I quite like the idea of the navy paying for some of the repairs, says the man who has several heavily damaged ships. It helps the foolish blokes like me with no prizes a chance to keep a competitive fleet in the game.

Although not as welcome as a prize, I would imagine most captains who managed to sink an enemy ship would be given some consideration for reducing the enemies ability to wage war, and perhaps a quick refit to get them back to sea so they can do further damage.