But everybody benefits from functioning shipping lanes. After all, if shipping shuts down how will we keep wallmart stocket, no matter whose flag those ships sail under.
The piracy only affects Asia-Europe lanes. Wal-Mart's imports are mainly Transpacific and South American imports.
And the pirates also almost never hit container ships because their decks are too high and they go too fast. Maersk Alabama was an anomaly, they were actually transporting food aid to East Africa so they traveled much slower and closer to Somalia.
The pirates mainly hit tanker/bulker and LNG ships.
I worked at a container line at the height of the piracy in 2009-2010 and management was basically not concerned with it. The ships are insured anyway, they just added an Aden Piracy Surcharge to Asia-Europe freight to cover the premium increases.
Sure, but the vast, vast majority of their freight is Asia -> US.
I work in the shipping/logistics industry and I assure you, Somalian piracy is not a threat to Wal-Mart's supply chain. It's barely a blip on their radar. If one container ship were hit and a few of their containers were on board it would not hurt them financially, they have cargo insurance anyway. Storms at sea are a much bigger risk factor, containers fall off of cargo ships in rough seas surprisingly frequently, and voyages often get delayed by a few days due to weather. Water damage due to holes in the shipping containers is also very common. And delays at the port and rail hubs due to congestion. These factors are all much bigger risks to Wal-Mart (or any major importer) than piracy is.
It's kinda like worrying about carjackings when an accidental collision is probably thousands of times more likely to kill you.
If Walmart wants to keep their shelves stocked, they can use shippers who fly a flag that engenders safety. Note that the Maersk "Captain Phillips" Alabama was the first US-flagged ship to be hijacked in almost 200 years, so it does appear that the pirates pay attention.
