These Somalian Pirates

These Somalian Pirates
I find it astonishing that ships sailing in that part of the world are not routinely armed. The pirates seem to be taking ships at will. And also astonishing imo is that it appears that ransom money is routinely paid to secure their release. Surely paying ransoms just ensures that even more ships will be taken in the future?

You are quite right, Dog. These are my thoughts exactly. A couple of quick-firing guns, one on each wing of the bridge, something like the WW2 Bofors, and crew members trained to man them ... One such encounter would put paid to most piracy, IMHO. (Of course, much the same argument applies to households to put a stop to burglary! :wink: ) And why do the naval vessels stand by and do nothing? Feeble!

I presume that its cheaper for the shipping company to pay a ransom and claim that back on the insurance, than to provide a large number of guns (given the large number of ships) with sufficient trained operatives for them to be constantly manned and presumably suitable night-vision equipment.

I don't think so, TJ. You would not need extra crew members, just send some of the crew on a short course. The weapon cost would be an insignificant part of the outfitting cost of a large vessel. The guns would not need to be continuously manned. These ships have radar. and a good watch-keeper would be able to sound "action stations" long before the boarding party arrived. But, just in case, a few good handguns on the bridge and in the engine room would also deter. I can see no good reason not to fight piracy on the high seas with every weapon that can be brought into use.

Good for the Indian Navy!
Somali pirates attack Indian warship in la-*test*-('") brazen attack Somali pirates have attacked a warship in their most brazen attack yet, as another group announced ransom demands for the captured oil tanker the Sirius Star. By Ben Leach http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/3481868/Somali-pirates-attack-Indian-warship-in-la-*test*-('")-brazen-attack.html The Indian navy announced that one of its warships in the Gulf of Aden destroyed a ship belonging to Somali pirates while patrolling 285 nautical miles (528km) south-west of Salalah in Oman, on Tuesday evening. According to early reports, INS Tabar was approaching a pair of high-speed launches and a pirate 'mother ship' - used as a base from which to launch attacks. An Indian navy spokesman said it demanded the vessel stop for investigation but the pirate ship responded by threatening to "blow up the naval warship if it closed on her". The pirates, who were running around the decks with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine-guns, then attacked. The Indians say they retaliated by opening fire and that there was an explosion on the pirate vessel, which sank. "Fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored in the vessel," the Indian navy said. Some of the pirates tried to escape on two speedboats - the Indian sailors gave chase but one boat was later found abandoned, while a second boat escaped. The Tabar has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden since October 23, and has escorted 35 ships safely through the "pirate-infested waters", the statement said. Last week, helicopter-borne Indian marine commandos stopped pirates from boarding and hijacking an Indian merchant vessel. Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera television broadcast footage of one of the pirates asking for a cash sum in exchange for the return of the Sirius Star tanker, its cargo and its crew of 25, including two Britons. One of the pirates, Farah Abd Jameh, said: "Negotiators are located on board the ship and on land. Once they have agreed on the ransom, it will be taken in cash to the oil tanker." He did not state the amount to be paid but added: "We assure the safety of the ship that carries the ransom. We will mechanically count the money and we have machines that can detect fake money." The message came as two more ships were seized by Somali pirates in the past 24 hours: a Greek bulk carrier and a Thai fishing boat, despite a large international naval presence in the waters off their lawless country. An Iranian cargo ship was also hijacked earlier in the week. __________________________________________________________ Good for the Indian Navy! All these basdids should be blown out of the water.

I don't think so, TJ. You would not need extra crew members, just send some of the crew on a short course. The weapon cost would be an insignificant part of the outfitting cost of a large vessel. Most of the ships on the seas have already been built Besty, so it would represent a significant cost to provide retrofitting. It probably would need extra crew and would need full-time manning - this recently captured vessel is 1000ft long and has a crew of 25, how would they be able to deploy in a very short period of time (noting that several would be in jobs requiring them to remain at post, and others would be sleeping)? The guns would not need to be continuously manned. These ships have radar. and a good watch-keeper would be able to sound "action stations" long before the boarding party arrived. But, just in case, a few good handguns on the bridge and in the engine room would also deter. We're talking about commercial sailors here rather than Royal Navy tars. A few good handguns don't seem to have had much effect so far either do they? I can see no good reason not to fight piracy on the high seas with every weapon that can be brought into use. Well you go and fight it with every weapon - but it would appear that the shipping companies don't agree with you, they seem happier sending on the bill to the insurance companies and having support from various navies when in littoral seas or areas of high risk.

I presume that its cheaper for the shipping company to pay a ransom and claim that back on the insurance, than to provide a large number of guns (given the large number of ships) with sufficient trained operatives for them to be constantly manned and presumably suitable night-vision equipment. Fair point. Although I don't suppose that the insurance companies see it the same way. I read that premiums for shipping have increased tenfold because of the increase in piracy.

Rules frustrate anti-piracy efforts The international effort to stop piracy off Somalia has not worked and the effort clearly needs to be stepped up into a higher gear. The response so far has been twofold: first, to assemble naval forces to try to stop the pirates on the high seas; second, to encourage a political settlement within the fractured state of Somalia to enable law and order to be established. The naval forces are growing all the time. There is already a small flotilla of warships in the region from the US, UK, Canada, France, Turkey, Germany, Russia and India, among others. This shows how the world's trading powers regard the piracy as a joint threat. snip There has also been a legal opinion by the Foreign Office in London that captured pirates cannot necessarily be sent back to whatever authorities can be found in Somalia, in case they are subject to harsh treatment. That would contravene the British Human Rights Act. snip http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7735144.stm

There has also been a legal opinion by the Foreign Office in London that captured pirates cannot necessarily be sent back to whatever authorities can be found in Somalia, in case they are subject to harsh treatment. That would contravene the British Human Rights Act. If the pirate ships are sunk with all hands, nobody will need to worry about where to send prisoners. :wink:

Quite right Highlander! And those that fail to drown in the normal way might be hanged from the YARDARM! WHOOPS :oops: Wrong century .... more's the pity!

But Bear! What about their U-Man Rites?

They're still at it..... Pirate Attack On NAUTICA November 30: Oceana Cruises 2000-built NAUTICA (ex R FIVE, BLUE DREAM) was attacked while was transiting through the Gulf of Aden at 9:28am local time today. While the ship was sailing within the prescribed Maritime Safety Protection Area, patrolled by an international anti-piracy task force, two small skiffs closed on the ship. Captain Jurica Brajcic ordered evasive maneuvers and NAUTICA was able to out run the two approaching skiffs at full speed. One boat closed to about 300 yards and fired rifle shots at NAUTICA. No one aboard NAUTICA was reported injured and there was no damage to the ship. NAUTICA is on a 32-night cruise from Rome to Singapore, her next port call is Salalah, Oman. Oceana Cruise announced that the voyage will continue as scheduled. http://www.maritimematters.com/shipnews.html

Only a matter of time before a cruise ship is taken imo.

Nah ... Someone like Gator will be aboard with a surplus missile launcher! :wink:

No one seems to be asking WHY the pirates are attacking shipping! Could it have something to do with the corporations buying up all the fishing rights in the area and leaving the locals unable to feed themselves? Well yes it would!

View Full Version: These Somalian Pirates