[citation needed] According to Puntland authorities, it is primarily aimed at preventing, detecting and eradicating piracy, illegal fishing, and other illicit activity off of the coast of Somalia, in addition to generally safeguarding marine resources.

[2][6] According to the former president of Puntland Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, the Force was formed in response to requests from the international community and the U.N. Security Council to establish local anti-piracy law enforcement institutions.

[7] The UAE-funded Puntland Maritime Police Force training program was initially conducted by Saracen International/Sterling Corporate Services (SCS).

[14] The Monitoring Group also alleged that a trainee died after being "hogtied with his arms and feet bound behind his back and beaten"—an accusation disputed by SCS, which described the incident as “Somali-on-Somali violence” that was not indicative of the overall training program.

"[15] Following closed meetings between the PMPF's UAE sponsor and UN officials to ensure compliance with international law, the Puntland authorities opted to end Sterling's work contract.

[17] Faiza Patel, the Chairperson of the Working Group, consequently recommended that "the authorities must integrate the force into the agreed-upon Somali national security structure and ensure that it is used strictly for the purposes for which it is intended."

[16][18] Al Venter, the author of a 2017 book about Somalia, reported that Erik Prince, the founder and former CEO of Blackwater, and a former US Navy SEAL, partnered with a former South African special forces soldier Lafras Luitingh, formerly of Executive Outcomes, to play a role in the Bancroft initiative.

However, the company indicated that it had conducted a comprehensive assessment and audit of the PMPF, the Force's facilities, military equipment and inventory, and staff medical checks.

To this end, PMPF personnel are expected to establish a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in the town earmarked for counter-piracy activities, to begin construction of an airstrip, and to engage in water-drilling.

Between May 6, 2012, and June 8, 2012, the Puntland Maritime Police Force began intensive counter-piracy operations in the littoral areas of the Bari, Nugal and Karkar regions.

The PMPF reportedly succeeded in blocking off potential pirate ransom supply routes, in the process forcing two hijacked vessels to leave the Bari seaboard for the Indian Ocean.

Aboard one of the commandeered ships was wanted pirate leader Isse Yuluh, who had been implicated in at least one hostage-taking plot, among other illicit maritime activity.

[23] On May 26, 2012, a PMPF unit led by Commander Colonel Abdirizak Dirie Farah and accompanied by senior Puntland government officials was deployed to the coastal Hafun district.

[26] In response to local reports that pirates were holding vessels that they had seized off of the coast of Bargaal, the PMPF were dispatched to the district on June 4, 2012, to begin security operations.

Commander Farah indicated that the pirates boarded the docked vessels and fled the district for the Indian Ocean upon learning of the PMPF's presence.

Despite initial success in dealing with pirate activities, recent developments, including the presence of militant groups like al-Shabab and IS (Islamic State), have added complexity to their mission.

[30] Acting on gathered intelligence that pirates were holding the commandeered ship's crew on board as opposed to separate locations, the Force first attempted a direct rescue of the hostages on December 10.

PMPF units assisted in the transportation of emergency supplies, including blankets, tents, non-perishable food items and medicines to the impacted parts of the region.

They also took photographs using special boats, which captured images of submerged earth roads connecting urban centers with rural areas, as well as flattened houses and fallen trees blocking off parts of the Bosaso-Galkayo highway.

[32] On November 16, 2012, the PMPF captured a North Korea flagged vessel, the MV Daesan, which had been dumping 5,000 metric tons of waste in Puntland waters.

On November 18, 2012, the Puntland government issued a press release condemning the vessel owners' and crew's waste dumping, which it described as an "illegal and environmentally destructive practice".

According to a Puntland government press release, the hijacking was a plot orchestrated by politically motivated individuals and pirates, with the aim of distracting attention away from the PMPF's concurrent rescue attempts of the long-held MV Iceberg 1 and its crew.

The gathering was attended by various Somali and foreign officials, and included an aviation show by the first locally trained pilots since the outbreak of the civil war.