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Should ships be armed to combat pirates?
- Thread starter baba
- Start date
What are these American cargo ships? What about foreign cargo ships with an American on them (like the Mearsk Alabama)?
That was a pretty good explanation of what tugs and pilots are, but I don't really get your point.
I can see an armed security force / personel that get off the ship when the pilots get on. I can't see any cargo vessel coming into port to work a cargo operation with arms on board the vessel.
Under what circumstances do you think the USCG Captain of the Port is going to sign off on a Chinese COSCO vessel with all Chinese crew coming in to the Port of Longbeach and docking at Pier J with RPG's and 50 mils mounted on deck? The Koreans and Hanjin? Hamburg Sud? None of them are American crews. It just ain't gonna happen.
Maybe the Matson over at C 60 - but that's domestic and that's a whole other ball game.
I saw some footage of a pirats trying to take over a huge Frontline oil-vessel. Man, it's the most pathetic thing I've seen, 5 men with a few firearms in A ****ING 16 FOOT 30 HORSEPOWER BOAT. Give me a ****ing break, is THAT the scare of the Somali coastline? Fire up the cleaning hoses on your goddamn vessel and spray the **** out of them with a beam of water as friggn' broad as the intercepting boat itself.
I don't envision mounted guns (or at least one's that are not properly stowed), but I do envision security forces. Weapons can be locked and stowed on board, and a formal inventory process (and temporary weapons surrender) can easily be incorporated into the routine during this exchange with the Pilots. This is just one example. I just pointed out this process to show that it's feasible for it to become a reality, and this might be one way in which it's done. Perhaps only certain routes, or parts of routes are armed, or escorted. I don't know. Still, I don't envision anyone coming to shore with weapons. I agree though, anytime you involve weapons, it's potentially volatile. I provided this example simply as one way it's feasible, but of course it's just speculation based upon my experience, and of course it's up for interpretation.
- May 9, 2008
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- Proprietor Springvale Studios
Was thinking about piping the emergency bilge pumps suctions to skin fittings and having armored 200mm water monitor positions on the outlet that and the deck wash pumps would cause the Pirates quite a lot of general embarrasment really.
Fill a 16 footer brim full in about 3 milliseconds.
The plot thickens...I guess this was inevitable:
A crew member on a U.S.-flagged cargo ship captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia is suing his employers, claiming they sent him into pirate-infested waters without adequate protection.
"This choice caused substantially more cost and risk to human life than what would have been incurred by defendants had they provided appropriate levels of security in the first place."
Article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/27/lawsuit.maersk.pirates/index.html
A crew member on a U.S.-flagged cargo ship captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia is suing his employers, claiming they sent him into pirate-infested waters without adequate protection.
"This choice caused substantially more cost and risk to human life than what would have been incurred by defendants had they provided appropriate levels of security in the first place."
Article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/27/lawsuit.maersk.pirates/index.html
Necro-update:
Looks like the ship these pirates went after WAS armed....heavily. Life in prison for the survivors. If you were a pirate, would you attack this vessel???
"Using assault weapons and a rocket-propelled grenade, the men opened fire on what they later discovered was no merchant ship but the USS Nicholas, a 450-foot U.S. warship whose home port is in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Nicholas, in turn, sank the boat that carried out the attack and captured the pirate mother ship that launched it."
Five Somalis sentenced to life in piracy case - CNN.com
Looks like the ship these pirates went after WAS armed....heavily. Life in prison for the survivors. If you were a pirate, would you attack this vessel???
"Using assault weapons and a rocket-propelled grenade, the men opened fire on what they later discovered was no merchant ship but the USS Nicholas, a 450-foot U.S. warship whose home port is in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Nicholas, in turn, sank the boat that carried out the attack and captured the pirate mother ship that launched it."
Five Somalis sentenced to life in piracy case - CNN.com
In my opinion...
Yes, I think that making the ship more difficult to board might work...But what about when a pirate aims an RPG at the cabin?
I strongly believe that ships that are in the 'infested waters' should be armed, and heavily. If you're a merchant ship, and you've got expensive goods on board, or even nothing but your own life, you should be prepared and willing to defend it. If you aren't able to fire a gun at another human being, then you should be hiring someone who could. I assure you that there are a lot of people who would be up for this line of work. As for payment for these 'mercenaries'?
The alternative without mercenaries, and without and form of defense: Risk your own life, delays lasting days, damage to the hull of the ship, et cetera. Even a day can cost a lot to the ship/shipping company.
With a mercenary...Yeah, they'd be expensive. But at the cost of your own life and the life and safety of your crew, it's a small price to pay.
My opinion, though. Defend your life and property.
Yes, I think that making the ship more difficult to board might work...But what about when a pirate aims an RPG at the cabin?
I strongly believe that ships that are in the 'infested waters' should be armed, and heavily. If you're a merchant ship, and you've got expensive goods on board, or even nothing but your own life, you should be prepared and willing to defend it. If you aren't able to fire a gun at another human being, then you should be hiring someone who could. I assure you that there are a lot of people who would be up for this line of work. As for payment for these 'mercenaries'?
The alternative without mercenaries, and without and form of defense: Risk your own life, delays lasting days, damage to the hull of the ship, et cetera. Even a day can cost a lot to the ship/shipping company.
With a mercenary...Yeah, they'd be expensive. But at the cost of your own life and the life and safety of your crew, it's a small price to pay.
My opinion, though. Defend your life and property.
At which point, an armed crew should feel free to open fire on the bastards. AFAIC, we're far too lenient with criminals and people like this. Let 'em have it full force, and stir in things like noise weapons, cannons and the threat of bombing/shelling their hideouts and locales mercilessly back to the stone age if there is even ONE pirate attack originating from that country.
Necro-update:
Looks like the ship these pirates went after WAS armed....heavily. Life in prison for the survivors. If you were a pirate, would you attack this vessel???
"Using assault weapons and a rocket-propelled grenade, the men opened fire on what they later discovered was no merchant ship but the USS Nicholas, a 450-foot U.S. warship whose home port is in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Nicholas, in turn, sank the boat that carried out the attack and captured the pirate mother ship that launched it."
Five Somalis sentenced to life in piracy case - CNN.com
...very deserving of a Darwin Award on part of the pirates.
