User blog comment:J.R. Imp/Warning on Public Ships/@comment-2040576-20120602082251/@comment-4182186-20120603003834

Quote - "Disney had a update that said that you have to actually attack the ships to get loot. So in this case, the glitchers, would only just be ' destroying ' loot for the hard plunderers. ( Sorry if I can't provide a neccesary link to that page to help you..... )."

Actually since Ship Customization came out, you don't have to hit them to get the loot. If you're afk however, what you get will be nothing to limited.