Why can’t oil rigs and other vessels just shoot pirates?

Every now and then I see videos of oil rigs and other vessels with barbed wire, or them firing water cannons at an approaching vessel.

Why can’t they just… shoot the pirates? I don’t exactly see these pirates having a strong legal defense in response to forcibly boarding a vessel and being met with lethal force.

Posted Aug 21, 2026, 2:26 AM UTC

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