It really wouldn't be that hard to feed 200 people. 400 cans of...

It really wouldn't be that hard to feed 200 people. 400 cans of baked beans should do the trick. What about noodles, pasta and rice. Again very easy and not requiring a container of food.

It doesn't have to be luxurious eating. If water is available all the better. A bag of rice goes a very long way. You could make 200 pizzas with about 30kgs flour, 5 kgs cheese etc. Not big quantities at all.

The hostages would be worth much more being kept alive. Think of what they would be ransomed for. Possibly billions.

Any crim would see the benefit, not much different from the somalian pirates really.