SOMALIA – Recent months have witnessed a resurgence of piracy off the coast of Somalia, marking a troubling return after a decade of relative calm.
According to a June 7, 2024 report by the International Crisis Group titled “The Roots of Somalia’s Slow Piracy Resurgence,” more than 30 attacks against ships have been reported since November 2023.
The coastal town of Eyl, situated in Puntland in northeastern Somalia, has historically been associated with maritime piracy, particularly during the mid-2000s when local fishing communities turned to piracy in response to foreign trawlers depleting fish stocks and undermining local livelihoods.
During the peak of piracy between 2009 and 2011, these “sea bandits,” locally known as “burcad badeed,” carried out approximately 200 attacks annually on commercial vessels.
This wave of piracy led to increased costs for shipping companies, who were compelled to employ armed guards and alter shipping routes to avoid the dangerous waters off the Horn of Africa.
The global economic impact was substantial, estimated at US$18 billion in 2010 by the World Bank.
In response, international efforts were mobilized, including naval patrols by the United States, the European Union, and NATO, alongside measures taken by local Somali administrations to combat piracy.
These efforts initially proved successful, with piracy incidents dropping to zero in 2020.
However, recent months have seen a resurgence in piracy activities, attributed largely to the intensification of overfishing by foreign trawlers off the Somali coast.
These trawlers, operating both with and without authorization, have been accused of illegally depleting fish stocks and damaging local fishermen’s equipment, exacerbating economic hardships in coastal communities.
The issue of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is estimated to cost Somalia up to US$300 million annually, according to the United Nations.
Compounding these challenges, the withdrawal of international naval forces from Somali waters in recent years, coupled with diverted local security resources due to internal political tensions, has weakened the maritime security infrastructure that once effectively deterred piracy.
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