View Full Version : Time for some .50 cals on the poop deck...
AVGWarhawk
04-04-08, 01:36 PM
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346449,00.html
Or maybe time to reinvent the Q ship? It worked once.
Tchocky
04-04-08, 01:54 PM
And it will work only once again.
Pirates will shoot rather than board, maybe.
Happy Times
04-04-08, 02:19 PM
The French special forces are probably fighting who gets the go to get them.
Im sure the pirates wont live to regret this.:arrgh!:
Blacklight
04-04-08, 03:02 PM
Unfortunately a lot of shipping companies just fold and pay the ransoms. :nope:
And it will work only once again. Pirates will shoot rather than board, maybe.
Well, the originals worked for some years. And there is nothing saying that just one Q ship could be used. In any case, pirates are generally after some sort of financial gain, be it the ship and/or its cargo for resale or just loot. There's little profit in a sunk vessel, so boarding has to remain in their TTPs.
Unfortunately a lot of shipping companies just fold and pay the ransoms. :nope:
Even more write it off and totally ignore a lost ship, because of the huge insurance penalties that will follow if they report it.
And it will work only once again. Pirates will shoot rather than board, maybe.
Well, the originals worked for some years. And there is nothing saying that just one Q ship could be used. In any case, pirates are generally after some sort of financial gain, be it the ship and/or its cargo for resale or just loot. There's little profit in a sunk vessel, so boarding has to remain in their TTPs.
It's harder than it sounds to sink a ship. Small arms and an occasional RPG is not going to do it; a small yacht like this maybe, but today's thick multi-hulled cargo ships and tankers, no way. Therefore it's preferable to just rake the decks with gunfire to kill or incapacitate any defenders rather than approaching normally and risk surprise or just give up piracy.
Not arguing that gunfire is likely, but it was originally posed as an either/or proposition, which it is not.
PeriscopeDepth
04-04-08, 04:35 PM
A French rear admiral is currently in command of the international martime security TF in the area, FYI.
http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/command/ctf150.html
PD
A French rear admiral is currently in command of the international martime security TF in the area, FYI.
I am filled with confidence.
FIREWALL
04-04-08, 05:14 PM
As is always the case. One of these cruise ships will sustain alot of damage and loss of civilian life then, this vermon will be stalked at a HUGE expense, caught and held for trial until some World (nutcase) Organazation says their rights are being violated and they will be let go.
There Parents abused them when they were young.
Etienne
04-04-08, 06:20 PM
These guys are lucky their government cares enough to actually do something. Most civillian vessels nowaday are of hazy nationality, and anything like that ends up like a game of ping pong between third world nations.
Q Ships probably aren't the solution. These guys operate with awfully good intelligence... In fact, I've heard more than one story where the officials coming onboard to investigate the attack looked an awful lot like the attackers, if you get my drift.
And I don't see the civillian boats getting armed anytime soon - Especially the luxury yacht market! - for various reasons. It ends up being cheaper to insure. Some of the adventure-lite cruise boats (One of the Seabourns, I think) got some of those ultrasound no-kill weapons installed, if I recall correctly. I can't see anything more potent being installed.
Steel_Tomb
04-05-08, 04:49 AM
What an ugly ship!
Really? I think it looks lovely, a nice blend of a traditional three master with a modern hull design. :D
What an ugly ship!
Really? I think it looks lovely, a nice blend of a traditional three master with a modern hull design. :D
And that cute skull-and-crossbones is such a nice decorative touch, don't you think?
Kapitan_Phillips
04-05-08, 11:10 AM
http://www.fsite.com/ebay/yaaah.jpg
You all find this alarming?!
I find THIS more alarming!:arrgh!:
http://www.seanbonner.com/blog/archives/piratesarecool.jpg
http://www.venganza.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/glob-pirates2.png
It's all true, check it here: http://www.google.com/trends?q=global+warming%2C+pirates&ctab=0&geo=all&date=mtd&sort=0
Well, that makes precisely no sense. Global warming is never measured over days - at least not by serious scientists. Trends in global warming are measured over decades. Somebody is having you on, I fear.
Well, that makes precisely no sense. Global warming is never measured over days - at least not by serious scientists. Trends in global warming are measured over decades. Somebody is having you on, I fear.
