There will always be pirates. Seems to me, automated ships could be designed to be a lot harder to steal. No ransom options, no worries about harsh weather or storms. Automated ships could use the power of bad weather to their advantage, to lower their fuel consumption in ways no manned vessel could. Nobody getting sea sick, nobody getting injured, design the cargo ship to take advantage of stormy seas. Good luck to the pirates trying to pluck loot from an automated ship that is surfing a hurricane :>)