Seems the merchants are still armed...

[AVGWarhawk]

and dangerous. Be careful on your approach:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,341211,00.html

[bookworm_020]

Depend on where they are and who is crewing them.

The Straits of Malacca are well know for being home for piracy, and I wouldn't be surprisied if some of them are armed as well.

[Jimbuna]

This really concerns me....my 19 year old son sailed north through Suez less than a week ago

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

This really concerns me....my 19 year old son sailed north through Suez less than a week ago

I wouldn't worry. From what I hear, the Suez canal is a giant sail-in shopping mall; that's probably what these boats were (Either selling crap or buying crap. Lot of these guys actually come onboard with the pilot and line-handling crews). Or just bystander.

What weirds me out is the discrepancy on the casualty count.

Stuff like this is why merchant vessels don't usually carry weapons. They want the boat, let 'em have it... And seriously, pulling out a Cole in the Suez canal would inconvenience the Egyptians more than the company getting attacked. Canal's not that deep. The refloating effort probably wouldn't even affect world economy that much.

[Gezoes]

Arming your ship when near the eastern African coast is not a bad idea.

Even liners get attacked by pirates in that area.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Etienne

I wouldn't worry. From what I hear, the Suez canal is a giant sail-in shopping mall; that's probably what these boats were (Either selling crap or buying crap. Lot of these guys actually come onboard with the pilot and line-handling crews). Or just bystander.

What weirds me out is the discrepancy on the casualty count.

Stuff like this is why merchant vessels don't usually carry weapons. They want the boat, let 'em have it... And seriously, pulling out a Cole in the Suez canal would inconvenience the Egyptians more than the company getting attacked. Canal's not that deep. The refloating effort probably wouldn't even affect world economy that much.

Well, he made it through okay. he rang home last night to say he was currently sailing up the English Channel headed for Hamburg and he'd be flying to Heathrow tomorrow
Should keep the wife happy

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Well, he made it through okay. he rang home last night to say he was currently sailing up the English Channel headed for Hamburg and he'd be flying to Heathrow tomorrow
Should keep the wife happy

Yeah, cos you don't care, ya big softie!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

Yeah, cos you don't care, ya big softie!

Yeah....they're never far away from your thoughts

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by Gezoes

Arming your ship when near the eastern African coast is not a bad idea.

Even liners get attacked by pirates in that area.

It's generally considered a really bad idea, actually. Warning shots at the pirates will only incite them to shoot back; these guys have rocket launchers, (We alway assume they have rocket launchers), they outnumber you, and they have a bad temper. Plus, chances are they'd be better shots anyway.

Usually, the Merchant Marine's main weapons against boarding are spotlights and firehoses; and when that fails, everybody locks themselves up in the accomodations and wait for the problem to go away - If the pirates are after the cargo, that's great, if they want the cash, well... You hope they're in a good mood.

Generally, it's all about prevention: Avoiding pirate-prone areas, turning off the AIS and the navlights (illegal, but hey), sailing at full speed, and sometime, but rarely, hiring escort boats. Driving liners in those areas is, well... Not smart. (And I wouldn't describe the Seabourn boats as liners, really, they're tiny.)

Weapons onboard are a huge liabillity to the shipowner, and an extreme custom hassle. (Customs are the reason most cruise ships have stopped skeet shooting; that and the environmental policies)

I've never heard of any commercial vessel carrying weapons (Except those that carry extremely active nuclear waste), althought the US custom forms still have a line on the ship's store declaration for revolvers.

[Yahoshua]

That's the dumbest ****ing advice I've ever heard.

"Don't resist, run away if confronted and for god sakes don't fight back because you might REALLY make them mad." (Not that they wouldn't be just as happy to butcher the timid and defenseless crew that dared only enough to raise their arms and give up.

A wall of lead is a more intimidating deterrent than a thick-walled panic room to thugs like pirates.

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by Yahoshua

(Not that they wouldn't be just as happy to butcher the timid and defenseless crew that dared only enough to raise their arms and give up.

Yeah, that's been known to happen. Hence this whole "prevention" thing. Once the pirates are onboard, you've lost the battle, weapons or not. Most of them will turn back as soon as they see people standing guard and get the spotlight pointed at them. The vast majority of them just want to grab stuff and run and actually avoid killing people.

In some asian country, the coast gu... Er, I mean, pirate bands, are fond of finishing off the crew, taking the ship to dry dock and repainting it for resale. But when these guys come after you, unless you've got cruise missiles, you're done. (And the local authorities sadly couldn't receive your distress signal in time.)

Originally Posted by Yahoshua

A wall of lead is a more intimidating deterrent than a thick-walled panic room to thugs like pirates.

Yeah. I'm in complete agreement. The problem is, unless someone's REALLY good at Magic:The Gathering, conjuring up a wall of lead is a bit hard.

It's not really practical, for various reason. Unless shipowners start hiring escort vessels, and most of them just don't care enough. Insurance's cheaper.

Seafarers are told not to worry too much (Not that their opinions matter) since attacks generally do not result in loss of life. (15 attacks with loss of life out of 239 reported incidents in 2006 (IMB statistic; reported by wikipedia), but keep in mind that the IMB counts two guys climbing onboard barefoot to steal paint while at anchor as a pirate attack. Considering the sheer volume of commercial shipping, these numbers are pretty low.)

Seriously, the response scenario I described (Lookouts, lights off, spotlights, fire hoses, lock down) is the standard one thorough the merchant marine since... At least the seventies, and I've never seen references to piracy older than that. (Except for the type of stuff). Specific ship's SSP'll vary, obviously, but that's generally the recommended response.

There's a ton of stuff I'd want to put on the store requisitions before I'd order weapons. Most ships don't even have defibrillators; cholesterol worries me a great deal more than pirates. Probably kills a lot more sailors these days.

[TteFAboB]

Originally Posted by Yahoshua

That's the dumbest ****ing advice I've ever heard.

You wanna try running the company? It sure sounds expensive to buy, mantain, manage and train people to operate weapons.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by TteFAboB

You wanna try running the company? It sure sounds expensive to buy, mantain, manage and train people to operate weapons.

Do you buy, maintain and shoot many weapons? The reality is the opposite of all you just said.

[Steel_Tomb]

I didn't know merchant vessels were still armed. I miss the "happy times" when you could blast them all day long with the deck gun! Bloody tommies lol.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Steel_Tomb

I didn't know merchant vessels were still armed. I miss the "happy times" when you could blast them all day long with the deck gun! Bloody tommies lol.

They use rocket propelled grenades these days

I can't imagine many merchantmen carrying anything other than a pistol....if even that.