4 Americans killed by Somali pirates..........

[Mihais]

Yet that wasn't always the case.It was customary to have a few weapons on board,even if that meant rifles or handguns,just in case.
Everyone and his mother knows the issue around the Somali waters.A ship,even a small one could be provided with a couple of MG's for the duration of the voyage and disarmed under the surveillance of the port authorities.
Trained men on larger ships means also that fewer and fewer money will be available in time to the pirates,resulting in less extensive operations.Attacks on trawlers,nasty as they are to those involved do not put international trade in jeopardy.

[Officer of Engineers]

A weapons crew is not a part time job.

[Cactus]

Yet that wasn't always the case.It was customary to have a few weapons on board,even if that meant rifles or handguns,just in case.

I know. It started changing only 30-40 years back in most places, but now most people have started looking at it as the norm. Many of those places, after dealing with insurgencies and drug/gun-runners, have become very strict about not allowing armed vessels to dock unescorted (it gets even more fun if you are unloading).

[Chogy]

Arming merchant ships was standard from the earliest days of sail right up to maybe 1900. In 1800, an Indiaman from Britain to China and India carried the same 24 and 32 pounders as did the ships of the line at the time... civilian armament was little different from a warship except in quantity and training.

Like a law-abiding civilian carrying a handgun - it is not this person who is a problem to society, it is the armed criminal instead. I think we like to pretend that mankind is civilized and we no longer need arms to defend ourselves, but the reality is different.

[USSWisconsin]

I would think pedestal mounted guns, that could be taken down and locked away in port would ease the authorities concern's, kept in a locked magazine when not at sea, with a master at arms or the captain in charge of it. This could cover M-2 0.50's, M-60's and Barrett rifles - these should deter pirates enough - and special light weight big bore guns would probably develop if the need were there, maybe a 57mm recoiless rifle.

Perhaps a skilled security consultant could be part of the crew, and he could train members of the crew to assist, by holding target practice and drills.

[Deltacamelately]

What I found most posters suggesting here is asking every Tom, Dick and Harry to carry a mop each, while the tap pouring the sh!t remains running all throughout.

Barge in, break the tap, kill the tap owner, shred the tap line to smithereens and then keep a watch if the loop needs to be repeated.

[HKDan]

I think we like to pretend that mankind is civilized and we no longer need arms to defend ourselves, but the reality is different.

Enormously true.

[Officer of Engineers]

Major,

I believe I am the only one who advocated killing the pirate cove from the start.

[Triple C]

Mihas got it right. I was thinking the failure of the Spanish Armada marked the downfall of Spanish naval supremacy.

Philip II, sir, ravaged Barbary corsair kindoms with a massive contingent of heavily-armed Spanish troops. If he wasn't engaged with England, France, Neatherland and German princes he would have had the resources to deal with them once and for all. There doesn't seem to be a lack of international consensus to deal with this pathetic group of intrasigent pirates, whose power was insignificant compared to their predecessors in the med.

[Chogy]

Major,

I believe I am the only one who advocated killing the pirate cove from the start.

I don't think people disagree with the concept, but the political baggage associated with an operation of that sort is quite a bit heavier than gunning a few zodiacs at sea.

I think it'll take steps... if force at sea is not sufficient to squash the problem, then it'd be time to consider stomping the nest.

[Mihais]

Funny thing is that no one ever argued against killing the pirates.So I'm not really sure how such an op would be hard to sell to the public.World public opinion seems largely favorable to aggressive actions.More likely the shipping companies,insurance companies and the politicians prefer to be complacent about it and use the pretext of a supposed opposition to harsher methods.

[Triple C]

The WAB is not an accurate gauge of western public opinion. If that was true, McCain would be president (which I wouldn't be happy about) and pirates would be hanging from nooses or drown by Russians (over which I would not lose sleep).

[Mihais]

I wasn't talking about WAB.

Anyway it's an axiom that wabbers are a few orders of magnitude smarter than the herds

[S2]

OoE Reply

"I believe I am the only one who advocated killing the pirate cove from the start..."

I dunno, Colonel. I generally advocate killing everybody all the time.

[Deltacamelately]

To OoE

Sir,

Mere killing the scums won't suffice, not while they have already boarded the ships. The killing has to happen prior to that, while they are still on that fckin piece of land, training, planning and living there. Their entire maritime infrastructure, that can and is sustaining this bloody piracy HAVE to be dismantled, even if that translates into some civilian collateral losses. This menace has to stop.