Port Ship Bonuses apply only to National Captains and Captured Ships can be 'Re-fitted'

[Hullabaloo]

I've had an idea:

Problem: I understand that access to Port ship bonuses are available only to friendly clans so as to prevent alt abuse. However this is an excluding mechanic that unfairly punishes players who for whatever reason do not want or can't play within large groups or can only play solo. It also places too much power in the hands of a few players which will cause problems. This kind of exclusivity and cliqueness is not attractive for new players. This should not be underestimated.

Solution:

Make Port ship bonuses apply only to the captains of that nation. Eg. The Port ship bonuses of a ship constructed in a British Port is only applied when sailed by a British Captain.

This would immediately solve the alt exploit problem so solo players and small clans can benefit from Port bonuses. 

I'm not 100% certain but I suspect there is some historical precedent for this. Different Navy's would certainly have had different equipment, training and methods and captured ships would have been refitted before being put back into service? (perhaps more knowledgeable captains can elaborate more on this for me?).

This could also lead to a 'refitting' service, where captured ships could be taken to a Port and refitted with the nation's Port ship bonuses applied (for a charge that goes to the Port owning clan).

 

 

[Hullabaloo]

I did a tiny bit of research. It seems that substantial modifications and refitting were indeed made to captured French and Spanish ships before being commissioned into the Royal Navy..