Pirates yet again with an American ship

[jmaynard]

Jay keep in mind my comments are directed at tdager who is in favor of throwing away our values when dealing with these guys. I am not against defending ourselves. But I raised the issue when there was a sudden outpouring from a couple of people to throw away our morals and values and just start blowing stuff up and killing anyone who gets in our way as a good response.

Killing pirates out of hand is simple self-defense.

Guess what? We did exactly that: the captain has now been rescued, and 3 of the 4 pirates are dead.

The fourth was arrested...and, I suspect, will walk free after some shyster criminal lawyer finds some way to claim his rights were violated.

This is the type of attuitude that makes you more enemies than just the ones you were dealing with.

Baloney. Those who would become our enemies "because" of such actions were our enemies to begin with, and would find some other excuse to act on that enmity.

 

[ScottM]

The fourth was arrested...and, I suspect, will walk free after some shyster criminal lawyer finds some way to claim his rights were violated.

Riight. It is our legal system that makes more criminals. Why if we just locked everyone up without due process on some island and tortured them we would not have crime. Riiighht!!

It amazes me how people are so willing to throw away the very things that have made America unique and great.

You do realize that the US has the highest proportion of its population in jail than any other nation on the planet? Why is that we also have some of the highest murder and violent crime rates??

Oh yeah, it the lawyers fault.

 

[TangoWhiskey]

Breaking news: Captain rescued, 3 Somali pirates killed, 1 in custody:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30178013/

Way to go, U.S. Navy!!

 

[wanttaja]

Correct. And as with any thug, all they understand is brute force. Unrelenting, savage, disgusting, brute force. Talking to them and trying to "understand" why they are doing this is counterproductive.

One hundred percent wrong. I think it was Sun Tzu who said:

Only wise ruler and brilliant leaders who are able to conduct intelligence with superiority and cleverness, are certain to achieve great results.

Intelligence is the most important work, because the entire force relies on it for every move.

It is the essence of strategy.

And the easiest way to find out *why* your foe does what he does is to ask him. You don't have to believe the answer, but you can factor it into the other aspects of what you learn.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[jesse]

They must have read my post! They sent the Navy SEALS like I said and the situation has now been resolved. Do that a few times and they'll target an easier country.

Bravo Zulu to the crew for taking their ship back.

 

[wanttaja]

They must have read my post! They sent the Navy SEALS like I said and the situation has now been resolved.

I admit it, I forwarded your post to the President's Blackberry.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[Obi Heed Kenobi]

They must have read my post! They sent the Navy SEALS like I said and the situation has now been resolved. Do that a few times and they'll target an easier country.

Time will tell - but brute force has never yet stopped piracy; it's only set it back.

 

[wanttaja]

The fourth was arrested...and, I suspect, will walk free after some shyster criminal lawyer finds some way to claim his rights were violated.

Oh, I think you're half-right: I don't think the guy will ever be tried.

What were the SEALs' Mission Orders in this case? I suspect they read something like:

1. Rescue Captain Phillips
2. Capture at least one pirate alive

(and I bet some of the SEALs mentally scratched out the phrase "at least")

So: We've capture a pirate. Unlike an Al-Qaeda terrorist, a pirate is motivated by GREED, not ideology.

We can work with greed.

I suspect right now, the pirate is being told he's going to Gitmo, he'll live in a six-by-six concrete cell with no window for the rest of his life, no one will be around that that will even speak his language, he will never see his family again, etc., etc. etc.

In a day or so, the "Good Cop" will show up: "We'll bring you to the United States and give you a new identity. We'll bring your family to meet you. Will give you a fine big house [right next door to Jay, probably :wink2:] and give you a million dollars a year for the rest of your life."

And to earn it...well, we'll want to know what village he was based out of. Who his boss was. Where the boss lives. What his boss drives. Where his boss banks. Where his boss has warehouses. Where the pirates' boats are kept. How they get spare parts. How the boss communicates with his people. What foreigners come around. Who the other bosses are, where they live, where they keep THEIR boats, etc.

Oh, unless the captured individual was the leader (and Captain Phillips will be able to tell us that), he may not have the answers to ALL the questions...but he'll provide clues that we can use to build up more of the story.

Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, a Psyops C-130 will swoop low over a specific Somalian seacoast village. A thundering voice will warn people to evacuate certain buildings. Then the explosions will come.

