Protecting the health of captured pirates

Peter is a young navy doctor on board of a frigate which is part of a multinational task force patrolling ship lanes in the Indian Ocean, off the Horn of Africa. He hasn't got much operational experience. This is only his second mission.

The frigate's boarding team intercepted a skiff, a small pirate's boat and apprehended a band of 3 suspected Somali pirates who planned a high-seas attack on a container ship. They were unarmed, had thrown their weapons overboard  just before being captured.

After their apprehension, the pirates are brought on board of the frigate and confined to a small provisional cell. The sanitary conditions in the detention facilities are poor. The detainees are also frightened by the intimidating use of weapons by the members of the boarding team to show power.

Peter assesses the physical condition of the prisoners. He fears the physical and mental health of the detainees might be at risk. He wants to be loyal to the ship's crew but at the same time he wants to respect conscientiously the medical profession's ethical standards towards the detainees.

When Peter consults the Commanding Officer of the ship however, he feels brushed aside.