From the little I know of the pirates, I think we may be missing part of the story here.
Yes, the pirates ARE criminals, and yes they do this for a living.
They hijack many more ships/vessels than they need to per head of pirate, in terms of earning enough money to live,or even live well. So, this can discount the theory they hijack, as there primary living of fishing has been destroyed by oil slicks from Western companies (the pirates like to tell us it's OUR fault they do it).
The cost of living in the region is very cheap compared to ours, yet many pirates pull in more cash per annum than a UK GP would, so it is not just to get out of poverty.
Another point often glossed over or missed, is that many of the hijacked crew do not put up any resistance. Why could this be?
If we discount many crews from western/Russian or USA ships (as these fight back), why would the crew not resist khat chewing ruthless pirates?
It is also true that vessels in the area could sail further out to see, or for virtually no expense fit anti piracy measures (such as steel plate running boards). This would make sense, as the pirates know where the vessels are at any given time (or where they are going) by using 'free' internet software to track movements.
We often talk of huge ransoms being given to pirates (and are rightly disgusted), but there is little press coverage of the insurance payouts for lost/hijacked vessels!
I think that if the major insurers could add a clause that hijacked vessels would not receive a payout for ANY losses, UNLESS they had taken all measure to prevent this happening (some of the above, plus say, no more than four hours extra sailing to avoid the coastal areas), then the hijackings would go down dramatically in number.
I am possibly being very coy here, but there are several rusty old buckets hijacked while sailing very slowly, and also quite close to the coast, and with no anti pirate defences. Oddly the crews of these vessels (of whom some may be locals) do not put up any resistance.
So, do some of these pirates have a good and legal way to better their lives, as per above?
Yes, it is simply a case of not trying to hijack a Russian vessel, but rather to have a half hearted attack on anything, and be caught in the act by the British
If I were a pirate, I would be doing that right now, and then asking for residence in the UK, with all the benefits that can bring. The Brits would take one look at me: A drug eating AK47 holding criminal and possible murderer, and have to let me in (on the grounds there are folks exactly like ME in my own country, who kill people)
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