Tell me again why they shouldn't be armed?

[Gamera]

Hey yeah! Flame throwers aren't considered guns right?

 

[theotherwaldo]

One of the main reasons that this piracy nonsense is allowed to continue is that it finances and supports the enemies of the "West".

For the investment of half a dozen unemployed teen males (a waste product, by and large), a similar number of sidearms, and a stolen small boat, a clan or village can usually reap about a third to a half of the ransom, send the rest to support the jihad, and have no meaningful repercussions.

-And they usually get the pirates, weapons, and boat back so that they can use it again.

Hoist the Jolly Roger, indeed!

 

[The Foo]

I enjoyed how CBS this morning was making a big deal and praising the Ship's crew for being heroic and brave.....by hiding in a dark room barricaded while calling for the Navy to come save them.

 

[SuperFlanker]

A 10,000+ ton ship can easily absorb the recoil of a 20mm minigun turret.

 

[Stirling XD]

O'Reilly discussed arming the ships last night. He said they could not find a country that wouldn't allow a ship to dock becasue they had guns on board. They couldn't be brought ashore or displayed while in port, but it was OK for them to be on board in a locker while in port. He said the resistance to arm was from the shipping companies and their insurers. Do you think they're worried about getting sued by pirates?

It seems to me that pirates are armed sitting ducks. They have no cover except their boat which doesn't amount to much. They are shooting from a platform that is constantly getting bounced around. While the ships are still in motion, they are much more stable than the pirate boat. It seems to me that a couple of guys with sniper rifles could make short work of a boat load of pirates.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Small arms are fine, but you can't sink a pirate pinnace with a .45.

Heavy weapons are banned from commercial ships more by porting agreements than by treaty, and the porting agreements are driven by maritime insurance protocols. Look at it this way, if some drunken Russian cargo sailor breaks into the ready ammo locker, loads up and fires a 76mm deck gun at the Greek supertanker in the next berth, the entire port could be incinerated. That can't be allowed to happen.

I like the Q-ship idea hinted at above. Let some outfit build a Q-ship with disguised guns, and when attacked, blow the surprised mohammedeans out of the water.

I also like the Big Spud Gun idea. Even better than actually killing the pirates is to humiliate them publicly by using non-lethal weapons to defeat their attack. Maybe a gun that shoot enormous gobs of sticky pink foam -- we use smaller versions of those on land to disperse rioting environmentalists.

 

[Dan Crocker]

I don't know much about the trade routes I guess but my question has been why don't they simply go a little further away from that part of the African coast?

Check out a map. They get those ships as they are headed into the Gulf of Aden to cross the Red Sea to use the Suez canal or as they are coming out of it. It's a natural choke point. I'm also amazed that the pirates can board a freighter while it's running. That's got to be a hairy operation!
I agree that some of the ships should be armed. It's just like CCW, soon pirates won't know who will shoot at them. Even if guys start rushing around mounting dummy guns on the railing it may make them turn and split. Can you imagine getting and old Lewis or Vickers gun and sending bursts into one of these boats? SaWEET!

 

[runrabbitrun]

Don't resist and everything will be ok!

After all, if you can't trust in the basic level headed human decency of teenage pirates, hopped up on qat and waving Kalashnikovs, what CAN you trust in...?

Now that's funny right there. I don't care who you are. lol

 

[largecaliber]

I am sick of the U.S. and other nations using the term civilized. Violence only understands violence and nothing else. I would love to see some of these so called civilized people be put into the mountains here in Wyoming for a few weeks to make it on their own. If they lived through it we would see just how civilized they really are. It's easy to talk civilized when setting in the comfort of their ivory towers.

 

[sixshooterfan]

Where do hi-tech non lethal weapons like LRAD fit into all of this?

 

[bigione]

I've heard that one can have guns aboard,but they have to be secured in a locked container when reaching port. Then they must be declared and checked out by some authority, which can take two or nore extra days. Also, the typical ship owner doesn't trust people with guns!!!! Where do we heat that?

