3 ms·

So the pirates jam the radio frequencies for the control signal. Convoys are incredibly inefficient which is why they are only used in war time (it takes days t

So the pirates jam the radio frequencies for the control signal. Convoys are incredibly inefficient which is why they are only used in war time (it takes days to form a convoy due to loading times). And no security boat can protect hundreds of miles of ocean, which is why piracy is still alive today.

phazmatis 13y ago
So the boat will submerge when it senses trouble. Then we'll get submarine pirates but... The barrier to entry would have expanded sufficiently.
- dalke 13y ago
  It's economically preposterous to have submersible cargo bulk carriers. The maximum gross mass for a TEU is 24,000 kg. The volume is 38.5 cubic meters => density of 623 kg/cubic meter. The density of sea water is about 1020 kg/cubic meter. Thus, to be neutrally buoyant, each TEU needs a countermass of at least 397 kg/cubic meter, or 15 tons. A 5,000 TEU would have to lug around some 76,000 tonnes in the best of cases. This could be handled with water, but that implies very large tanks (about equal to the amount of cargo), which greatly reduces the amount of cargo space available. This is why merchant subs are only really appropriate for dense cargoes (like metals) or for very expensive cargoes (like chemical dyes, medical drugs, and mail; or cocaine for narco-submarines). Even then, it's only economically justifiable in order to run a blockade or bypass an ice sheet.
  - dalke 13y ago
    > This could be handled with water D'oh! Of course it can't.