[supertanker] the stakes are getting higher

At first I thought, "How the ... ?" when the story broke of the Saudi supertanker hijacked by Somali pirates. There seemed anomalies:

1. How could such a huge boat go down to a few speedboats, even with rocket launchers;
2. Where were the protective warships we read about;
3. Why wasn't the tanker accosted by gunships as it was being taken back to the Somali pirate's haven?

This is not the particular tanker above but you'll get the idea that it wouldn't be too difficult to scale - it's low to the water; it was 450 km south of the protective ring of warships.

However, the answer still doesn't seem to have come through as to why no one is doing anything. The U.S. could accost it, Saudi has the money to back an interception. So why not?

Perhaps the answer is that if there were any rescue attempt, the cargo would be sunk and whilst the pirates lose millions in this particular deal, it is better for Saudi Arabia and the company to pay out a few million in ransom and save the 995 million left over.

If that's the reason, then this thing is going to continue, isn't it? It's highly lucrative for the pirates and each new hit finances the next phase, with better and better weapons and better tactical moves. They're probably counting on the international oil trade not to get their act together and to agree to combine and fork out for protection either.