Defending yourself is a nasty concept among far too many people.

Arming Ships and Repelling Pirates

"Somali pirates understand one thing and only one thing, and that's force," said Captain Joseph Murphy, a maritime security professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the father of a sailor who was on the Maersk Alabama during the first pirate attack in April. "They analyze risk very carefully, and when the risk is too high they are going to step back. They are not going to jeopardize themselves."

.......

"However, when it comes to armed self-defense on the high seas, not all agree. Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said the international maritime community was still "solidly against" armed guards aboard vessels at sea, but that American ships have taken a different line than the rest of the international community.
"Shipping companies are still pretty much overwhelmingly opposed to the idea of armed guards," Middleton said. "Lots of private security companies employ people who don't have maritime experience. Also, there's the idea that it's the responsibility of states and navies to provide security. I would think it's a step backward if we start privatizing security of the shipping trade." "

Defend yourself or capitulate, you decide? But, what if there is not a policeman on every corner?

........