Are these ships actually owned by the Russian state? I thought it was more Russia paying private operators to do some sabotage alongside legitimate business. In which case, ships being seized would absolutely be a huge deterrent to whoever owns or insures the ships.

But yes, imprisoning the crew (especially the captain) is also a good idea.

Mmm. You are assuming people have a choice about crewing on what you call a pos ship which you say is owned/controlled by russia.

Many international ships are crewed by what is essentially slave labor. Too many google links to share them all, but try this to start: https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/thats-slavery-seafarers-s...

What do you mean by eliminate?