Piracy. The Reality

[so what]

Could it be possible the pirates are coming from over the bow?
Thats what I would do if I was a pirate...wait for the vessel to come towards me.

[Dr. Phil]

Could it be possible the pirates are coming from over the bow?
Thats what I would do if I was a pirate...wait for the vessel to come towards me.

The bow wave would sweep you aside.
 

[so what]

What bow wave?
Vessel approaches, I shoot a few bullets through the bridge window, vessel stops, I board and take command.

Pirates plot a course which brings them in front of the bow of the vessel, machine guns are pointed at the bridge and master is ordered to stop.
Its that simple, actually.

[Dr. Phil]

What bow wave?
Vessel approaches, I shoot a few bullets through the bridge window, vessel stops, I board and take command.

Pirates plot a course which brings them in front of the bow of the vessel, machine guns are pointed at the bridge and master is ordered to stop.
Its that simple, actually.

I understand container ships can be over 300m long. The bow wave is considerable and if you approach from ahead I am reliably informed you will soon be waving bye bye to those onboard since the range will close at the sum of both your speeds.

Better close from abeam that way you can judge relative speeds and it gives those onboard time to adjust to threats and perhsps slow down if they intend submitting to the pirates.

Also its easier to board from the side of the ship. The flare of the bow makes it almost impossible and the bow moves far more, pitching and swaying, than amidships where hard turns have little effect.

The big danger is the stern, if it swings towards the pirate skip it can be fatal.

[marriedguy]

Considering that the area involved is about 1 million square nautical miles, and that at any given time there are a hundred or more merchant ships plying their trade, and that there is only a handful of patrolling naval vessels, targets for the pirates would be easy. Since they have satnav they would be in the best position to choose potential targets. Nothing that the various navies are doing is preventive in nature (except patroling) and they seem to be not having any such luck in being at the right place at the right time. Pirates are captured from time to time and are generally let go because the jurisdiction in which they are prosecuted is dicey at best. Arming the merchant vessels to the teeth is not an option as most ports in the world would not allow an armed merchantman to dock.

I would have thought that a dedicated shipping lane several hundred miles offshore, with a suitable exclusion zone (say 50 miles each side) would be an option. However, this would call for a larger fleet of escort vessels because if there is too much distance between a naval vessel and a potential target then a rapid response force (helicopter) would have no time to intercept.

And yes, those pirate intercept ships travel at extraordinary speeds, just like the drug runners in Honkers.