How to protect your cargo from pirates.

Blackwater Worldwide—last seen questionably serving alongside American troops in Iraq—is prepared to step in and fill the void. The company’s spokesman told TBM that over the last two months, Blackwater has received 70 calls from 70 different companies interested in having Blackwater’s ship escort them through the Gulf of Aden. The package includes the usual goodies—45 trained personnel, a host of weapons, and an attack helicopter. Nobody has paid for a private escort, but Blackwater is thinking of sending the ship to the Gulf and contracting envoys ad hoc. The company says it’s cost effective for everybody. By latching onto Blackwater’s protection, shippers’ insurance premiums would drop, allowing them to afford the protection in the first place. Added costs, of course, would still be passed along to the consumer.

There are other options in this emerging market. Plenty of companies can provide hands-on service. The hired guns aren’t all lethal, either. Daniel Walsh, the president of M-PACT, told TBM that there are “tools out there that shoot and generate heat, tools out there that shoot and generate sound. All sorts of measures that keep smaller ships at bay that are nonlethal, including the firing of rubber bullets or beanbags.” Walsh said that since the Sirius Star was hijacked, M-PACT had received a half-dozen unsolicited calls inquiring about security options.

It’s worth noting that escalating the defense measures is not smiled upon within the industry. The law governing sea violence—unimaginatively called the “UN Convention on the Law of the Sea”—allows for guns to be carried on civilian-owned and -operated ships, but industry practice is to avoid it.* Simon Bennett, a spokesman for the International Shipping Federation, told TBM that wielding firearms around potentially flammable cargo is an explosively stupid idea, especially because nobody knows whether on-board weapons actually deter pirates. But considering the uptick in inquiries reported at firms like Blackwater and M-PACT, self-interest seems to be superseding de facto industry standards.

All of this means that transporting and securing commodities might start costing more. But it shouldn’t be a painful increase. Take oil, for example. According to Bennett, gasoline costs only about 1 cent per gallon to ship. It costs much more to get the oil out of the ground than it does to take it across the water. A spike in insurance rates or security costs is negligible compared with the whims of OPEC and the market. This ratio applies to other commodities, as well. Even if shipping costs doubled because of piracy, it still wouldn’t make much of an impact on consumer prices. None of the analysts TBM spoke with suggested prices are due for a major rise.

The building momentum behind an international navy presence in the area is the real trump card. All of the naval activities won’t translate to higher consumer prices; the Pentagon budget doesn’t have much impact on the price of gas. Once the pirates are under control, insurance premiums will slide back to previous levels and third-party security details won’t be necessary. Unlike in the movies, the navy is still more powerful than a pirate militia.

*Correction, Nov. 21 2008: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the unimaginatively named "Law of the Sea Treaty." It's actually unimaginatively called the "UN Convention on the Law of the Sea."