Security & Regional Affairs
The Networks Behind Puntland’s Piracy Resurgence
The resurgence of piracy off Puntland is increasingly revealing a threat that extends well beyond the armed men who board commercial vessels. A new international analysis argues that the networks sustaining piracy now include financiers, weapons suppliers, logistics providers and cross-border connections operating across the Gulf of Aden.
Photo supplied by Puntland Signal USA Desk
Writing for Responsible Statecraft, Egyptian journalist Khaled Mahmoud Ramadan examines how the widening Iran war and instability across the Greater Red Sea have created openings for piracy to return to waters off Puntland. At least 15 vessels have been attacked in the region this year, compared with five last year, according to International Maritime Organization data cited in the analysis.
The report argues that the renewed piracy problem cannot be understood simply as a failure to patrol Puntland’s coastline. International naval forces have faced competing demands around the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea, while pirate groups have expanded operations farther into the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
For Puntland, the timing is particularly difficult. Security forces have simultaneously been engaged in the campaign against ISIS in the Cal Miskaad mountains, creating pressure on the forces and resources available for maritime security.
Col. Mohamed Jama, a Puntland maritime-security specialist interviewed by Responsible Statecraft, describes the emerging threat as a cross-border regional network rather than a collection of isolated pirate groups. He says those benefiting from the resurgence include financiers, arms and ammunition suppliers, fuel and logistics providers, khat and drug suppliers, and maritime-smuggling networks. Somali and Yemeni networks, he says, are also moving people, resources and information across the Gulf of Aden.
That distinction matters.
The visible part of piracy takes place at sea. Its infrastructure is largely built on land.
Boats require fuel. Armed groups require weapons, communications and provisions. Hijacked vessels require information about shipping movements. Hostages require places to be held and supplied. Ransoms require negotiators and financial networks capable of moving and distributing money.
Targeting only the men who board vessels therefore leaves much of the system that makes piracy possible intact.
