Pirates with Weapons on Ship
Groups of pirates have arrived in Harardhere, Ceel Dhanaane and Dhinooda this week after waiting three months for the 'Wajiilo' season (monsoon waves and winds) to die down, in preparation for a new hijacking season.
"We have been waiting for Wajiilo to finish and now we can start operations again. Preparations are going well. A number of pirates arrived here with boats, cars and also new investors joined the preparations. The operations will begin on February 20th. It’s not only in Harardhere, but pirates in Garacad, Dhinood, Ceel Dhanaane and Hafun are also preparing,” a pirate in Harardhere told Somalia Report.
Other pirates also confirmed the renewed preparations.
“The Wajiilo time is well known here. It runs from December to February 20th every year. The wise pirates stop going to sea at that time we wait. It’s not only pirates, but all vessels and local fishermen decrease their travel this time,” said a pirate in Garacad area who spoke to Somalia Report.
Officials also confirmed the impact of the seasonal winds on seafarers.
“It can be a difficult time for the local fishermen and commercial boats. They can't go to sea to make money during this time,” Ahmed Gurey, the chairman of Bargal district, told Somalia Report by phone.
During the Wajiilo season, investors return to the larger cities and only return to the coastal areas when operations begin to monitor their investment.
“Most of the investors go to capital cities to conduct other their own business during Wajiilo. The investors usually come back here in March after we handle the preparations," a pirate in Harardhere told Somalia Report.
Since December of last year, pirates were divided into two parts - those who stayed on shore to avoid the Wajiilo and those who went to sea seeking ships to hijack. Those who went to on operations managed to hijack two commercial vessels, the MV Free Goddess and the MV Enrico Ievoli, and five fishing vessels.
The four pirate groups going to sea on February 20th will launch from the Harardhere area and are mainly made up of pirates from the Sacad and Saleban clans (two sub-clans of Hawiye).
The investors are the same ones that released the MV Savina Caylyn for $11.5 million and the MV Olib G for $3 million.
