real pirates

It was bound to happen- an american ship was hijacked today. The Maersk Arizona was attacked off the coast of Somalia. Score one for the bad guys.

American companies have taken their share of hits through piracy of late, but their ships were flagged out to FOC states (Flag of Convenience), and this is, I believe, the first time in a long while that Americans have been affected.

Part of me wonders why we don't solve this in the way the Japanese merchant fleet does. The Japanese, mysteriously, don't have stowaways and don't encounter pirates... that we know about. It's an open secret that the Japanese take undesirables and tie their hands to their feet and pitch 'em over the side with a pocketful of scrap steel. Thus, supposedly, no one bothers the Japanese fleet. Ever.

Now, the truth is, I can't ever see myself killing someone simply because they want to sneak onto my ship and try for a better life. But then again, I'm not Japanese. Taking a life isn't something that I'd take lightly.

Anyhow, today's antics off of Somalia seem to have come to a stalemate. The crew took control of their ship, but the captain is a hostage, apparently. Not good. My question is 'how the hell did this happen?'