Yo-ho-ho and a supertanker full of oil

The pirates off Somalia are becoming even more prolific than the ones in the South China Sea. Actually, I don't want to talk about the hijacked supertanker carrying a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output, nor the confiscated Ukraine boatload of Soviet tanks. That would be a mission for a topical James Bond, rather than the one that deals with a decade-old issue of moaning Bolivians who no longer get water for free after supply was privatised by a pre-Evo Morales government. What does interest me is the news today of the Indian navy's sinking of what it called a 'pirate mothership' - a hub base with a school of smaller ships around it. This is getting into the world of Space Invaders, since attacking piratical activities and then reaching a 'boss' boat would make for a great arcade game. Apparently, Indian intelligence had pinpointed the mothership and so they sent out a craft to tackle these modern-day Blackbeards. Encountering it, the Indians said to the the pirates to stop and let themsleves be searched, while observing men running about the opposing deck with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The mothership told the Indians that if they approached they would be blown out of the water, which is not the tone to take with a well-equipped modern warship. Far better to agree to a stop and search and then when the Indians closed in, then attack. The Indians forewarned let rip, causing a massive explosion, probably when ammunition had been touched off and sending the mothership to the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Two speedboats escaped - one was later found abandoned, the other disappeared. All quite superb drama - if the West doesn't use it, Bollywood could quickly use it as an emblem for a newly assertive India - with or without all the singing and dancing. Either way, I'd gladly pay to see such a film.