James Stout

And I'm not sure that it was there as a weapon.

I think it was there to notify other ships, like, get out of the way.

But that it could be weaponized.

And then after that, it was like big sticks and harsh words, I guess.

So like when you have the guys who took over the Maersk, Alabama coming in with a few Kalashnikov, they have the balance of force on their side, right?

That is no longer the case anymore.

Initially in 2009, groups like Blackwater tried to get in on this and they did it actually by more or less, I guess, like copying the privateer model that we'd seen in the 19th century.

They refitted commercial boats with weapons, right?

and offered them, like, for hire as, like, a rental, like, as an accompaniment.

They would, like, escort another ship.

Yeah, they'd escort you through this dangerous area and then turn around and escort someone who was going the other way.

That was the idea.

Sure.

It didn't really work.

A, because it was expensive, right, to run these vessels, and B, because you'd need so many of them.

And so what they ended up doing instead was actually stationing people on the vessels.

So these security contractors will now live on the oil tanker or the container ship, either for its whole journey or for the duration of the time it's considered danger.

Yeah.

Unfortunately, the way, according to reports I've read, I should say, the way they have got around this issue is by preemptively shooting at vessels that they consider to be a threat.

Sure.