I cannot fathom how 4-6 pirates in a 30’ boat can overtake a tanker or freighter.
Put 2 guys with .50 cal chain guns and sink any boat that tries anything...
It is beyond stupidity that the shippers wont defend themselves
The priates do have grenade launchers, but I would assume that their effective range is a lot less than a laser-guided smart rocket. The shippers are going to have to do something as their insurance rates are probably going through the roof. At some point, they will have to take action on their own.
They don’t have guns on civilian vessels because they would
be confiscated by any country they called at. You think that you can just put a MaDeuce on the taffrail and have it be legal, say if you called at a foreign port. That would be the fastest way to get familiar with the local detention facility.
I thought I heard that the shippers thought it would escalate the violence. They are wrong, of course. It only encourages it.