Somali Pirates
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The Somali Pirates were criminals who rob and capture ships, usually cargo ships. A lot of this has happened since the second phase of the Somali Civil War, around 2000, when foreign ships exploited the absence of an effective national coast guard by invading the fishing grounds and also dumping illegal waste that would further diminish the local catch.
Fishing communities responded by forming armed groups to deter the invaders by hijacking commercial vessels. But this grew into a lucrative trade, with large ransom payments, and financial gain (piracy) was clearly the main motive.
International organisations began to express concern over the new piracy due to its high cost to global trade and the incentive to profiteer by insurance companies and others. The Somali government has been active in policing the area, though some believe that it wants to collaborate with the pirates as a bulwark against Islamist insurgents. An anti-piracy coalition known as Combined Task Force 150 established a Maritime Security Patrol Area in the Gulf of Aden, aided by India and Russia. By 2010, these patrols were paying off, with a steady drop in the number of incidents. As of November 2017, there were no major vessels or hostages remaining in pirate captivity.