History Main / RuthlessModernPirates

* The [[UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets Russian Navy]] would often use them as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJ0nblZjZE target practice]].

* The [[UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets Russians]] use them as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJ0nblZjZE target practice]].
* The Chinese militia are a {{Privateer}} version of this as they take orders from the Chinese Government. Nicknamed "Dark Ships" (because they turn off their AIS transponders to conceal themselves from communications and radar) their activities border on poaching and are responsible for the environmental degradation of oceans due to their illegal actions and are spread in waters outside China.

[[folder:Fims -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* The 1976 ExploitationFilm ''The Muthers'' features a band of [[PirateGirl female pirates]] who go undercover at a prison camp on a coffee plantation to rescue their leader's sister.
* Dr. Caspary (Creator/RobertDuvall) and his two thugs who hijack a naval ship in ''The Lightship''.

* From Creator/JamesLeeBurke's ''The Neon Rain'' (narrated by main character DaveRobicheaux):

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* "Uh-oh, Chongo! It's ''Danger Island'', next!" on ''WesternAnimation/TheBananaSplits''. Featured Captain Mu-Tan and his rag-tag band of modern day pirates.
[[/folder]]

* Franchise/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} clash with modern day pirates during TheTeaser of the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Clash of the Metal Men".

* ''Franchise/DocSavage'': The mysterious Lord London and his ruthless pirates (mostly made up of Chinese recruited from the pirates of the South China Sea who had been displaced by the Japanese navy) inflict a reign of terror through the South Seas in ''Pirate Isle''.

* In 2013, a pensioners' group in the UK were informed that at their next meeting, they would be entertained by a man talking about pirates. Given the nature of the event, they assumed he would be some sort of musician or storyteller, or someone who performed in character as a pirate [[{{Pirate}} of the traditional kind]]. So some of the elderly regulars decided to dress up in pirate fancy dress costumes. [[FeeFiFauxPas Then it turned out]] that the man giving the talk about pirates was a captain who had been ''hijacked'' by Somali pirates, and was doing public speaking about his experiences.[[https://www.dailyedge.ie/pirate-costume-mixup-894486-May2013/ Read here]]

* The Chinese militia are a privateer version of this as they take orders from the Chinese Government. Nicknamed "Dark Ships" (because they turn off their AIS transponders to conceal themselves from communications and radar) their activities border on poaching and are responsible for the environmental degradation of oceans due to their illegal actions and are spread in waters outside China.

* Off of Somalia, a well equipped band of pirates with two boats and a helicopter tries to attack Koko Hekmatyar's ship in ''{{Manga/Jormungand}}''. Unfortunately for them, she's an arms dealer, and her team of bodyguards puts her merchandise to good use.

* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} battles Somali pirates (with unexpected consequences) in ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'' #1.

** Members of Franchise/GIJoe along with their Soviet counterparts, the Oktober Guard, are captured by river pirates in ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe Special Missions]]'' #4.

* Examples from ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' stories:

TruthInTelevision: Pirates still roam the waters today (mostly in regions of high political instability or weak military resolve to stop them, such as UsefulNotes/{{Somalia}}, West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Straits of Malacca). This trope is about them.

TruthInTelevision: Pirates still roam the waters today (mostly in regions of high political instability or weak military resolve to stop them, such as UsefulNotes/{{Somalia}}, West Africa, and the Straits of Malacca). This trope is about them.

* ''Series/TheATeam'' takes on river pirates in TheAmazon in the two-part episode "The Bend in the River".

* One of the many kinds of criminals that ComicBook/ThePunisher has fought. The River Rats from ''Comicbook/ThePunisherMAX'' series is a recent example.

* Lirh Sarkhan, of ''FanFic/KingdomHeartsNewEpicTheFirst'' - despite sailing around in the classic old pirate ship, even previously owned by Captain Hook himself, Lirh is a ruthless young man who leads his forces through a healthy dose of respect and fear. His plunders are most often accompanied by massive casualty numbers, and he's one of the Most Wanted Pirates in the Worlds.

* The SOS Brigade and the Anti-SOS Brigade [[EnemyMine team up]] to fight a crew of these (played by the ''Anime/LuckyStar'' characters) in ''FanFic/YouGotHaruhiRolled''.

** And the head pirate is [[Film/MortalKombat Liu Kang]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Franchise/{{Batman}} and Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} clash with modern day pirates during TheTeaser of the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Clash of the Metal Men".

