Just through I'd throw out a suggestion that I think might help a bit with the PvP and PvE problems and in-fighting that still plagues the game. The thought is this:
Engaging in meaningful PvP requires both parties to have at least some stake. Currently, the only part of the PvP system that actually incentivizes that is the Reaper Emissary mechanic through the potential loss of of an emissary flag. The rest of the game encourages PvPers to engage with as low as possible minimum stake which is....nothing. Literally nothing except the time required to find a victim.
To that end, I'd suggest something along the following: A large PvP damage debuff/disable if you do not have some treasure on board (would probably need to exclude supply crates and other empty crates). This could also in theory be paired with some sort of damage resistance/invulnerability but would need to have some sort of checks put in place so dumping treasure couldn't be used for combat exploits. For strong PvP crews, this shouldn't take too long to meet the requirements of. For weak PvP crews, it means that you can't just attrition someone to death by consuming all their supplies without at least providing them with some sort of reward for killing you.
Second: The PvP cycle on a server thrives best when all players are also encouraged to pick up PVE rewards as well. Someone who dedicates time to extracting value from the PVE portion of the game should always be guaranteed at least a small return for their efforts, even if they sink. To that end, I'd suggest that whichever crew first loads a treasure onto their boat should be guaranteed at least 10% of the payout when its turned in. This allows chests gained through PvP to still be a large windfall, but makes sure PVE players are never left completely empty-handed and might actually encourage them to risk some PvP knowing that even if they lose, they'll still make progress.