Given my druthers, after the air strikes, I'd bring a couple of tin cans close inshore, flying the biggest set of colors available. Have 'em walk their deck guns' rounds toward the beach (giving the stunned survivors even more time to run away), then bounce the rubble for an hour. Let the pirates KNOW who the top dog at sea is.

All because the SEALs captured a pirate alive while rescuing the hostage unharmed. THAT'S professionalism. And a far better strategy than a knee-jerk "kill them all" reaction.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[wsuffa]

Some of the posts here are getting dangerously close to Spin Zone fodder. Others are fine... just a gentle reminder from one member of the MC.

Time will tell - but brute force has never yet stopped piracy; it's only set it back.

True. Then again, arrests have never yet stopped prostitution, the war on drugs has not stopped drug use, brute force never stopped bank robbery, and engaged military action has not stopped wars. Likewise, terrorism will never be stopped.

IMHO, the only way to stop piracy is to make sure it doesn't pay... if that can ever be done.

 

[ScottM]

IMHO, the only way to stop piracy is to make sure it doesn't pay... if that can ever be done.

Stopping piracy is like squeezing a balloon. Squeeze in one spot another will pop out.

Push hard of the shore of Somali, some other place on the planet will see an increase of piracy. The best you can do will be to keep it at some level of manageability. While there have been a couple of high profile incidents of late I have yet to see any dramatic increase in piracy worldwide. The incidence is still very stable and accounts for little loss. The focus on this incident is not unlike the recent focus on gun violence and mass killings or airplane crashes. Piracy is rare enough to be special news.

 

[jmaynard]

Let the pirates KNOW who the top dog at sea is.

I like your story...but not only do I doubt it'll happen as you describe (for reasons that are definitely SZ fodder), it also assumes that the pirates are organized to a degree that makes it possible. I'm not at all sure that's the case.

IMHO, the only way to stop piracy is to make sure it doesn't pay... if that can ever be done.

Dead pirates can't get paid.

 

[wsuffa]

Dead pirates can't get paid.

Nope. But there is always someone else willing to try.

 

[Dave Siciliano]

They just had the Navy Vice Admiral on CNN and he explained more than I thought he would. Evidently, the President had authorized the use of deadly force at any time the local commander thought Captain Phillips' life was in eminent danger.

SEAL snipers shot the pirates off the fantail of Bainbridge.

Phillips was tied up. The snipers saw the head and shoulders of their target. At the time, Bainbridge was towing the lifeboat to calmer waters. A pirate had an AK pointed toward Phillips and the local commander was convinced the pirate would use it at at time negotiations became heated.

Best,

Dave

 

[mikea]

Bravo Zulu SEALs!

 

[Henning]

Scott...post all the cutesy pictures you want, we will just have to agree to disagree on this issue. BTW, what "beliefs, morals, and social systems" are YOU talking about? Look at our history...we have done things in the past that needed doing to keep yourselves safe.

All I am saying is that you would NEVER consider playing any game against someone that follows one set of rules while you follow another. So what do you do if you cannot say "no" to playing that game but have to play it anyways?

The dirty truth is that we "need those man on the battlements" that do things we, as a society, do not want to do. We need men, on our side, that can get dirty.

I just find it funny that anytime something like this comes up people want to stand on high moral ground....so long as it is a nation-state we are talking about. Bring up a personal family member, say a wife or child, and the most staunch high-moralist will get downright NASTY to do what it takes to save their own.

I am dubious of the result, I don't think it will be as you predicted. It would be nice, but it never has in the past. In the past, pirates just got bigger sticks and wielded them more brutally in escalating conflict. Navy interdiction at sea has never been effective at preventing piracy. The only effective method to minimize the risk to the crew is by them being armed and prepared to repel them. The UN doesn't want that, the New World Order doesn't want that, they'd rather it was left up to Navies. If the model is to leave it to the Navies to kill everyone, the pirate model will turn to kill everyone and haul a** with the boat like they do in the Philippines, and you can see how effective they have been there, they have never stopped a single act of piracy in that area, never managed to save one life. Y'all talk like this is a movie starring John Wayne, Audy Murphy and Chuck Norris where every ship will have an armed escort hiding in the shadows, preferably a submarine that will be there to thwart the pirate and blow them out of the water. Well let me tell you, it ain't like that and never will be. Now I will be out there facing another group of pirates who now have it reinforced that they must succeed, or they will die, no options, and you stick me there with a Navy to protect me, gee, thanks a bunch. Y'all know that next time there will be no negotiation, it will be immediate death for the crew., but wait, we can mandate the Navy to send in the SEALs and take care of business. Yea, can't freakin wait. The better lesson to learn is that ALL merchant vessels need to be armed with either long range lethal or non lethal weapons. We need to finally declare "No More" to silly UN policies.

