Port of Bosaso

The Port of Bosaso is a seaport located in the city of Bosaso, Bari region, on the Gulf of Aden coast. It serves northeastern Somalia, particularly the Puntland regional administration, for which Bosaso is the commercial hub. It is currently close to being the largest port in the region in terms of imported goods and exported livestock.

The port was built in the late 1980s, initially intended to facilitate the export of livestock to Middle Eastern markets such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. After the collapse of the central government in 1991, the port became a trade route managed by local administrations and private traders, making it a backbone of Puntland's economy.

Livestock trade

The trade in livestock — goats, camels and cattle — has long been the port's main activity. Exports rise during the Hajj and Eid al-Adha seasons. In 2000, when Saudi Arabia imposed a ban on Somali livestock (citing livestock health concerns), many traders shifted to Bosaso, contributing to the port's growth. An analysis by Chatham House noted that by 2008 sheep and goat exports from Bosaso and Berbera were roughly equal, each at around 1.2 million head per year.

The P&O Ports/DP World agreement (2017)

In 2017, the Puntland administration under President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali signed a 30-year agreement with P&O Ports (a subsidiary of DP World of Dubai), transferring management and development of the port. Company documents and regional media referred to an investment of approximately 336 million dollars, divided into two phases, including a quay of about 450 meters, storage yards, cargo-handling equipment, and a terminal management information system.

The agreement caused political controversy. In 2018, the federal parliament in Mogadishu voted to annul the DP World agreements for Berbera and Bosaso, arguing that regional administrations could not enter into international agreements. The Puntland administration rejected that decision. Puntland's succeeding president, Said Abdullahi Deni, announced in February 2022 that the agreement had been restructured into a joint venture, with Puntland holding a 25% stake.

Expansion, 2022–2024

In December 2022, DP World and the Puntland administration signed a new construction agreement. According to the company's press release, the 12-month project involved building a new 150-meter quay, refurbishing the existing 215-meter quay, a 3,000-square-meter container yard and a further 4,000-square-meter yard, and upgrading the gate and access control systems. The aim was to enable the port to handle container ships arriving directly from Dubai and other regional hubs. The Somali Ports Authority noted changes including the quay extension, storage yards of about 5.5 hectares, and dredging of the sea to a depth of 12 meters.

Security and port competition

A 2022 academic analysis noted that international trade through Bosaso declined over the preceding decade: the war in Yemen since 2015 disrupted normal trade routes, while insecurity — including armed groups such as Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State in Somalia — increased costs. The new port of Garacad, within Puntland, and the development of Berbera have also become competitors to Bosaso.

Dispute over sovereignty and the 2026 decision

Bosaso has also become a focal point of dispute in relations between Somalia and the United Arab Emirates, with the Bosaso airport linked to UAE military operations. In January 2026, the Council of Ministers of the Somali federal government announced that it had annulled all agreements and cooperation with the UAE, including "agreements and cooperation relating to the ports of Berbera, Bosaso and Kismayo," as well as security and defense cooperation. The Puntland and Jubaland administrations described that decision as illegal.