If military force were to be sanctioned, liberating the Sirius Star and its $100 million cargo of oil would still prove a daunting mission for even the most sophisticated navy.

None of the governments that have sent warships to the region seems willing to use force to free the supertanker, preferring instead to see the matter settled by ransom negotiations. Both the US Navy Seals and Britain’s M Squadron, the Special Boat Service’s maritime counter-terrorist unit, have the expertise and training to infiltrate a hijacked ship covertly. “The risks are just too great,” said Lee Willett, a maritime security expert at the Royal United Services Institute. “I don’t think there is a real military option. It’s now more a matter of negotiating the size of the ransom.”

A commando raid would be hard to justify unless the hostages’ lives were imperilled, given the potential for large-scale loss of life. In addition, the legal implications are tangled.

France is the only country that has used commando forces to capture Somali pirates – once chasing them on to the Somali shore after a French luxury yacht and crew had been freed, and a second time covertly boarding a small yacht to free a French couple from their dozing captors.

Both times, ransom payments had been made, reducing the chances of a fightback from pirates who thought that their task was done. And because the crafts and crews were French and Paris had Mogadishu’s permission, all governments involved had consented.

Even then, 12 pirates arrested in the first incident remain stranded in France amid a legal battle over Paris’s jurisdiction to try their cases. Seven arrested in the second incident were handed over to Mogadishu for trial – a move that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has explicitly cautioned against for fear of how the pirates would be treated.

The Foreign Office has warned the Royal Navy not to bring pirates back to Britain where they could attempt to seek asylum or take action over the legalities of their detention – hence the Navy’s decision this week to deposit its recently captured pirates in Kenya.

A raid would require the permission of the Government whose flag it flies under, Liberia; the Government of the country that owns it, Saudi Arabia; the operating company, Vela International; and the governments of each hostage on board – Britain, Poland, Croatia and the Philippines. With the option to resolve the standoff peacefully, it is unlikely that permission would be granted, given the potential loss of life and the cargo of two million barrels of crude oil, with its potential to create an environmental disaster.

Shipping experts agree that prevention is the key. Security companies have devised a whole range of nonlethal deterrents, from high-powered hoses to electric rails around the deck. The Sirius Star had none of these – no one suspected that pirates could board such an enormous vessel.

Some are looking to Asia for lessons. Piracy there has fallen more than a third since 2006, partly because of the actions of committed and resource-rich governments that are determined to defend the lucrative route through the Malacca Straits. Most incidents in that region are small-scale attacks to loot or steal vessels, unlike those off the Somali coast in which crews and vessels are held for huge ransoms.

Satellite-tracking devices have led to a high rate of retrieval for stolen ships, deterring hijacks. In addition, the far greater stability of SouthEast Asian nations makes the weaponry used by the Somalis far harder to come by, and limits their chances of finding sanctuary on shore.

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