 

[gkainz]

good analysis, Henning. The general lesson of the day - New World Order or not - is that everyone is supposed to wait for the "designated authority" to deal with issues. "We, the sheeple, in order to form a more subdued populace, shall be brainwashed into mindless zombies who will never raise a finger in self-defense."

 

[jesse]

I am dubious of the result, I don't think it will be as you predicted. It would be nice, but it never has in the past. In the past, pirates just got bigger sticks and wielded them more brutally in escalating conflict. Navy interdiction at sea has never been effective at preventing piracy. The only effective method to minimize the risk to the crew is by them being armed and prepared to repel them. The UN doesn't want that, the New World Order doesn't want that, they'd rather it was left up to Navies. If the model is to leave it to the Navies to kill everyone, the pirate model will turn to kill everyone and haul a** with the boat like they do in the Philippines, and you can see how effective they have been there, they have never stopped a single act of piracy in that area, never managed to save one life. Y'all talk like this is a movie starring John Wayne, Audy Murphy and Chuck Norris where every ship will have an armed escort hiding in the shadows, preferably a submarine that will be there to thwart the pirate and blow them out of the water. Well let me tell you, it ain't like that and never will be. Now I will be out there facing another group of pirates who now have it reinforced that they must succeed, or they will die, no options, and you stick me there with a Navy to protect me, gee, thanks a bunch. Y'all know that next time there will be no negotiation, it will be immediate death for the crew., but wait, we can mandate the Navy to send in the SEALs and take care of business. Yea, can't freakin wait. The better lesson to learn is that ALL merchant vessels need to be armed with either long range lethal or non lethal weapons. We need to finally declare "No More" to silly UN policies.

Oh..I think we're on the same page mostly Henning. I'm saying:

• state no ransoms will be paid. period.
• arm the crew
• if the crew fails to stop the pirates send the seals

The first line of defense should be immediate and from the crew.

 

[gismo]

I am dubious of the result, I don't think it will be as you predicted. It would be nice, but it never has in the past. In the past, pirates just got bigger sticks and wielded them more brutally in escalating conflict. Navy interdiction at sea has never been effective at preventing piracy. The only effective method to minimize the risk to the crew is by them being armed and prepared to repel them. The UN doesn't want that, the New World Order doesn't want that, they'd rather it was left up to Navies. If the model is to leave it to the Navies to kill everyone, the pirate model will turn to kill everyone and haul a** with the boat like they do in the Philippines, and you can see how effective they have been there, they have never stopped a single act of piracy in that area, never managed to save one life. Y'all talk like this is a movie starring John Wayne, Audy Murphy and Chuck Norris where every ship will have an armed escort hiding in the shadows, preferably a submarine that will be there to thwart the pirate and blow them out of the water. Well let me tell you, it ain't like that and never will be. Now I will be out there facing another group of pirates who now have it reinforced that they must succeed, or they will die, no options, and you stick me there with a Navy to protect me, gee, thanks a bunch. Y'all know that next time there will be no negotiation, it will be immediate death for the crew., but wait, we can mandate the Navy to send in the SEALs and take care of business. Yea, can't freakin wait. The better lesson to learn is that ALL merchant vessels need to be armed with either long range lethal or non lethal weapons. We need to finally declare "No More" to silly UN policies.

I think I agree (but have limited knowledge upon which to form that opinion). It seems to me that once the pirates have been allowed to board a ship, the options for thwarting them are reduced considerably and the only practical method of keep them off in the first place that I can see is to arm the ships. As to the qualifications of the crew, I'd think that an of them that are interested could easily be trained to an adequate level and I'll bet most would have enough incentive to spend the time.

The one part I really don't understand is the placement of "heavy" weapons (rocket launchers, 50mm cannons etc) on civilian ships. For one thing I'd expect the pirates to equip themselves with even more firepower so that they could engage from a distance beyond the range of their taget's defensive weapons. And I'd think that the pirates would make use of whatever "heavy" weapons were found on any captured ships against their next target. Finally, it seems that if ships were armed to repel boarders but didn't carry long range weapons they could be intimidated into surrendering by pirates employing them.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

As for repelling boarders, I suppose it is impractical to rig boarding netting on an 800' ship to slow down the pirates so the crew can have a crack at them with small arms.

