Piracy

Holidays

All my questions about modern day pirates were answered at today's World Affairs Council discussion about pirates. I learned some interesting facts as well.

I was wondering why countries couldn't just arrest the pirates and put them to trial. - It costs too much time & money.

Also, why don't these merchant boats just take another route to avoid East Africa? - It would take too long to transport the goods, making products more expensive as well.

Apparently the best way to combat pirates is to place armed guards on the boats. It's not a good idea to arm the sailors.

Finally, I was surprised to find out that the crew on a merchant ship usually only numbers around 20 for a huge ship! That's one reason why merchant ships are so vulnerable.