Nikolas K. Gvosdev explains Somali piracy
I’ve gotten some queries as to why the U.S. and/or other Navies don’t just retake hijacked ships by force. Well, there’s a good economic reason why, for the last number of years, companies have preferred to pay ransom. Generally, companies prefer getting their ship and cargo back in one piece rather than risk destruction–and because the pirates, as of yet, don’t seek to kill the crews (although there have been accidental deaths from bullet wounds during the initial takeover and a sailor on the Ukrainian vessel that was seized in September had a coronary)–there is no sense that the captured sailors are in imminent danger of death.
The Dish 