 

[Henning]

I think I agree (but have limited knowledge upon which to form that opinion). It seems to me that once the pirates have been allowed to board a ship, the options for thwarting them are reduced considerably and the only practical method of keep them off in the first place that I can see is to arm the ships. As to the qualifications of the crew, I'd think that an of them that are interested could easily be trained to an adequate level and I'll bet most would have enough incentive to spend the time.

The one part I really don't understand is the placement of "heavy" weapons (rocket launchers, 50mm cannons etc) on civilian ships. For one thing I'd expect the pirates to equip themselves with even more firepower so that they could engage from a distance beyond the range of their taget's defensive weapons. And I'd think that the pirates would make use of whatever "heavy" weapons were found on any captured ships against their next target. Finally, it seems that if ships were armed to repel boarders but didn't carry long range weapons they could be intimidated into surrendering by pirates employing them.

Thing is, you have it backwards, they are already using RPGs and other high power long range tactical weapons. Arming the ships with crew served weapons is merely reactive. The best system would be to outfit the ships with an automated system like Phalanx and have a hardened shelter within the house.

 

[Henning]

As for repelling boarders, I suppose it is impractical to rig boarding netting on an 800' ship to slow down the pirates so the crew can have a crack at them with small arms.

??? How will this slow down a boarding party

 

[gismo]

??? How will this slow down a boarding party

Make it well lubricated?

Seems like it would be possible to add something to the gunwales that would prevent a grappling hook from finding solid purchase. The best would be something that would appear to hold initially and only release once there had been a load applied for several seconds. Let 'em get halfway up and dump 'em.

Henning, can you explain how the takeover of a civilian ship is typically accomplished?

 

[ScottM]

The better lesson to learn is that ALL merchant vessels need to be armed with either long range lethal or non lethal weapons. We need to finally declare "No More" to silly UN policies.

The vast majority of cargo ships that come into US ports are foreign flagged ships. How happy do you think port security is going to be, let alone xenophobic US citizens, when Chinese, Bahamian, Saudi Arabian, Kuwaiti, Korean, etc. ARMED ships start coming into our ports?

 

[ScottM]

Henning, can you explain how the takeover of a civilian ship is typically accomplished?

When he does that also keep in mind that not all piracy is take over of ships. many times they board, break open cargo containers and leave with their bounty. Never being seen by the crew.

 

[colomtnflyer]

OK, these may be some dumb questions, but after doing a little Googling, I could not find any answers...

It is being discussed about ships and /or pirates being equiped with weapons of significant power and range. And then the idea that the pirates would use similar weapons against a crew resisting an attack.

Once a ship has been hit by such weaponry, doesn't this degrade the value of the ship, it's cargo, and any hostage value of the possibly dead crew members? And wouldn't the pirates realize that any damage to the ship/cargo/crew diminishes it's value to a point where continuing the attack would be counter productive? Or possibly even counter productive to initiate an attack with these types of weapons?

The idea is the threat of violence, but how many ships hijacked are actually the recipient of this type of violence/damage?

I defer to Henning and his understanding of the true situation as it applies out on the open sea. But I can agree with him that the initial resistance, if sufficient to make the pirate think twice about continuing the attack, is the most viable way to deter these attacks.

Henning- what is your take on whether the pirates would then continue an attack if a reasonable resistance was enacted? Would they continue to the point of risking damage to, or possibly even destroying the ship in question?

And wouldn't the crew, as in Capt Phillips case, be the greatest case for negotiation, far ahead of the actual cargo or ship?

Just a few thoughts/questions/points which I wonder about...

 

[Cap'n Jack]

??? How will this slow down a boarding party

Boarding nettings were rigged on ships (a long time ago) to slow down boarders. They were generally rigged when the ship was at anchor. The people who wanted to "cut-out" the ship would find this netting in their way when they boarded the vessel. Although made of rope, the boarders would still need to cut their way through the netting to get on the deck of the ship. The defending crew would have a little more time to kill the boarders. Properly rigged boarding netting was slacked off to make it both more difficult to climb and to cut.

English being what it is (drive on the parkway, park on the driveway, for example), "boarding netting" sounds like it makes it easier to board a ship. It makes it more difficult to board the ship. I beleive it was first used or mentioned in the late 1700's, although used through at least the mid 1800's (see picture- note the boarding netting on the port side triced up to clear the gun- photo source: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/miami.htm)


Without masts and sails on modern vessels, boarding netting could be remain rigged while the ship is underway. I suppose it could be little more than a giant chain-link fence draped over the ship and cargo.

