Why simply run away?

Pirates have fired small arms weapons at a U.S. Navy supply ship off the coast of Eastern Somalia, the first attack of this kind since last year's surge in pirate attacks, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday. The USNS Lewis and Clark was chased for about an hour on Wednesday morning by two pirates skiffs, but neither came closer than about one nautical mile to the U.S. vessel, the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said in a statement. The small arms fire fell well short of the U.S. ship which speeded up to evade the skiffs.

If these pirates really want to screw with the US Navy, why not let the US Navy screw back? After all, what needs to happen is for the pirates to fear the consequences of piracy more than they desire the profits – and death at the hands of their would-be prey would be a good start towards deterring piracy.