Originally posted by Dreadnought
View Post
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Somali piracy thread
Collapse
X
-
Originally posted by glyn View PostWhy not designate it a target vessel and let the gunners have a ball?"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" B. Franklin
Comment
-
Originally posted by Grim View Post1. Give 50 cal.s and RPGs to the Merchant Marines and let them earn their name again.
2.Stop carrying payroll in the ships safe.
A lot of vessels carry the crews payroll in the Captains safe, that is the main target of the pirates.
Kidnapping and ransom are not as common as a quick salt water mugging.
Comment
-
Originally posted by entropy View PostWhat is the reason that merchans ships are unarmed? I can understand that the RoRo between Stockholm and Tallinn does not have to fear anything (until the last months, angry Russians might be preying on lone Estonian ships :D) but vessels going to more obscure regions might require a good double .50.If i only was so smart yesterday as my wife is today
Minding your own biz is great virtue, but situation awareness saves lives - Dok
Comment
-
Originally posted by entropy View PostWhat is the reason that merchans ships are unarmed? I can understand that the RoRo between Stockholm and Tallinn does not have to fear anything (until the last months, angry Russians might be preying on lone Estonian ships :D) but vessels going to more obscure regions might require a good double .50.
My understanding of this situation is based on old information and as such may not still be accurate.
It's a fallow the money situation. The Insurers have judged that it's cheaper to replace a few weeks pay per pirate attack. Rather then reimburse for the lost or damaged cargos and ships, that might be the result of a full scale defense of the ships. Not to mention dead crew members. The insurers play the tune and the owners and crews dace the jig. This has resulted in the standing orders that under no circumstances are the crew to resist once they have been boarded. One should keep in mind that some ships can not be safely defended from their own decks. Like supper tankers due to the hazard of explosive fumes.
However there were rumors of a Russian response to a pirate attack some years ago and the fallowing lack of pirate attacks on Russian shipping would seem to indicate the insurance companies are pursuing the wrong strategy.
Comment
-
We always could do what the English did to pirates. Take the captain, hang him, embalm him in tar and hang his body in a cage on the shore till whats left withers away in the winds and the birds have at em. Made for a dam good warning to Pirates back in those days. The crew was either hanged or jailed in the "pits"for longer then they will ever remember. Why not today.Last edited by Dreadnought; 07 Jun 07,, 16:00.Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.
Comment
-
Just wondering what the CH fired on her with?
The biggest thing I remember her having were 2 25mm guns on the catwalk. 1 port/1 starboard.
I'm not even sure I would see those from the bridge of that container ship.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Gun Grape View PostJust wondering what the CH fired on her with?
The biggest thing I remember her having were 2 25mm guns on the catwalk. 1 port/1 starboard.
I'm not even sure I would see those from the bridge of that container ship.
Sank all 3 of their boats.
FOXNews.com - U.S. Ship Fires at Pirates - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News
Comment
-
Originally posted by zraver View Postwhy does the US need permission to eneter Somalian waters to chase pirates? We bombard thier Islamist renegades at will. And if piracy isn't terrorism nothing is.
Very briefly.
The piracy off of Somalia started to become a sever problem in the early 1990s when the government collapsed. First it was pirate trawlers from foreign nations who are raping the Somalia fisheries by using illegal fishing techniques. The effect of this was so sever some of the local fishermen were starving. (During an Unctad-funded workshop for Somali businessmen held in Dubai in 1998, the participants were told that at any one time there are over 300 foreign-owned vessels – neither reported, regulated nor paid for – conducting pirate fishing off the Puntland coast alone. http://www.ecop.info/e-news/e-news-01-07-9.htm)
Local fishermen defended their fishing grounds by hiring militia men. This resulted in some trawlers being take hostage and held for ransom. But over the years the situation has eroded. Now there is the added problem that some of these well equipped Somali militias have acquired the taste for bigger game and are raiding the merchant mariners in international waters. For the USA to chase them in side Somalia waters is to pour gas on the fire. Not to mention that the owners of the ship and the Governments involved (Somalia and Dutch) are the ones who have the final say as to weather a rescue raid gets the green light. That takes time.
IMO Piracy and terrorism are not the same thing. Piracy is done to acquire monetary gain. Terrorism is done to acquire political gain.
Comment
-
Originally posted by entropy View PostGrim,
You do have some very interesting information.
What do you mean by saying that trying to combat terrorism would act as more wood for the fire?
Thank you, I am no expert on this, my knowledge is a little old and stems only from what I have read. This is just my opinion.
There is no way for the USA to enforce maritime law in Somalia waters without the permission of the Somalia Government. To try to do so without their request would be disrespectful of the struggling government and I would guess that such an act would be received as an insult. We need the aid of the Somalis in the WOT just as they could use some sincere aid from us.
Seeing how the Somali fishermen are the key to much of the problem of piracy off their coast. We would benefit by first addressing their needs and concerns. If the Somalis ask for our aid along their coast line then we should first deal with the pirate fishing before we target what the Somalis see as their acts of self defense.
If the USA presents the image within sight of the fishing villages, that it is fighting against the interests of the fishermen. In the long run it will do more to harm our efforts to stop the piracy against merchant mariners.
As it is, I feel it would be in our best interests to deal with these acts of piracy in international waters.
Comment
Comment