Italian Cruise Ship Fires on Pirates

Don't the seals belong in the water?

 

Good for them. I'd like to see more of this, but it's not likely to happen. Arming a vessel opens up the owners to all sorts of trouble. You have local laws to deal with, and liability issues. The biggest problem is insurance. Once a confrontation escalates to a fire fight on the high seas, most insurance companies will consider it an act of war, and therefore not covered. It is usually less expensive to allow the vessel to be captured and ransom it back. Unfortunately, doing that breeds more piracy.

Tom

 

A great big AMEN to that! It's about time they stopped cowering and patronizing the Pirates. They will only stop when met with force.

 

If your the Pirates and you "see" a "SEAL" Team...it's way too late, your already dead!!!

Time for the shipping companies to MAN up, offer a bounty on pirate heads... say $1000, put them on the defensive! Instead of caving in to these losers! So the planet looses a couple thousand "Pirates" I can live with that!!!

Just blow them Sons O Bitches out of the water!

 

:tea::tea::tea:

 

A recent story in LA Times made the point that the pirate problem is too small for the US Navy to mess with. Why not outsource the solution to private contractors, which is similar to offering a bounty.

 

How big does the "pirate problem" have to become before the Navy is interested? I believe it is way past time to arm our merchantmen and station some Marines on them. To paraphrase Admiral Bull Halsey: "The only good pirate is a dead pirate. And I want to make a lot of good pirates."

 

What with GPS and all, shipping companies know exactly where their
ships are at any time... No, they know at all times where their ships are
to less than a 10 foot error, anywhere on the globe.

I would think the shipping companies would be quietly arming their cargo
vessels and coordinating a small self-help convoy program for the
area(s) of concern. Let's say 3 ships in a convoy, lots of 50 cal machine
guns on deck. It's time to emphasize the MARINE in the merchant
marines. (Yeah, I know, the logic on that is seriously twisted.)

Some very good things happen -- so long as you are on the trigger end
of the piece -- where three streams of incendiary 50 cal rounds
converge.

 

The crews on oil tankers can't carry any hand held battery operated devices, can't smoke and can't do anything that causes a spark. They probably want to avoid fire fights. Some have hired 'private contractors' to follow in chase boats but that runs 20-100K per trip.

 

That's silly (the LA story). The last incident captured the attention of the American public, directly involved the president, and got international coverage. Unless the president's last standing orders were to let pirates roam unhindered, then it is a problem the Navy is working hard on. The real important question to ask is if the Navy working on a short term reaction or a long term solution. They are working on one or the other....guaranteed. (Don't forget that the US Navy was created to fight pirates.)

 

I swam with seals several years ago and I'm alive to tell the tale, proof I'm not a pirate!

Why don't cruise ships have 50mm guns mounted on the upper decks for safety sake?

 

How about slingshots and hand granades?
Or large air rifles with exploding rounds?

 

This came up earlier in the thread. If they do that, they lose their insurance coverage. Without insurance, you can't run a modern shipping business.

If you want to arm vessels, which is probably a good idea, you either need new laws or a change in insurance practices, or possibly both.

Tom

 

Oil tankers are a special concern due to the mentioned danger of explosive vapors being present. It would be most logical to have a small convoy of tankers with a cruiser or two as escort.

Not sure why the Saudi's aren't paying for this. They have had a few tankers captured

What we really have to do is deal with failed nations like Somalia. That may mean an international blockade of the Somali shoreline

 

Convoys would be logical.

And...

The Saudi folks aren't our friends... and the money they are spending is ours... no wonder they pay.