You are right, but look at the first graph! And as we know graphs and polls never lie!:arrgh!:
HunterICX
04-05-08, 03:51 PM
:arrgh!:http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsJyfN0ICU
all ships must watch out for this scum!:rotfl:
HunterICX
You are right, but look at the first graph! And as we know graphs and polls never lie!:arrgh!:
The last graf I trusted had a date in Lakehurst in May '36; my opinion of polls is about the same as my dog's.
Sailor Steve
04-05-08, 04:46 PM
[quote=Tchocky]Well, the originals worked for some years.
Did they? The first Q-ships took some u-boats by surprise. The Kaiserliche Marine responded by instituting the first unrestricted submarine war. The u-boats started torpedoing merchants while submerged. Then the British cried "foul!"
I agree with the idea that if you start arming some ships the pirates will just kill everybody and take no chances. On the other hand, if you armed all ships you might give them something to think about.
Blacklight
04-05-08, 04:56 PM
A lot of the time, these pirates are being funded by the governments that allow them to dock in their country due to bribes. I don't think we'll see these nations do all that much to stop these guys. The pirate organisations are unofficially almost a vital component of their economy. There is even evidence that government officials and shipping officials there will give the pirates information on incomming ships loaded with valuable cargo. :nope:
Kudos to the French Navy.
Photos: http://www.cbc.ca/photogallery/world/1183/
Story: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/04/11/yachtcrew-released.html
Happy Times
04-12-08, 12:28 AM
Kudos to the French Navy.
Photos: http://www.cbc.ca/photogallery/world/1183/
Story: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/04/11/yachtcrew-released.html
They even managed not to kill all the pirates.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7342292.stm
They even managed not to kill all the pirates.
Pity. There are times where the old concept of tarred ex-pirates with long necks decorating coastlines has a lot going for it.
UglyMowgli
04-12-08, 11:17 AM
The pirates didn't harm the crew, no violence so why kill them all and nuke their base. France send a storng message to the pirates : "next time you want highjack a french ship think twice".
The total force we send for the opration is quiet huge:
3 ships + the old Jeanne d'Arc with here helicopters
+50 commandos marines
10 GIGN
1 maritime patrol airplane
and other means that we will never know about.
MSgalileo - a job well done, to be sure.
As to what happens to the pirates, I tend to be a bit more Biblical when it comes to piracy, I guess. It is the act of piracy that put them beyond the pale in the first place; if they had killed somebody, that would be an additional charge against them.
In any case, if these folks are convicted in a Somali court, their end will not be good. If tried in a French court, I suspect that they will be released in (you tell me) five years to go back home and tell everybody how well they were treated. Not that much of a deterent, I feer.
UglyMowgli
04-12-08, 12:52 PM
I dont think they will be release in 5 years because piratery is considered as hosti humanis generis by the french law according the international law on sea so it is the same level as crime against humanity and we have special laws in this case.
Happy Times
04-12-08, 01:04 PM
The pirates didn't harm the crew, no violence so why kill them all and nuke their base. France send a storng message to the pirates : "next time you want highjack a french ship think twice".
The total force we send for the opration is quiet huge:
3 ships + the old Jeanne d'Arc with here helicopters
+50 commandos marines
10 GIGN
1 maritime patrol airplane
and other means that we will never know about.
The women were left alone?
Do you know anything more about GIGN involment, how did they participate?
I was wondering who would get the go for this one.:hmm:
UglyMowgli
04-12-08, 01:59 PM
the 7 womens were freed with the crew.
The GIGN was only involved in the negociation (they advise the ship owner), one member of the GIGN was with 2 commandos to give the ransom to the pirates.
10 members of the GIGN + their chief (a colonel) were airdropped near the Cmd Bouan (the french aviso which track the Ponant), their misison was to plan and eventually make an assault on the ship if one of the crew was injured or kill by the pirates.
After the relaese of all the crew members wihout any problems, the GIGN mission was ended and the marines commandos stop the pirates car.
Happy Times
04-12-08, 04:27 PM
the 7 womens were freed with the crew.
The GIGN was only involved in the negociation (they advise the ship owner), one member of the GIGN was with 2 commandos to give the ransom to the pirates.
10 members of the GIGN + their chief (a colonel) were airdropped near the Cmd Bouan (the french aviso which track the Ponant), their misison was to plan and eventually make an assault on the ship if one of the crew was injured or kill by the pirates.
After the relaese of all the crew members wihout any problems, the GIGN mission was ended and the marines commandos stop the pirates car.
Sorry, i ment that the women werent sexually assaulted by the pirates?
Thank you for the info, again a succesful hostage operation for the French SOF, respect and congratulations.:up:
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