A raider could damage the global economy without sinking every merchant ship

Commerce raiding threatened movement and confidence beyond the number of ships sunk. If Allied navies could not escort traffic in the South Atlantic, Indian Ocean, or South Pacific, prudent owners might keep merchant ships in port. Reflagging did not guarantee safety because earlier cruisers had seized enemy-owned ships sailing under neutral flags when other states chose not to intervene. Convoying demanded escorts capable of surviving contact with a heavily armed cruiser, rather than a few lightly armed sloops. The resulting delays and force diversions could weaken a global economy and public confidence even if the raider achieved few direct sinkings. Waiting behind defensive strongpoints therefore carried its own strategic cost.