You mentioned CIVILIZED nations, Somalia is NOT civilized right now. If I had to be within 50 miles of their coast I would want to be cocked and locked, If I was not allowed to be armed, the only option is not getting near that country.
Cruise ship attacked by pirates with pics!
- Thread starter rex_b
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Yeah, that's because with more civilized nations, there's a bureaucracy and government infrastructure that commercial shipping can reason with. With nations on lesser footing, a flat out "no" would be a more typical response if commercial ships asked if they could arm themselves. It's the case with Indonesia. Even the mercenary ship escort firms are prohibited from possessing heavy machine guns.MikeC:
My answer to the government of Indonesia would be NO protection, no deliveries. How long would that government last?? Yes, cruel but who said life was nice. Of course, civilized nations wouldn't do that. They just keep allowing thugs to attack commerce and pleasure vessels.
Unfortunately, a lot of these ships aren't doing business anywhere around, but merely passing through. Starving out such nations is ineffective, as those nations aren't engaged in much maritime trade. In the specific case of Somalia, hardly any attacked ships load or unload at Somali ports.MikeC:
The next obvious solution is to simply shift shipping routes. Easier said than done. Economy drives international shipping routes, and piracy is still enough of a rarity to not make much significance. Cargo captains have an obligation to get their goods transported as quickly as possible. Even small delays can incur significant revenue losses. Most merchie captains accept the risks. Even in the Straits of Malacca and Lombok, pirate hotspots of the world. Half of the world's shipping passes through there.
In the case of the Somalia attacks, many of these are occurring well over 100 miles offshore. That's a lot of water to patrol. In that region of the world, only South Africa has the enforcement assets to adequately patrol their own waters. And they're gearing up for possible northern incursions. The Somali stuff has only been on the upswing quite recently. Nigeria's also got problems.
The UN reported financial losses from seaborne piracy at about $16 billion in 2000. That's a drop in the global trade bucket.
This cruise ship thing only got in the news because it was a passenger vessel with a bunch of americans on board, who got shot at. There are hundreds of piracy reports that occur worldwide every year. Most are small potatoes, involving petty theft from stores lockers. Only a couple dozen crewmembers actually get killed annually. A lot more die from accidents. That's not excusing it, but one can easily see how curbing piracy gets little attention from most governments. It's more like an annoyance than a valid threat.
These weren't pirates.....I didn't see no black n' white skull bones flag anywhere on that ship. Looks like a mighty ghetto attempt at pirating.
Jamdiver
Guest
Aaarg, shiver me timbers!!
Henry Morgan must be rolling in his grave, to see the sorry state of pirating nowadays.
Henry Morgan must be rolling in his grave, to see the sorry state of pirating nowadays.
SStrecker
Guest
The AP wire service (on Monday) described the sonic weapon used by the cruise ship as follows:
The Seabourn Spirit had a Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, installed as a part of its defense systems, said Bruce Good, a spokesman for Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line. The Spirit was about 100 miles off Somalia when pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns as they tried to get onboard.
The subsidiary of Carnival Corp. was investigating whether the weapon was successful in warding off the pirates, he said. The ship's captain also changed its course, shifted into high speed and headed out into the open sea to elude the pirates, who were in two small boats, he said. He had no further details.
Device maker American Technology Corp. said earsplitting "bangs" were directed by trained security personnel toward the pirates. That, combined with ship maneuvers, caused the attackers to leave the area, the company said.
The LRAD is a so-called "non-lethal weapon" developed for the U.S. military after the 2000 attack on the USS Cole off Yemen as a way to keep operators of small boats from approaching U.S. warships.
The military version is a 45-pound, dish-shaped device that can direct a high-pitched, piercing tone with a tight beam. Neither the LRAD's operators or others in the immediate area are affected.
American Technology, based in San Diego, compares its shrill tone to that of smoke detectors, only much louder. It can be as loud as about 150 decibels, while smoke alarms are about 80 to 90 decibels.
The devices have been deployed on commercial and naval vessels worldwide since summer 2003, the company said.
The Seabourn Spirit had a Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, installed as a part of its defense systems, said Bruce Good, a spokesman for Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line. The Spirit was about 100 miles off Somalia when pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns as they tried to get onboard.
The subsidiary of Carnival Corp. was investigating whether the weapon was successful in warding off the pirates, he said. The ship's captain also changed its course, shifted into high speed and headed out into the open sea to elude the pirates, who were in two small boats, he said. He had no further details.
Device maker American Technology Corp. said earsplitting "bangs" were directed by trained security personnel toward the pirates. That, combined with ship maneuvers, caused the attackers to leave the area, the company said.
The LRAD is a so-called "non-lethal weapon" developed for the U.S. military after the 2000 attack on the USS Cole off Yemen as a way to keep operators of small boats from approaching U.S. warships.
The military version is a 45-pound, dish-shaped device that can direct a high-pitched, piercing tone with a tight beam. Neither the LRAD's operators or others in the immediate area are affected.
American Technology, based in San Diego, compares its shrill tone to that of smoke detectors, only much louder. It can be as loud as about 150 decibels, while smoke alarms are about 80 to 90 decibels.
The devices have been deployed on commercial and naval vessels worldwide since summer 2003, the company said.
So basically they screamed at them?
...would be to issue Letters of Marque. 'Hunting licenses' for Bag-A-Thug Q-Ship Cruises. Should be a huge hit amongst the restless and/or wealthy, and performs a global public service simultaneously. Sort of like an X-Box, but without the soundtrack.archman:
Does life get any better?
http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/qships.htm
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