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Should ships be armed to combat pirates?
- Thread starter baba
- Start date
s
The Marines were initially formed and stationed on ships to combat piracy. Instead of paying millions in ransom, put some armed guards on the ships. Use Blackwater or some private company to actually protect something for a change.
So... That's how they do it? I wondered about how exactly they could get from a speedboat onto an ocean going cargo ship while under full steam out on the open water.
If that's the case, I would think that those high pressure fire hoses blasting away would be enough to keep the pirates off game enough
to not be able to throw a hook onboard the freighter and then climb a rope 40ft. (?) to the deck.
This, in my mind, this is the biggest problem with today’s pirates. Not only do modern pirates suffer from a serious lack of eye patches and peg legs, they don’t even have big cool pirate ships.
Arming ships would be like allowing Americans to arm themselves rather than having them rely on the police for their protection. They have no need to protect themselves when that help is clearly provided for them. When seconds count to a ship and her crew, help is only hours away.
All tongue in cheek of course. Don't get me started on this one.
All tongue in cheek of course. Don't get me started on this one.
They really aren't pirates. They are thugs, criminals, whatever. I think labeling them pirates romanticize them a bit.
romanticize: make something seem better or more appealing than it really is
Put a big gun on the bow of ships, if a vessel approaches and doesn't respond to your request for ID or fails to give a proper ID or other response, blow it out of the water.
I'm guessing after you blow some stuff up, the number of unwanted boardings will decrease.
romanticize: make something seem better or more appealing than it really is
Put a big gun on the bow of ships, if a vessel approaches and doesn't respond to your request for ID or fails to give a proper ID or other response, blow it out of the water.
I'm guessing after you blow some stuff up, the number of unwanted boardings will decrease.
Maybe they should take a chapter from history and form up convoys through the worst areas similar to the convoys of WWII during the u-boat era. Seems a waste to 'arm' ships the world over when the piracy seems to be limited to waters in and around Somalia. Use arms/escorts only where it's needed. Still, probably not practical in this day and age of trade.
Shipping companies will probably just keep taking it on the chin as doing anything else will eat into profits too much. They'd rather pay ransoms and most likely have insurance for this. All about cost/benefit and not so much about eradicating piracy.
Shipping companies will probably just keep taking it on the chin as doing anything else will eat into profits too much. They'd rather pay ransoms and most likely have insurance for this. All about cost/benefit and not so much about eradicating piracy.
Ok. You got me started. This exactly what we should do. But we will never be allowed to do that just like we could never fight the Irag war the way it needed to be fought. Brute force is necessary but frowned upon anymore, lest anyone get hurt.
Read the thread man. You COULD put guns on cargo ships and blow up pirates all day long. The problem is, you then can NOT bring those armed cargo ships into port which makes it real hard to unload/load the ship.
How many captains will sign up to command a ship with an under-paid and heavily armed crew? It would be a recipe for more piracy, not less.
I'm not usually into blowing people up, but piracy? C'mon now....
And i mean REAL piracy, not file trady/ RIAA crybaby stuff... Where's that piracy pic when I need it...
And i mean REAL piracy, not file trady/ RIAA crybaby stuff... Where's that piracy pic when I need it...
What we need is armed speedboats to escort the ships into port! They can just patrol the dangerous waters eliminating pirate after pirate! Quick, someone call a Maritime Lawyer!
If cargo ships start being armed, the pirates will simply be more armed. More arms on both sides means more casualties on both sides, and frankly, in my opinion, the whole thing just becomes far too dangerous.
Leave it as is, so many cargo vessels arrive with no problem. One major problem here and there is a shame, but not enough to change the way things are done.
Leave it as is, so many cargo vessels arrive with no problem. One major problem here and there is a shame, but not enough to change the way things are done.
