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Warships Alone Will Not Curb Piracy Off the Somali Coast: Lessons from Puntland, State of Somalia

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Piracy at Sea

Part of the book series: WMU Studies in Maritime Affairs ((WMUSTUD,volume 2))

Abstract

The global piracy concern in Somalia has forced governments to field warships to protect one of the world’s busiest maritime routes. During the past 6 years, over 200 ships were hijacked and ransoms of millions of US dollars have changed hands, with incrementally growing risks, reflecting the ineffectiveness of currently pursued strategies. Combating piracy in the African Horn should essentially include concerted actions on the underlying socio-economic and governance challenges that nourish these incidents. Through field visits, interviews and case studies, this paper explores the impact of piracy in Puntland and illustrates the detrimental effects caused to educational intuitions; the increasing risk behaviours among youth and the overburdening of the fragile law enforcement efforts. For fear of being branded pirates, the fishing industry has come to a standstill, rendering this important livelihood redundant. To build an in-land anti-piracy response in a country in complex emergency, the Puntland state should be assisted to sponsor robust post-emergency recovery and development programmes, as these hold a great deal of importance in eradicating this danger. This paper focuses on the neglected root causes and recommends the enhancement of government capacity and community based socio-economic intervention to effectively fight the piracy off the African horn.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Pham (2010), pp. 325–341.

  2. 2.

    De Souza (2002).

  3. 3.

    Staub (2009).

  4. 4.

    Sterio (2010), pp. 1449, 1467.

  5. 5.

    Baniela (2010), pp. 191–206.

  6. 6.

    Dagne (2009), p. 95.

  7. 7.

    Waldo (2009).

  8. 8.

    Gettleman (2008).

  9. 9.

    See no. 7.

  10. 10.

    See no. 7.

  11. 11.

    See no. 7.

  12. 12.

    Lennox and Defence (2008).

  13. 13.

    Murphy (2009).

  14. 14.

    See no. 1.

  15. 15.

    Ploch (2010).

  16. 16.

    Passman (2009), pp. 59–579.

  17. 17.

    EU Navfor Somalia: Pirated Vessels updated on August 31st, 2011.

  18. 18.

    Mohammed Dhagacadde, Doctor, Galkayo Medical Centre, 18 June 2011, personal communication.

  19. 19.

    Mohamud Qoobey, Local Businessman, Towfeeq, 1 July 2011, personal communication.

  20. 20.

    Davey (2010), pp. 1197–2033.

  21. 21.

    Mohamed Sheikh Hussein, Local Businessman, Puntland Petroleum Company, 1 July 2011, personal communication.

  22. 22.

    See no. 21.

  23. 23.

    See no. 15.

  24. 24.

    See no. 21.

  25. 25.

    Mukhtar Nur Momin, District Attorney, Galkayo Court, 18 June 2011, personal communication.

  26. 26.

    Ahmed Mohamed Ismail, Regional School Inspector, Ministry of Education, 19 July 2011, personal communication.

  27. 27.

    See no. 26.

  28. 28.

    See no. 26.

  29. 29.

    Khalif Yusuf Dahir, Former Principal, Gara’ad Public Secondary School, 19 July 2011, personal communication.

  30. 30.

    See no. 29.

  31. 31.

    Warsan Abdirisaq Diriye, Doctor, Galkayo General Hospital, 20 July 2011, personal communication.

  32. 32.

    Abyan Raage Barta, Doctor, Ministry of Health, 25 May 2011, personal communication.

  33. 33.

    Iise Mahmud Roble: Manager, TADAMUN Mudug, 18 July 2011, personal communication.

  34. 34.

    See no. 6.

  35. 35.

    Dutton (2010), p. 201.

  36. 36.

    Kraska and Wilson (2009), pp. 1–5.

  37. 37.

    See no 29.

  38. 38.

    Gilpin and Peace (2009).

  39. 39.

    See no. 21.

  40. 40.

    See no. 32.

  41. 41.

    Bahar (2007), p. 1.

  42. 42.

    Zogg (2009).

  43. 43.

    Sauvageot (2009), p. 250.

  44. 44.

    Rotberg (2010), p. 26.

  45. 45.

    UN Security Resolutions 1816, 1838, 1846, 1851, 1897, 1918, 1950 and 1976.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to take this opportunity to thank God, first and foremost, as he has always provided me with guidance and the bestowed upon me the ability to work towards this goal under pressure. Secondly, I would like to thank my family, and especially my parents, who have been extremely supportive and even enlightened me with new ideas with their wider frame of reference. Most importantly, I would like to thank Puntland Development Research Center, and the Chairman, Abdurahman Abdulle Osman (Shuke). Without his endless anecdotes and quotes I would never have even started working on this project. I would also like to praise his second in command, Ali Farah Ali, who provided his own insightful comments in order to give me a fuller understanding of what I was getting into. Mukhtar Hersi from the Audio Visual Unit played a tremendous role in moving my research forward. Without his quick thinking and incisive action, little would have been accomplished in a flurry of four days. My individual thanks to go the Security and Rule of Law team; lead research Dahir Mohamed Ismail (Qarowi) and his assistant researcher Hamdi Abdi Elmi who welcomed me into their team and allowed me to make a meaningful contribution to their work. It is impossible to name all the people who allowed me to write this piece, as well as welcome me to Somalia for the first time in over 20 years.

I have already mentioned my parents, but my father, Khalif Bile Mohamud, deserves a special mention. Thank you for providing me with the impetus to progress. Although we didn’t always share the same views, I most certainly learnt more from you than I could ever teach anybody. Thank you.

Finally I would like to praise the work of my aunt, Maryan Mohamed Abdalla, may God res her soul. She was instrumental in my gathering of information during my time in Bosaso, and was the perfect example of a woman who commanded respect in what is very much a “man’s society.” I would like to send my condolences to her family, and all that are grieving with her.

Sincerely,

Ahmed Khalif Bile

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Puntland Development Research Center, 179 Grusåsgränd, 12130, Stockholm, Sweden

    Ahmed Khalif Bile

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  1. Ahmed Khalif Bile
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Correspondence to Ahmed Khalif Bile .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Maritime Industry Authority, Manila, Philippines

    Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr.

  2. Musashino University Faculty of Political Science & Economics, Tokyo, Japan

    Chie Kojima

  3. Richmond Hill, USA

    Mark Sawyer

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Bile, A.K. (2013). Warships Alone Will Not Curb Piracy Off the Somali Coast: Lessons from Puntland, State of Somalia. In: Mejia, Jr., M., Kojima, C., Sawyer, M. (eds) Piracy at Sea. WMU Studies in Maritime Affairs, vol 2. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39620-5_11

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