshore response, prosecutions, and the resurgence after 2023. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/piracy-off-somalia/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short Piracy off Somalia was carried out by armed groups based in coastal towns such as Eyl, Garacad, Hobyo and [Harardhere](/en/regions/harardhere/). This page records what the sources say about who took part, how it was financed and how it was countered, without taking sides on its causes. ## How it began Wikipedia records that Somalia's navy dissolved in 1990–91 (see [Somali Navy](/en/institutions/somali-navy/)), leaving its waters unpatrolled. Foreign trawlers fished there without licences, and local fishermen formed armed groups. Some coastal communities described these groups as a "people's coastguard" defending their waters, and one estimate put losses to unlicensed fishing at about US$300 million a year ([Wikipedia, Piracy off the coast of Somalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_off_the_coast_of_Somalia)). ## The peak, 2008–2011 Wikipedia, citing press and industry reports, records 111 attacks and 42 hijackings in 2008, and 237 attempted and 28 successful hijackings in 2011. Ransoms in 2008 were estimated at about US$80 million (Wikipedia). In October 2008 the UN Security Council's resolution 1838 called on states to use force against piracy, and naval missions including the EU's Operation Atalanta, NATO's Operation Ocean Shield and the multinational Combined Task Forces patrolled the [Gulf of Aden](/en/relations/yemen/) and Indian Ocean (Wikipedia). The naval missions are covered in [Naval missions off Somalia](/en/institutions/naval-missions-off-somalia/). ## Networks and bases - **Hobyo-Harardhere network.** Led from 2005 by Mohamed Abdi Hassan "Afweyne", described as the most powerful pirate organisation (Wikipedia). - **Other groups.** Wikipedia names Abdul Hassan's "Central Regional Coast Guard" of about 350 men; Abshir Boyah, jailed by [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/) in 2010; and [Isse Mohamoud](/en/society/isse-mahamoud/) Yusuf in [Alula](/en/regions/caluula/), who renounced piracy in 2015 and was later sanctioned by the US over alleged supply of fuel and arms to the [Islamic State in Somalia](/en/institutions/islamic-state-somalia/) (Wikipedia). Wikipedia records that investors bought shares in planned attacks through a "bourse" in Harardhere, that ransoms were paid in dollars and that weapons came mostly from Yemen and Mogadishu through hawala dealers (Wikipedia). ## Links to armed groups The UN's counter-piracy chief said in 2011 that al-Shabaab sought closer ties with pirates, but that he had no definite proof. [Al-Shabaab](/en/history/al-shabaab/) was reported to have demanded 20 per cent of future ransoms from Harardhere gangs, and [Hizbul Islam](/en/institutions/hizbul-islam/) briefly seized Harardhere in May 2010 and drove out the local pirates (Wikipedia). Afweyne's son alleged that his father paid al-Shabaab a share of ransoms for protection ([Maritime Executive, 14 March 2016](https://maritime-executive.com/article/somali-pirate-kingpin-sentenced-to-20-years)). ## The response on land and the decline Puntland's government set up the Puntland Maritime Police Force in 2009–2010, pushed pirate gangs out of Eyl and Garacad, and began a base at Bandar Siyada, west of [Bosaso](/en/regions/bari/); pirates then moved to Hobyo, El Danaan and Harardhere. In Eyl, religious leaders and elders also turned against piracy (Wikipedia). See [Puntland security forces](/en/institutions/puntland-security-forces/). Attempted hijackings fell to 75 in 2012, and in 2013 there were none that succeeded; the risk firm Control Risks credited ship protection measures, armed guards, naval patrols and action on shore (Wikipedia). ## Afweyne's trial In October 2013 Belgian police arrested Afweyne and Mohamed Moalin-Aden "Tiiceey", a former president of Himan and Heeb, after luring them to Brussels as consultants on a fictitious film. In March 2016 a court in Bruges sentenced Afweyne in absentia to 20 years for leading the 2009 hijacking of the Belgian vessel *Pompei*; Tiiceey received five years and called himself "a political prisoner". The *Maritime Executive* recorded that Afweyne had begun recruiting in 2003, retired in 2013 and invested ransom money in businesses including khat (Maritime Executive). ## Resurgence since 2023 The International Maritime Bureau reported in December 2023 the first successful hijacking of a cargo ship in the area in six years. In March 2024 Indian naval commandos retook the MV *Ruen* and took 35 suspects to Mumbai for trial. In 2026 the tanker *[Honour 25](/en/economy/ships-hijacked-off-somalia/)* was hijacked in April and freed by Puntland forces in September; five crew members were reported killed (Wikipedia). ## Sources differ - **Causes.** Some accounts stress illegal fishing and dumping by foreign ships; others stress profit and organised investment. - **Links to al-Shabaab.** Reported demands for a share of ransoms are documented; operational ties have not been proven. ## Read the primary sources yourself - *Maritime Executive*, "Somali pirate kingpin sentenced to 20 years" (2016): [article](https://maritime-executive.com/article/somali-pirate-kingpin-sentenced-to-20-years). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.