 

[Henning]

Make it well lubricated?

Seems like it would be possible to add something to the gunwales that would prevent a grappling hook from finding solid purchase. The best would be something that would appear to hold initially and only release once there had been a load applied for several seconds. Let 'em get halfway up and dump 'em.

Henning, can you explain how the takeover of a civilian ship is typically accomplished?

Pull alongside with a fast boat and a long crappy ladder, toss the ladder up while the coxswain holds the boat up along side and the guys go up the ladder.

 

[Henning]

Boarding nettings were rigged on ships (a long time ago) to slow down boarders. They were generally rigged when the ship was at anchor. The people who wanted to "cut-out" the ship would find this netting in their way when they boarded the vessel. Although made of rope, the boarders would still need to cut their way through the netting to get on the deck of the ship. The defending crew would have a little more time to kill the boarders. Properly rigged boarding netting was slacked off to make it both more difficult to climb and to cut.

English being what it is (drive on the parkway, park on the driveway, for example), "boarding netting" sounds like it makes it easier to board a ship. It makes it more difficult to board the ship. I beleive it was first used or mentioned in the late 1700's, although used through at least the mid 1800's (see picture- note the boarding netting on the port side triced up to clear the gun- photo source: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/miami.htm)


Without masts and sails on modern vessels, boarding netting could be remain rigged while the ship is underway. I suppose it could be little more than a giant chain-link fence draped over the ship and cargo.

So, you're saying I should rig my vessel in such a way that in the 5% chance I have an emergency I am endangering the lives of my crew in order to protect against the .02% chance of being boarded by pirates? Doesn't look like it'll stop an RPG either... BTW, they make nifty tools for cutting right through that netting.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

So, you're saying I should rig my vessel in such a way that in the 5% chance I have an emergency I am endangering the lives of my crew in order to protect against the .02% chance of being boarded by pirates? Doesn't look like it'll stop an RPG either...

Nope- I don't intend to tell you how to rig your vessel. I'm just tossing an idea out. I'm sure that a smart person like you can improve on it. I'm also sure the pirates will figure a counter measure.

The RPG will land with or without the netting. If the pirates can't get on deck, they can't take your vessel. A sunk vessel without hostages is useless to them, isn't it?

 

[Henning]

Nope- I don't intend to tell you how to rig your vessel. I'm just tossing an idea out. I'm sure that a smart person like you can improve on it. I'm also sure the pirates will figure a counter measure.

The RPG will land with or without the netting. If the pirates can't get on deck, they can't take your vessel. A sunk vessel without hostages is useless to them, isn't it?

RPG will not sink a vessel worth taking, it's about causing fear and panic and injuring limited crew. Whenever we'd head into a hurricane or the Southern Ocean we used to rig nets like the ones you showed in that pic. We called them Seaman Strainers. I don't see them being of a particular value to repel boarders anymore since they are pretty easy to climb over and hang onto, when one of the primary methods we have of repelling boarders now is use of the fire hoses.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

RPG will not sink a vessel worth taking, it's about causing fear and panic and injuring limited crew. Whenever we'd head into a hurricane or the Southern Ocean we used to rig nets like the ones you showed in that pic. We called them Seaman Strainers. I don't see them being of a particular value to repel boarders anymore since they are pretty easy to climb over and hang onto, when one of the primary methods we have of repelling boarders now is use of the fire hoses.

Yeah-the picture is triced up too tight. Makes it easy to climb. The people in the old days thought it worked fine.

 

[Henning]

Yeah-the picture is triced up too tight. Makes it easy to climb. The people in the old days thought it worked fine.

Yep, technology has changed, I can cut right through that in 1.2 seconds with the big Z knife/scissor thing made for cutting nets.

 

[Henning]

The vast majority of cargo ships that come into US ports are foreign flagged ships. How happy do you think port security is going to be, let alone xenophobic US citizens, when Chinese, Bahamian, Saudi Arabian, Kuwaiti, Korean, etc. ARMED ships start coming into our ports?

