Frigates vs. Pirates: Different Sea, Same Result

The young US Navy won renown battling pirates in the Mediterranean 200 years ago, and continued that tradition today off Somalia, this time without spotting them a frigate.

My favorite part of the article, quoting British pirate expert "Jolly"* Roger Middleton:

[Pirates] might not always make rational decisions, and they often attack things that are bigger than they should... It's also quite possible that they don't have a full understanding of the targets they are attacking. Perhaps they just see a big ship they think is a worth a lot of money.

Considering the $64 million unit construction cost and the theoretical ransom the capture of such a ship might entail, they weren't entirely incorrect, although they overlooked the part about the guns, highly-trained crews etc.

*You KNOW that's what they call him.