 The Romans, unable to defeat them through conventional maritime tactics, developed the Corvus, or the "crow", a spiked boarding bridge that could be impaled onto an enemy ship so that the Romans could send over marines to capture or sink the Carthaginian vessels.The sailors and marines of the fleets were recruited from the lower classes of Carthage itself, meaning that the navy was manned in the majority by actual Carthaginian citizens, this is in contrast to the largely mercenary army.The navy offered a stable profession and financial security for its sailors.