if they fire on you, you have the right tp protect yourself
your ship is the property of the flag you fly
if you get boarded you have the right to start shooting
i say use the old q ships
let them get close then sink them
after about 4 or 5 times they will back off
I don't question the right of self protection but it is not always the best decision. I have been involved in the sailing community for 30 years and keep up with much of the news as these folks travel the world. This has been a contentious issue within the community for many years. Much of the piracy affecting this group is different than the more organized commercial piracy. Robbery seems to be the primary motive and for every person who fights off an attack there is another more ominous story of being outgunned or brandishing a gun escalating the situation. A well known sailing couple was approached in the Sula Sea and the wife went below, grabbed a shotgun and appeared on deck. She was shot dead instantly. The pirates boarded and took money and electronic equipment and left the husband and young child unharmed. A bit of money and electronic equipment is hardly worth fighting over. Another story of a well known sailor being approached in the Straights of Malacca by an unknown vessel. He had a gun and agonized over firing a warning shot. In the end he held off and it turned out to be local fishermen asking for water and wanting to trade fish for cigs. Another humorous story involves another sailor in the Red Sea about 20 years ago who is intercepted by the ragtag "Ethiopian" Navy. He was armed with an AK-47 but was clearly outgunned so he followed them into a small port. It's evening so he is allowed to stay on his boat at anchor and will probably have his boat robbed in the morning. Noticing they did not have radar on the small patrol boats he quietly ups anchor in the dead of night. They hear him fire up his engine but using his radar he avoids the sweeping patrol boats and escapes. Just a few weeks later his boat has a rigging failure and the mast breaks about half way down and is banging the side of the boat. He uses the AK-47 to saw off the hanging portion of the mast at the break to stop it from punching a hole in the hull.
For this type of piracy there just is no right answer for every situation and it just has to be a judgment call by those on the scene.
This attack on the Navy ship was at night so they were not aware of the indentity. At first you think they are nuts to attack a Navy ship. but again this area is so vast and the number of ships so large that laying some type of trap is probably impractical. It's just a matter of luck, location, quick communication and fast response.
