So I don't believe this is a new "feature" and if it is it's a load of bulls***. Twice today when using the harpoon to grab a bomb barrel it exploded... this has not been an issue until recently. Please fix this asap as it is really quite the nuisance.
The first bomb barrel exploded when recovering from the water. The second was from dry land. For some reason the game is now registering bringing them on board with the harpoon as a hit to the ship... why?

