Seafaring Piracy

Seafaring pirates are a common sight around Canton.  Relaxed or nonexistent maritime laws allow these entrepreneurs, thieves, and brutes the ability to do pretty much as they please, as long as they have a ship, crew, and tactical systems.  Some countries even encourage the act, labelling these pirates as "privateers" and sanctioning their actions.

Pirate Technology

Shoreskippers

Most pirates run in regular Shoreskipper vessels.  While no real pattern exists, N.S.C. vessels are often chosen to be commandeered thanks to their prolific arms and technology.

Roundbellies

  Some brave pirates instead run incredibly dangerous operations on actual deep-sea vessels.  These Roundbelly vessels are behemoths, more well-armed than any shoreskipper that an average pirate could obtain.  These vessels can hit-and-run popular skipper shipping routes where they intersect at deap-sea incursions along the shoreline.  The inability for a shoreskipper to chase these vessels into the deep-sea regions makes roundbellies a lucrative option, but this is tempered by the unpredictability and unknowns of the inner sea.  Many roundbelly crews and ships mysteriously vanish as they traverse the ocean.

Views on Piracy

Governmental views and policies on piracy differ wildly around Canton.  While no official maritime law exists, the non-governmental Shipping Control looks down on the act, and advises hauling skippers to avoid areas with known pirate presence.  Outside of this, a government's response to piracy depends entirely on that country.

Northern States

The Northern States has a strong hatred of piracy.  Their prolific shipping operations, run by the Northern Superiority Company (NSC), are the most-often hit, and so the NSC has responded with an incredibly militarized fleet of shipping skips, the "Company Standard" Hemland-Class Skipper line.  Frequent and dangerous shipping routes are even patrolled by the newly-created advanced and armed Anquan-class Shoreskipper skips.

LaGuin Archipellago

The rocky shores and treacherous waters of the inner LaGuin Archipellego make for excellent berths for pirate skips.  There are even several deep-sea incursions that breach well into the archipelago, allowing the brave crews of roundbellies to make port here as well.  The loose federation of governments here range from relaxed piracy laws to none at all, and notorious pirate gangs bribe, cheat, and threaten the laws they wish to see enacted in the area.

Tonyth Empire

The Tonyth Empire hires a small number of privateers to disrupt N.S.C. operations as part of the ongoing Tonyth-State War.

St. Albert's Bay

The naval forces of the human-populated St. Albert's Bay are renowned, and immediately neutralize any threats that happen in their shorespace.

Other Islands

The islands of Bracken, Mundus, and Eternum have standard anti-piracy measures and laws, but without any notable choices.