* In ''Fanfic/LightAndDarkTheAdventuresOfDarkYagami'', Dark's boat is attacked by "moden pirates with guns and rockets and [[RippedFromTheHeadlines taking over oil tanks lick those guys on tv]]" ...who inexplicably still [[TalkLikeAPirate talk like traditional fictional pirates]].

* In 2013, a pensioners' group in the UK were informed that at their next meeting, they would be entertained by a man talking about pirates. Given the nature of the event, they assumed he would be some sort of musician or storyteller, or someone who performed in character as a pirate [[{{Pirate}} of the traditional kind]]. So some of the elderly regulars decided to dress up in pirate fancy dress costumes. [[FeeFiFauxPas Then it turned out]] that the man giving the talk about pirates was a captain who had been ''hijacked'' by Somali pirates, and was doing public speaking about his experiences.

* ''VideoGame/{{Anno 2070}}'' features modern pirates.

Unlike their [[{{Pirate}} conventional counterparts]], there is nothing romantic about these modern-day pirates. They tend to be completely ruthless, cold-blooded killers, devoid of honor and willing to stoop to any crime: [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] on the high seas. Bonus points if characters express disappointment at these pirates' failure to shiver timbers. Yet, this characterization of being honorless, psychopathic killers is ''exactly'' how pirates were viewed during the Golden Age of Piracy. Many of them lived up (or down) to this reputation. [[labelnote:Caveat]]Many golden-age pirates were defectors from British naval press-gangs, making them essentially escaped slaves and thus occasionally sympathetic in colonial and even British literature. Black escaped slaves sometimes became pirates as well, often because they had no real place to go after getting free. A number of the pirate crews were heavily black as a result.[[/labelnote]] [[NostalgiaFilter Perhaps another four hundred years from now, Somalian and Southeast Asian pirates will be viewed as romantic rogues]].

* The ''ComicStrip/TerryAndThePirates'' comic strip dealt with the pirates of the China Seas in the 1930s (modern day for the strip), seen by many historians as the beginnings of modern day piracy.

Unlike their [[{{Pirate}} conventional counterparts]], there is nothing romantic about these modern-day pirates. They tend to be completely ruthless, cold-blooded killers, devoid of honor and willing to stoop to any crime: [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] on the high seas. Bonus points if characters express disappointment at these pirates' failure to shiver timbers. Yet, this characterization of being honorless, psychopathic killers is ''exactly'' how pirates were viewed during the Golden Age of Piracy. Many of them lived up (or down) to this reputation. [[labelnote:Caveat]]Many golden-age pirates were defectors from British naval press-gangs, making them essentially escaped slaves and thus occasionally sympathetic in colonial and even British literature. Black escaped slaves sometimes became pirates as well, often because they had no real place to go after getting free. A number of the pirate crews were heavily Black as a result.[[/labelnote]] [[NostalgiaFilter Perhaps another four hundred years from now, Somalian and Southeast Asian pirates will be viewed as romantic rogues]].

* The ''ComicStrip/TerryAndThePirates'' comic strip dealt with the pirates of the China Seas in the 1930s (modern day for the strip), the beginnings of modern day piracy.

** The Pirates that attack Homer's "Party Boat". Though they have some stereotypical pirate traits such as [[PirateParrot having parrots on their shoulders]].

* The fourth ''Film/{{Rambo}}'' has Burmese river pirates.

* First attacks by Somali pirates on ships passing through the Gulf of Aden date as early as 2000. However, their [[OriginStory origins]] can be traced way back to the '80s, when the former Somali government funded fishermen programs.
* In 1997, Albanian government collapsed, creating a power vacuum which was soon filled by criminal gangs, among them pirates. Albanian pirates mostly attacked ships from neighboring (and far richer) Greece, until the [[UsefulNotes/ThisIsHellas Greek Navy]] chased them away.
* In 2013, a pensioners group in the UK were informed that at their next meeting, they would be entertained by a man talking about pirates. Given the nature of the event, they assumed he would be some sort of musician or storyteller, or someone who performed in character as a pirate [[{{Pirate}} of the traditional kind]]. So some of the elderly regulars decided to dress up in pirate fancy dress costumes. [[FeeFiFauxPas Then it turned out]] that the man giving the talk about pirates was a captain who had been ''hijacked'' by Somali pirates, and was doing public speaking about his experiences.

