In April 2008, the EU appealed for more help from the international community to deal with the piracy problem along the coast. As the issue became more pressing, the UN security council voted in May to allow other countries’ warships to patrol Somalia’s territorial waters. In September, the US and other countries sent navy ships to Somalia after a Ukrainian ship was seized by pirates. In October, Nato agreed to send a naval force to the region by the end of the year. In November, pirates demanded a $25m ransom for a Saudi supertanker. In April the following year, French commandos carried out a sea rescue of a French family held hostage for a week by Somali pirates. One hostage was killed during the operation. In November 2009, British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were kidnapped by Somali pirates. They were eventually freed in November 2010

Photograph: Ho/ Ho/Reuters/Corbis