In my country, Pirates are on different than armed-robbers... once you're touched by their fingers, you'll be scared for life. I can only hope for a better security for those who risked their lives to maintain a continuous relationship with countries.

Pirates should simply be shot and attacked with all available "force". If the world did this from the start of airline hijackers, 9/11 would never have happened. It would have saved thousands of lives, billions of dollars. There might have been a few "losses" initially, but much less over the long run.

How about shooting them on sight.....if captured....mandatory death sentence?

Seems to me that an electrified handrail or laser beams would be a grear way to warn the ships....and a bounty on each dead pirates head would be another way to decrease piracy.Fight violence with violence and hire ex gulf war veterans or even old Vietnam war vets. One dead pirate is a good pirate...soon you would run out of pirates AFTER a while.

To prevent piracy, with the current problem, would be easy and inexpensive, compared to the costs of a recovery of a pirated vessel. The home company could easily hire professional, previously military trained specialists, to accompany each of their vessels while underway. Obviously, as that cost is minimal in comparison with the price the pirates demand for a seized vessel, the owners gamble with their not taking precautions and putting their crews at risk. It is the old story, "it just costs too much".

Many people, including a few on this site, have recommended arming the merchant ships. While this would be effective, saving lives and property, it is illegal under many international treaties. This is just another example of how when you criminalize owning guns, only criminals have guns.

As long as pirates don't get on board a ship, it has a chance to escape an attack.
We, as Secure-Marine have a solution to prevent pirates from entering the ship.
Our new patented 90 deg Celsius Secure-Waters system surrounds the complete ship.
It creates a curtain of hot water, that even special forces can't circumvent.
For use in cargo ships such as the Maersk Alabama, in Tankers, Cruise Ships and Super Yachts as a permanent installation against pirate attacks.
We are planing a live demonstration of the system on September 18th.

Well,my feeling on this we need to take a holistic approach to the crime.This crime is committed due to poverty and unemployment on the land which the ship is close by.Militray style solution of fighting sea piracy with guns and latest technology is not going to see lasting suceess for the simple reason that unless the root cause of poverty,unemployment is addressed by wealthier nations, we are not going to see the dissaperance of high seas piracy anytime soon.It would be merely wishful thinking!

Raphael,

Sounds like you are going to cook a bunch of fish too! I am sure Green Peace will like your system not at all.

It seems like one guy with a rifle who can shoot reasonably well could stand off most pirate attacks makde by small boats who only possess small arms for weapons. Why isn't it considered self defense to repel pirates who are boarding a ship without the consent of the captain?

Raphael Kahn: your "post" is blatant advertisement. Shame on you!

Dear Mr.Kahn

And what about RPGs – can they get through your curtain of hot water? I believe every well-dressed pirate has one. They fire one across my bows, I stop my ship and switch off your hot water.

Maybe the system I read about in a recent science magazine where the police fire a wire net across the bows of a boat and immobilize their propeller would be much better – I can then keep going at full speed and leave the boat and its RPGs far behind then!

Thank you everyone for being concerned now with a problem we have faced for a very long time in different parts of the world!

Remote control water cannons to cover the entire length of the ship to prevent boarding would work. However, in lieu of water my personal preference is boiling oil to scald and kill as they attempt boarding. Also, any pirate motherships without hostages should be summarily sunk with all hands on board.

Boiling Oil!!! I like it.

Ceasar and Pompey had a simple solution. On one occasion 500 pirates were crucified, one per mile, along the road. Not much trouble from pirates after that.

What about the microwave 'pain beams' the military has deployed on several occasions. I remember one instance of a cruise ship that used a similar method to discourage borders. While I know it certainly won't stop incoming fire, it does provide a means to prevent boardings

Im a pirate and werrrr tryin to make a livin argh, and im lookin for the black pearl