Murphy s law is unthinkable. Therefore we have to think hard. The alarm was sounded last week with conventional hazards in mind, not very much with the scourge of piracy. Piracy has compounded and severely aggravated the situation. To get at the cash and valuables on board, pirates will physically threaten the crew and jeopardize the ship and her cargo.
Vast value is endangered compared with the loot the pirates are after.
The ratio is incalculable. Imagine an oil tanker drifting just South of Singapore while the crewmen were immobilized by pirates. It s a reported case on the French tanker Charmont. The threat of pollution was real. In piracy, hijacking is the most damaging form.