David:

Point number 1 is a wartime measure that poses a lot of difficulties with organization and imposes a lot of costs. Being that is is a wartime measure, it seems logical to do what you do in wartime and eliminate the threat.

Point 2, 3 & 4 are components of a blockade. Seems good to me. A blockade is an act of war I think. It might be good to embargo things like expensive cars too.

Point 5, put them where somebody will take them. Being in 24 hour lock down in a US Federal prison is not pleasant even if there are no bugs and the roof doesn't leak.

Whatever the FBI did lately keep doing.

A blockade is a fence. A fence is meant to keep people from getting out but it also can be used to keep people from getting back in. I think every ship that is taken must be taken back immediately or as it approaches the coast. That eliminates much of the hunting in the empty sea. They always have to notify somebody when the ship has been taken and they always have to go back to the same place, the shore of the area that used to be Somalia.

Publicize to the greatest extent possible the fate of captured pirates. Not the ones who are released of course but the ones who are killed and taking long term but limited travel excursions in other countries.

Go after the money. There is big money in this and it is somewhere. How to do this somebody else will have to figure. I don't have a clue.

That leaves the ships and mariners being held. Taking the ships back by force may not be too difficult. The pirates never fight very hard. But you could also buy them back. Their value may decrease in the face of a blockade. If we started to take ships back by force their value would probably fall very fast, so a combined approach may work.

Which leaves the crewmen. Once all the ships were recovered, they wouldn't be worth much to the pirates and they could be bought back. The danger is once their value fell the pirates would not be inclined to treat them well. So it might be wise pay out fast.

How's that?