ISS says scattered intervention feeds Somali piracy and calls for coastal policing

In a 6 November article, ISS Nairobi researchers Willis Okumu and Said Abdullahi write that piracy has returned off the Somali coast. By their count there have been 9 hijackings attributed to local pirates in 2026. The latest was the 29 October attack on the Iranian fishing vessel Azini off Puntland. The Indian navy rescued the crew and the boat, preventing it from being used as a mother ship to board merchant vessels.

The article treats Türkiye's role as a contested case. On 29 August the federal government announced that the Turkish navy had freed the MV Lutuf, killing 14 pirates and destroying 4 skiffs. Puntland, however, alleged that Mogadishu and Ankara had paid a $2.5 million ransom; the authors report the claim without verifying it. According to the authors, the ship was reportedly carrying equipment for Turkish military training in Mogadishu, suggesting the intervention may have been selective. Puntland later freed 3 vessels in its own operation; 5 crew members were killed and 4 wounded.

The authors attribute the resurgence to three causes. The Iran war and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have drawn foreign navies to other theatres, and rerouted ships are passing closer to the coast, many without armed guards. Puntland's security forces are concentrated not on the coast but inland, along the Bosaso–Galkayo corridor. The authors write that Puntland leader Deni, preparing for the May 2027 election, has clashed with the US-trained PSF unit, splitting coastal capacity. The third cause is technology: pirates now use drones, satellite internet and GPS. Their prescription is for the US, Türkiye and the UAE to reconcile Mogadishu and Puntland, and for Puntland and Galmudug to establish a permanent police presence on the coast.