This is where the great advantage to automated Phalanx type systems really comes into play. These can be minimum interface systems with just a "Go" switch. They can also be disabled by transponder and ECDIS clearing into port. I don't think they need large weapons (I don't consider .50 or 20mm large, 4" 88mm, is where I start calling them large), gun or missile. They need a hardened safe room/ CIC/remote bridge, and a secured hardened interfaces to the engineering sector. 1"steel/4" reinforced concrete or 2" structural foam& Kevlar/1"steel will serve well for both against RPG and even a bit larger rocket or gun shell. Then three well placed R2D2s can liquify anything that comes alongside or astern. I prefer this option since I like the idea of killing people that p--s me off.

However, I would be content with a mandate to put non lethal energy weapons aboard all merchant vessels. They are expensive, but effective. The LF sound weapon is my favorite at this point. Basically they fall to the deck crapping their pants as everything in their bowels liquifies and evacuates with force from what I understand. That will be fine, and will allow me to catch them on my wire and run them down with the barge.

 

[Anthony]

I still like the ideas of a PT tender and four PT boats. Its the nostalgic person in me. A Series VII U-boat, while slow would be a good deterrent also.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Yep, technology has changed, I can cut right through that in 1.2 seconds with the big Z knife/scissor thing made for cutting nets.

You're right. Technology has changed. Make the nets out of something stronger than hemp.

This is where the great advantage to automated Phalanx type systems really comes into play. These can be minimum interface systems with just a "Go" switch. They can also be disabled by transponder and ECDIS clearing into port. I don't think they need large weapons (I don't consider .50 or 20mm large, 4" 88mm, is where I start calling them large), gun or missile. They need a hardened safe room/ CIC/remote bridge, and a secured hardened interfaces to the engineering sector. 1"steel/4" reinforced concrete or 2" structural foam& Kevlar/1"steel will serve well for both against RPG and even a bit larger rocket or gun shell. Then three well placed R2D2s can liquify anything that comes alongside or astern. I prefer this option since I like the idea of killing people that p--s me off.

However, I would be content with a mandate to put non lethal energy weapons aboard all merchant vessels. They are expensive, but effective. The LF sound weapon is my favorite at this point. Basically they fall to the deck crapping their pants as everything in their bowels liquifies and evacuates with force from what I understand. That will be fine, and will allow me to catch them on my wire and run them down with the barge.

Out take Jesse's suggestion for monitoring the ship and make it two-way. Remove the crew before entering these waters and run the ship by remote control. Try to avoid radar/visual targets and run down anything that gets back in the way of your ship (tries to intercept it). Put the crew back on after leaving said waters. They may get the cargo and ship, but no crew to ransom. You can even install your Phalanx system if you want to defend the ship and arm that remotely as well. Rough weather where you need to keep a crew on board? The pirates aren't climbing a ladder to your ship in rought weather so it isn't a problem.

 

[steingar]

Pirates vow revenge, according to CNN. Lets hear it for brute force!

 

[Geico266]

This is where the great advantage to automated Phalanx type systems really comes into play.

While I agree the Phalanx might be good at longer ranges, the rate of fire is excessive for surface targets, and they are not much good close in. It would be fun to shoot though! You would need to identify the boat as a deadly threat "within range" to have this system be effective and this can be difficult. Once the pirate boats are along side this system is useless....and if the ship gets seized it can be used against friendlies trying to recapture the ship. .50 cal semi auto, other small arms would be preferred IMHO after the crews had proper training. Bullet placement (as we seen today) is much preferred to "spray & pray".

Whatever weapon system you use is certainly better than nothing. It is inconceivable to me that ships are unarmed.

 

[Henning]

Pirates vow revenge, according to CNN. Lets hear it for brute force!

Oh my, how surprised am I.....

 

[jmaynard]

Pirates vow revenge, according to CNN. Lets hear it for brute force!

The mewling of kittens. If we got scared off every time someone threatened us, we wouldn't ever do anything. Oh wait...

 

[tdager]

Nope. But there is always someone else willing to try.

Of course there will. Has the volumes and reams of law, the amount of people in jail, and all the judges and lawyers we have stopped crime?

Nope.

So...should we stop trying to stop, or punish, crime?

Nope.

No one, including myself, says that arming merchant ships, having the Navy patrol, sending in a few CIA/SpecOps team to shore....will stop ALL piracy, but it will relegate it back into the "almost rarely, but once in a blue moon, happens" time.

I have no interest in "fixing the root" cause if that fix involves dumping more cash into the shyte-hole that is Somalia. I would rather spend the money on paying the wages of our men and women in uniform or those aboard the American flagged vessels.