These days, the profession of piracy has been romanticized. History glosses over the pillage and murder and instead associates them with big ship battles and somewhat noble characteristics. Children dress up like pirates for Halloween, with a fake hook and parrot, and good times are had by all.

But in recent years, pirates have been making a comeback, especially off the eastern coast of Africa.

Merchant ships, flagged to the most powerful and prosperous nations in the world, are being assaulted and overrun by small, often inflatable boats of men with old assault rifles.

And this resurgence of naval piracy is doing a good job of showing piracy for what it really is: assault and theft.

This resurgence is also doing a good job of showing why it was such a lucrative profession in times past — it is very difficult to prevent. Oceans are vast and impossible to constantly patrol. Often, when a ship is attacked, there is not a defense vessel within range to provide assistance before hostages are taken.

The pirates’ routine is surprisingly simple. Take a small vessel up to a larger one, storm and attack. Grab the captain and a few crew members, and demand a pretty penny for their lives. It seems too simple to actually be effective, right? But it helps when the larger vessel often has no small arms on board and no means of defending themselves.

The only real way to stop piracy in these areas is on land. The local governments have to crack down on the pirates and eliminate their home base. But the problem is, in pirate-riddled areas, local governments are often very shaky. And no nation would consider putting troops into Somalia just to eliminate piracy.

According to CNN.com, this year the U.S. Navy has started a task force dedicated to fighting piracy in the area which it occurs the most: the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Kenya and Somalia.

However, with the gulf containing more than 1.1 million square miles, it would have to be a quite sizable task force to actually respond to attacks in time to prevent naval crew members from being at risk.

Traditional patrolling has not proven effective at preventing pirate attacks from occurring, and alternative steps should be taken.

And for this, history has the answer: convoys. Most ships that are attacked by pirates are often on their own, making them an easy target, but there has always been strength in numbers. This tactic worked against submarine warfare in World War II, and it can work again here.