On Mon, Apr 8, 2019 at 12:30 PM Christopher Sean Hilton <xxxxxx@vindaloo.com> wrote:

In this second case I'm assuming that it's hard for a pirate to sack a
ship before it gets a message off which flags the pirate's transponder
attacker. If that's true, once the message goes out, the message would
travel at the speed of the X-Boat network.

Which is why - IMTU - most "pirate" attacks are (at least in part) hijackings. The pirates plant someone aboard the ship who can spoof or jam the transmitters, with the aim of blocking any distress signals.

Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident." Robert A. Heinlein

"I studied the Koran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as Muhammed." Alexis de Tocqueville

"We know a little about a lot of things; just enough to make us dangerous." Dean Winchester (fictional monster hunter portrayed by Jensen Ackles)

"It has been my experience that a gun doesn't care who pulls its trigger." Newton Knight (as portrayed by Matthew McConaughey), to a scoffing Confederate tax collector facing the weapons held by Knight's young children and wife.