Pirates. Although one may not think so, Somali pirates are extremely organised. “There are at least four big groups operating in Somalia, and which share out the 3300 kilometres of the Country’s coast - a manager of the Kenyan maritime sector, who prefers to remain anonymous for security reasons, tells Peacereporter- The most dangerous are the Somali Marines, operating near Haradheere, in central Somalia: they are equipped with heavy artillery, cell phones and GPS satellite systems to localise the “prey”, and they can go as far out as 300 kilometres from the coast”. The technique used to locate the ships is always the same: a “mother ship”, with a very high crane from where it is possible to overlook the sea for miles, coordinates the small assault boats which are used for the boarding itself. Once on board, pirates kidnap the crew for ransom, sometimes keeping the whole ship and its cargo.

History. To find out the origin of this phenomenon, as for all recent Somali problems, one has to look back at the start of the civil war in 1991. Once state authority had crumbled, the Country was divided into areas of influence controlled by warlords, strongly linked with pirates. “It’s not only pirates who operate in Somali waters- our source continues- but also several foreign companies, who fish illegally thanks to exploitation licences granted by the warlords. The rich Somali fishing resources are plundered to the advantage of companies from Italy, China, South Korea, Kenya, New Zealand, Ukraine. Everything happens with the connivance of the authorities: recently, a fake licences' racket organized by officers of the northern region of Puntland was discovered”. But what is the pirates’ role in all this? Partly they set themselves up as a “Maritime militia” for warlords, who make sure that only those authorised fish in their areas. Partly, as a spokesperson of the International Maritime Bureau told Peacereporter, they are a source of income for the warlords themselves who, thanks to the seizing of the goods and ransoms, finance their land militias as well.

Counter-measures. Ships sailing Somali waters can do little but keep as far as possible from the coasts. “According to the law, civilian ships cannot carry weapons –our source continues-. To solve the problem, in 2005 the new Somali government signed a contract with an American security firm (TopCat Marine Security, Editor’s Note), but this turned out to be just a cover to obtain money from the international community. The money eventually ended up in the pockets of Somali polticians, who have recently asked for more resources to set up a coast-guard service”. Peacereporter tried contact the company executives, without success. Piracy and illegal fishing worth millions of dollars every year (96 just for the fishing, according to our source). “This is the reason why there is no interest in solving the problem- the Kenyan source concludes- because everyone profits from the fact that Somali waters are a no-man’s land. Fish reaches Mombasa, in Kenya, in huge quantities, and obviously only a very small part comes from our waters. Everyone in Nairobi knows it, but it is more profitable to keep quiet”. If this is how things stand, the glorious days of the Somali pirates are destined to last for a long time.