The pirates are not poor, are well armed and are equipped with radios and sleek boats.They illegally board the larger boats and hold hostages, sometimes killing a few important one. They then issue a ransom to the company doing the shipping or the boats owners abroad. A huge amount of cargo, goods and super tankers transit through these waters daily.The same topic has ocurred off the eastern coast of Somalia wher pirates operate out of 5 or 6 ports. Some of these problems have been lessened by patrols, or limited amounts of protective shipping such as frigates. see pirates and Somalia and Straits of Singapore 2015 for details.