5 ms·

As guess this would qualify as great news for sea-faring pirates.

keyme 9y ago
Hacking shipping route info, then sending pirate boarding parties would be pretty cyberpunk (and too easy for these drone ships to actually catch on).
remarkEon 9y ago
But what if we just reduced the crew to a few security personnel? Don't want to suggest automated security systems...too terminator for me at this point.
marcosdumay 9y ago
Or maybe not. There's also nobody to make hostage or force changing a course.
eeks 9y ago
A fully weaponized autonomous ship would be pretty badass.
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/8/11391840/us-navy-autonomous-ship-sea-hunter-christened https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/8/11391840/us-navy-autonomou...
- dredmorbius 9y ago
  Until commandeered electronically within your harbour.
bm1362 9y ago
Most pirates aren't actually after cargo I'd assume. They're just taking hostages and ransoming them.
- mrskeltal 9y ago
  Couldn't they ransom the cargo?
  - ythn 9y ago
    "Pay us bitcoins or we'll detonate the IED we planted in your ship and sink it"
dibujante 9y ago
Pirates are after hostages, not cargo, generally. It's very hard to crack the cargo anyways - it's usually stored in a solid steel 20-to-40 foot shipping container with solid steel lashings bolting everything together. You'd need to be able to cut through a lot of steel, but then moving the actual cargo itself would require, well, a large vessel. Selling it would be a very involved process. All of this puts sea piracy of drone vessels well outside of the scope of a group of armed men in a motorboat. Potentially you could also establish measures that make it hard for a human to get aboard the ship, such as no walkable spaces, or tall fences, now that you no longer need to accommodate human crew.
- LanceH 9y ago
  And no crew that you could threaten to obtain the keys to move freely. Also, an armed rescuing force would have no hostages to worry about.
  - dibujante 9y ago
    No one to threaten to make the ship stop either. There's a fair chance a would-be pirate would end up in Hamburg.
    - ThrustVectoring 9y ago
      And if they do stop the ship, no point sending in an armed rescue force. Just park a destroyer outside and wait for the pirates to run out of food.
      - LanceH 9y ago
        For that matter, you tell the ship to report to the destroyer.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- joe_the_user 9y ago
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
ythn 9y ago
Time to add robotic turrets to the sides of the ship...

Hacking shipping route info, then sending pirate boarding parties would be pretty cyberpunk (and too easy for these drone ships to actually catch on).

remarkEon 9y ago

But what if we just reduced the crew to a few security personnel? Don't want to suggest automated security systems...too terminator for me at this point.

marcosdumay 9y ago

Or maybe not. There's also nobody to make hostage or force changing a course.

eeks 9y ago

A fully weaponized autonomous ship would be pretty badass.

tonyedgecombe 9y ago
https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/8/11391840/us-navy-autonomous-ship-sea-hunter-christened https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/8/11391840/us-navy-autonomou...
dredmorbius 9y ago
Until commandeered electronically within your harbour.

bm1362 9y ago

Most pirates aren't actually after cargo I'd assume. They're just taking hostages and ransoming them.

mrskeltal 9y ago
Couldn't they ransom the cargo?
- ythn 9y ago
  "Pay us bitcoins or we'll detonate the IED we planted in your ship and sink it"

dibujante 9y ago

Pirates are after hostages, not cargo, generally. It's very hard to crack the cargo anyways - it's usually stored in a solid steel 20-to-40 foot shipping container with solid steel lashings bolting everything together. You'd need to be able to cut through a lot of steel, but then moving the actual cargo itself would require, well, a large vessel. Selling it would be a very involved process. All of this puts sea piracy of drone vessels well outside of the scope of a group of armed men in a motorboat. Potentially you could also establish measures that make it hard for a human to get aboard the ship, such as no walkable spaces, or tall fences, now that you no longer need to accommodate human crew.

LanceH 9y ago
And no crew that you could threaten to obtain the keys to move freely. Also, an armed rescuing force would have no hostages to worry about.
- dibujante 9y ago
  No one to threaten to make the ship stop either. There's a fair chance a would-be pirate would end up in Hamburg.
  - ThrustVectoring 9y ago
    And if they do stop the ship, no point sending in an armed rescue force. Just park a destroyer outside and wait for the pirates to run out of food.
    - LanceH 9y ago
      For that matter, you tell the ship to report to the destroyer.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
joe_the_user 9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

ythn 9y ago

Time to add robotic turrets to the sides of the ship...