But as when the first wave of piracy struck these waters back in the early 2000s, conditions on shore matter most. Somalia remains

under-governed and mired in conflict. Puntland and Galmudug, the two federal states nearest the most recent hijackings,

are particularly troubled even by Somali standards. Galmudug currently has no president and the regional government is

stuck in an existential battle against Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a, a local Islamist militia. Puntland’s government is more capable but has

problems paying its security forces. Islamic State has been making inroads. And both, like the rest of Somalia, are suffering from a

devastating drought. Young men are easy prey for the organised gangs that conduct piracy operations, especially those in coastal

towns who have long complained about rampant illegal fishing in Somali waters, to which the international community has

largely turned a blind eye.

Observers should be wary of proclaiming piracy’s return, cautions Timothy Walker of the Institute for Security Studies—since it

never really went away. The same gangs still operate, much like the clan-based militias that plague Somalia on land. Many

remain involved in other forms of criminal activity, such as drugs smuggling. While theAris 13was the first large merchant

vessel to be hijacked in four years, smaller ones, most often local fishings boats, have continued to be targeted. It is

suspected that many more incidents go unreported. A lack of international victims had made it easy for the

world’s attention to move elsewhere. But until piracy ceases to be an attractive business opportunity it will remain a plague.