Hobyo-Harardhere Piracy Network

The Hobyo-Harardhere Piracy Network was founded in 2005 by Somali pirate kingpin Mohamed Abdi Hassan, known as "Afweyne." He was one of the most notorious pirate organizations operating off the coast of Somalia. Headquartered in the small fishing town of Harardhere, Afweyne created the network in response to the collapse of Somalia’s central government. Afweyne centralized and commercialized piracy, transforming it into a lucrative enterprise. By 2009, the network had established a pirate stock exchange in Harardhere, where locals could invest in pirate expeditions for a share of the ransom money. The network's ideology was rooted in the pursuit of profit, capitalizing on the vulnerability of maritime traffic in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Over the years, the network gained international infamy, with high-profile hijackings such as the 2008 capture of the Saudi-owned supertanker Sirius Star and the 2009 seizure of the Ukrainian ship MV Faina. Afweyne announced his retirement from piracy and crime in early 2013 and attempted to negotiate a government amnesty for pirates. Afweyne was arrested later that year.