408 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies N. 4 / 2014 We should also highlight the creation, in 2010, of a maritime police force in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland (Puntland Maritime Police Force, PMPF). Its set-up was privately funded by a group of investors, led by the United Arab Emirates, and was recommended by Erik Prince, founder of the well-known private security company Blackwater, through his new firm Sterling Corporate Services. In a report dated July 2012,10 the United Nations denounced the actions of Sterling Corporate Services as constituting the most flagrant violation by a private security firm since 1992 of the arms embargo established for Somalia. Indeed, the headquarters of the company close to the town of Bosaso had become the most important military base in Somalia after the African Union Mission (AMISOM) in Mogadishu. Nevertheless, the PMPF were able to show off their capabilities during the release of the cargo ship Iceberg I, belonging to the UAE firm Azal Shipping. The vessel had been hijacked in March 2010 by Somali pirates. In December 2012, using various ships, a helicopter and a sharpshooter, the PMPF managed to release the cargo vessel following a battle that lasted several days. According to some sources, the owner is supposed to have paid $1.5 million to the head of the PMPF, son of Farole, the then- President of Puntland.11 In spite of international scepticism with regard to the role of the PMPF, it does seem that they have been able to notch up important counter-piracy successes. This included the seizure in April 2013 of five Iranian-flagged fishing vessels for illegal fishing: 78 Iranians (and 12 Somali who were protecting them) were also detained.12 The sentence, delivered a month later, handed down fines of 100,000 dollars to the owners, fines of up to 5,000 dollars to the captains and up to 2,000 dollars to the other 73 Iranian citizens. Also punished were the Somalis involved.13 Again, in September 2013, the PMPF confiscated three Yemeni fishing boats and arrested their 25 occupants for illegal fishing.14 10 Letter dated 11 July 2012 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea addressed to the President of the Security Council http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2012/544 Consulted: 13/10/2014. 11 “The Wild West in East Africa”, Foreign Policy, 30 May 2013: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/ articles/2013/05/30/pirates_mercenaries_somalia_east_africa_executive_outcomes Consulted: 13/10/2014. 12 “Somalia: Puntland Seizes Five Illegal Fishing Boats, 78 Iranians Arrested”, 24 April 2013: http:// allafrica.com/stories/201304250101.html Consulted: 19/08/2014. 13 “Somalia: Iranians Convicted of Illegal Fishing in Puntland State Waters”, 19 May 2013: http:// allafrica.com/stories/201305200146.html Consulted: 19/08/2014. 14 “Somalia: Puntland Forces Seize Illegal Fishing Vessels, Arrest 25 Yemenis”, 28 September de 2013: http://allafrica.com/stories/201309290442.html Consulted: 19/08/2014.
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