Unlike their [[{{Pirate}} conventional counterparts]], there is nothing romantic about these modern-day pirates. They tend to be completely ruthless, cold-blooded killers, devoid of honor and willing to stoop to any crime: [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] on the high seas. Bonus points if characters express disappointment at these pirates' failure to shiver timbers. Yet, this characterization of being honorless, psychopathic killers is ''exactly'' how pirates were viewed during the Golden Age of Piracy. Many of them lived up (or down) to this reputation. [[labelnote:Caveat]]Many golden-age pirates were defectors from British naval press-gangs, making them essentially escaped slaves and thus occasionally sympathetic in colonial and even British literature.[[/labelnote]] [[NostalgiaFilter Perhaps another four hundred years from now, Somalian and Southeast Asian pirates will be viewed as romantic rogues]].

* ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'' has Sid Swashbuckle along with his first mate Arrby. At their debut episode Sid steals the [[spoiler: Clam of Puplantis]] which causes the castle to crumble into rubble until the Paw Patrol managed to recover them. Sid is also kleptomaniac since he stole everything ranging from toys to TV's, and Arrby supports him as well too. Even kidnapped [[spoiler: Marshall and Robo-dog]] and later Karma bite them back forcing a rowboat in defeat.

You won't find modern pirates sailing the seven seas in visually impressive warships. That's because the entire venture cannot work without at least some decent degree of stealth from worldwide law enforcement. The use of vessels analogous to Blackbeard's ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' or Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts' ''Royal Fortune'' would be easily visible by satellite imagery, and even if a modern pirate could take control of a hyper-fast-and-powerful ship on the level of a US Navy destroyer, most every nation in the world would almost certainly launch immediate near-limitless-resource missions to hunt down and destroy it. What's more, operating a modern warship requires resources far beyond what it took to run an effective pirate ship in the 18th century. In other words, piracy, like any other form of criminal enterprise, was forced to [[TechnologyMarchesOn change with the times]], or die.

Unlike their [[{{Pirate}} conventional counterparts]], there is nothing romantic about these modern-day pirates. They tend to be completely ruthless, cold-blooded killers, devoid of honor and willing to stoop to any crime: [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] on the high seas. Bonus points if characters express disappointment at these pirates' failure to shiver timbers. Yet, this characterization of being honorless, psychopathic killers is ''exactly'' how pirates were viewed during the Golden Age of Piracy. Many of them lived up (or down) to this reputation. [[labelnote:Caveat]]Many golden-age pirates were defectors from British naval press-gangs, making them essentially escaped slaves and thus occasionally sympathetic in colonial and even British literature.[[/labelnote]] [[NostalgiaFilter Perhaps another four hundred years from now, Somalian pirates will be viewed as romantic rogues]].

* The [[UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets Russians]] use them as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJ0nblZjZE target practice.]]

* ''Film/CaptainRon'' features some real life ''Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Martin Short's incredulous, "Pirates? Of the Caribbean? Really?"

* MadeForTVMovie ''Desperate Voyage'' (1980). A modern-day vessel captained by Creator/ChristopherPlummer hijacks private yachts, steals the valuables on board, and sends the passengers to the bottom of the ocean.

* The modern pirates serve as the central conflict in the 2001 Creator/DisneyChannel original movie ''Jumping Ship''.

* ''Kidnapped in Paradise''. A woman is kidnapped (and her fiancee is killed) by modern day pirates.

* Lou Kramer (Anthony Perkins) and his gang who commandeer an oil platform in ''Film/NorthSeaHijack'' are essentially pirates, and very ruthless.
* ''Pirates of the [=XXth=] Century'' is a 1979 Soviet action film about modern piracy. It's possibly the most financially successful movie made in the Soviet Union.

* Gavin gets rescued and then promptly BoundAndGagged by these in ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'', after being lost at sea on a potato-powered lilo. [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext I'd ''like'' to say it makes sense in context.]]

* In ''Series/YoungIndianaJones and the Treasure of the Peacock's Eye'', while {{Franchise/Ind|ianaJones}}y and his friend Remy are traveling on a cruise ship through Southeast Asia in 1919, the ship gets attacked and robbed by Chinese pirates. The pirates' leader is a [[PirateGirl woman]] who was disguised as a singer, entertaining the passengers until her men boarded the ship.

** In ''VideoGame/UnchartedDrakesFortune'', about half of the enemies are Indonesian pirates led by Eddy Raja. Nathan even comments on how far they are from the idealized notion of old-timey pirates. "They don't take prisoners... [[SexSlave well, not]] ''[[SexSlave male]]'' [[SexSlave prisoners]]."

Ruthless Modern Pirates may also be SubmarinePirates. See also SkyPirates and SpacePirates for specific types of modern-day/future pirates that may still retain their romanticism. For modern day pirates who still dress and act as if were the Golden Age of Piracy, see APirate400YearsTooLate.