Well .. answer to this question is quite simple - in "end of 20th century" USA one can't keep stolen car, still cars were stolen all the time :slight_smile: ... in terms of the game - pirates have 0 profit from the lonely starfarer when it is exploded, and hydrogen is scattered in the verse ... but getting in control of starfarer and selling guns and turrets ( as well as the whole hull ) to some NPCs could be quite profitable
This is part of the answer the fact that the cargo mostly gets destroyed if the ship gets destroyed so from a steal it and sell it standpoint capturing a ship or even ransoming the ship has a higher payday then destroying and scrapping it, of course the former comes with a significant higher risk.
Honestly I think the best answer comes from their assumption system and being able to have it auto generate missions based on player activity. Joy ridding in a stolen ship be prepared for bounty hunters and insurance reclaimers to harass you while most stations in the system deny you safe harbor. It even works well when stealing from the different factions and races, not only do you loose reputation with them they will track you down and attempt to reclaim the lost property as long as you exist with in their territory and sometimes even outside it.
I truly hope what Will presented is simply the workaround for 3.x and not the final implementation as it would suck. Taking a ship should be possible and keeping it should be based on ones skills and ones support network. Not some arbitrary timer and session state.