 

[SpecialKalltheway]

anyone got the start up capital to go into business in the protection agency? I know some vets that would be interested. We just need enough money for a boat, a few Mark-19's, a couple 50 cals and and a few other necessities

How about this for the ships, just put the guns on the boats anyways! If there is an incident use them then throw them over board. Guns what guns? We never had any guns on our ship! Oh those dead pirates? What happened to them? How should we know?

 

[Hungry Seagull]

6 months trolling back and forth at sea while changing paint colors and ship appearence each night as a Q ship and have several of these ships in the area.

Everyone else who are legit merchies stay out of the box covered by the Q ships.

So.. we can dig up some of the old merchies out of mothballs in Philly, patch em up and send em out with naval crews as Q ships. =)

A big honking fat slow tub of a merchie with valuable cargo as deck loading visible to the most greedy pirate will draw em in like fly lights.

The grey coloring and rust wont give these ships away for a good long time.

I think when sufficient somali wives and Girlfriends stand on the shore long enough waiting for thier now dead loved ones to return.... they will get into something else besides piracy.

 

[TexasRifleman]

A big honking fat slow tub of a merchie with valuable cargo as deck loading visible to the most greedy pirate will draw em in like fly lights.

The grey coloring and rust wont give these ships away for a good long time.

I'm seeing visions of the scene in Master and Commander where they make up the Surprise to seem like a whaling ship:

Captain Aubrey: And we are worth more to them undamaged. Their greed... will be their downfall. England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship, is England. So it's every hand to his rope or gun, quick's the word and sharp's the action. After all... Surprise is on our side.

Frankly it's not a bad idea. I just don't see any current government having the will to spring a trap on the "poor unsuspecting" pirates.

Same with arming the crew. I just don't see a government condoning things like that, and possibly even making trouble for a shipping company that did decide to try it.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Sigh, born 200 years too late to enjoy any kind of good sea fights done proper.

 

[SpecialKalltheway]

Same with arming the crew. I just don't see a government condoning things like that, and possibly even making trouble for a shipping company that did decide to try it.

that's why we should seek corporate funding

Just approach all the major companies that use that route and have everyone pay a small share that would add up to one big pay off when put all together.

 

[Funderb]

There are international laws against having firearms on board ships of commerce and transit (with exceptions). This was supposed to prevent piracy.

Well, I guess it worked, didn't it?

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Well, it was all good for them to run our Troops out of Modgodisu (Spelling?) but I draw the line at them there pirates ashooting at US Flagged ships... now they be picking on family.... for shame.

Where I come from, incoming fire makes return fire. Them Somalis dont understand how to feuding is done ye see?

 

[2ndAmFan]

Didn't that alleged "news" show last Friday say you are better off having a cell phone than a firearm if you are confronted by an armed criminal? Let's make sure all American crews have lots of phones! They can throw them at the pirates, or build some rubber band launchers for longer range. A couple of small cannons or miniguns would be better, but we can't take a chance on injuring some poor crook can we?

 

[Hungry Seagull]

We are a war with Somali at sea.

That I understand. A war against Piracy. Seems that half of Europe is also there with thier ships as well.

It will be right up there when the US Marines start executing invasions from the sea to wipe out known Pirate towns and vanish again until the next town.

What's not to like?

Oh... poor starving people desitute and starving. Now we cannot have that now. Toss a few shipping containrs stuffed with MREs onto the shore and let em have at it.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

I just had a brainstorm: smear the merchantman sides with pork fat and catapult pig heads at the pirates.

 

[indoorsoccerfrea]

i like the idea of potato guns...only with something else instead of potatoes, like...napalm. or something similarly fun to play with.

question: why can't merchant ships simply have a lifeboat with weapon lockers on them, and when docking in to port leave the lifeboat with crew-members out at sea while the ship unloads? nowadays unloading only takes a few hours. then when the ship heads back out, they can hoist back up the gunship and re-arm the ship. end of problem.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Duke awesome idea. Those Muslims will NOT sully themselves climbing over pork.

No wonder Congress has not been blown sky high yet. All that Pork Legislations going on.

 

[Fenris]

They are not pirates.

They are "undocumented re-distributors".

Remember Obama doesn't disagree with their objectives, and probably not their methods either to be honest.

 

[Alchymist]

"From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli...". Sound familiar?

Turn 'em loose!