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Arrr!
With all the talk of pirates in the news lately, this is an angle I haven't seen before. Planet Money discusses the business of piracy.
It's a very interesting look into the economics of piracy, with an interview with a shipping operator who has negotiated for the release of one of his ships before. It really puts in context the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama--no American ship had been taken before. In most cases, like the one described on the podcast, the ships are flying flags from countries like the Bahamas. And it's not like they have a Navy. Clearly the pirates in this case had no idea how hard the US would come down on them.
It's a very interesting look into the economics of piracy, with an interview with a shipping operator who has negotiated for the release of one of his ships before. It really puts in context the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama--no American ship had been taken before. In most cases, like the one described on the podcast, the ships are flying flags from countries like the Bahamas. And it's not like they have a Navy. Clearly the pirates in this case had no idea how hard the US would come down on them.