“Indeed, ransom payments are the main venture of real-life Somali pirates, unlike the small-scale robberies of the initial Somali piracy narrative. Ransoms have increased in value from under a million dollars on average per year in 2005 to an average payment of $5 million in 2011 (although the average dropped in 2012 to $4 million). As mentioned repeatedly in the film, the hijackers are rarely the sole profiteers from a hostage taking scenario. A band of pirates is usually headed by a kingpin who organizes the mother ship and negotiators, who have higher education and can command up to 5 percent of the payout. Pirate crews need to be nearly proportionate to crew members on the commercial vessels being hijacked so the split generally has to be divided between a lot of people. According to the United Nations, financiers of planned hijackings can buy shares of attempts, and the typical cost of an attempt is about $50,000 dollars. Thus, the payout needs to cover pirate crew, the kingpin’s costs, and the original outlay, as well a high return to investors (investors typically claim at minimum 30 percent of the payout). The U.N. argues that piracy in Somalia in the past garnered public support because of the perception of its redistributive nature. However, this support has recently waned, hinting at the fact that communities are not really seeing the benefits of piracy. As Somalia reconstructs and attracts more legitimate business investors, there may be less support for an activity that increases risk and negative perceptions of the business environment.”

– http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2013/10/18-captain-phillips-east-africa-somalia-sy