>>Piracy made easy.<<
Oh contrare. Not only are there no hostages to be taken but it could be armed to the teeth, internally and externally.
The biggest pushback to armed support on maritime vessels is the possible harm to vessel’s crew. No crew, no problem.
It could even be a video game: control a RL machine gun on the deck of a RR-run ship. Each pirate gets you $100...
You assumed flesh and blood pirates. A group or rogue nation with access to the right computer talent wouldn’t need to set foot on the ship to take it.
“It could even be a video game: control a RL machine gun on the deck of a RR-run ship. Each pirate gets you $100...”
I agree. I just watched the movie, “Captain Phillips”, on DVD this afternoon. I was appalled by the lack of defense capability of the ship and it’s crew. Not even a single handgun. If they had blown the pirates’ small attack boat out of the water before it even got close, there would have been far fewer lives put at risk. Political correctness gets people killed.