[svandamme]

Anything that requires the crew to do anything other then crew the boat,will backfire
These thugs don't care about the lives of those on those boat, and if they are shot at, they will get even... They carry RPG's and heavy machine guns... What you think those on the boat can do, considering they are trained to work on a boat, not trained to do battle, not trained to think tactically, not trained to kill.

Piracy has been around for ages, and the tactics to defend ones self from piracy are too :
Escort ships, travel in convoy, have trained professionals on the boat for dedicated defense.

It all boils down to who's going to pay for it, shipping companies don't need the extra hit on their profit margin, shipping company customers don't either, nations where the boat is registered don't care, and the end-customer is already strapped for cash due to the credit crunch...
Insurance companies are lucky to still be in business after the last months, and at some point will either have to forfeit a bunch of moolah over some lost cargo's, the smart ones will start hiring mercs... and i'm sure a lot of veterans will rather take 3K a month shooting pirates then 5K a month risking IED's in I-wreck...


I'm sure there will be plenty more mayhem for the years to come