Somali Pirates hit a new high... er low

SteamWake · 11-17-08, 01:35 PM

Stunning act of piracy

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453030,00.html

11-17-08, 01:39 PM

If I was a pirate, I'd seriously consider that as a potential target. Or maybe Abramovich's luxury yacht. Taking care to avoid the missiles and other defence systems he has set up on that thing.

geetrue · 11-17-08, 01:48 PM

This is the biggest heist so far ... the Saudi's are not going to be happy.
They could even cut off Kenya's oil supply for this one.

Whatever happened to that russian ship loaded with tanks anyway?

Skybird · 11-17-08, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geetrue

This is the biggest heist so far ... the Saudi's are not going to be happy.
They could even cut off Kenya's oil supply for this one.

Whatever happened to that russian ship loaded with tanks anyway?

Still anchoring at Eyt (pirate home port).

MothBalls · 11-17-08, 01:55 PM

Time for the UN to ask for naval support from a coalition of countries and start doing convoys.

AntEater · 11-17-08, 02:11 PM

Actually the title should be:
"Pirates go to new (ship) lenghts"
:rotfl:

Re convoying, the problem with that is that international maritime trade is a merciless business. Some pilots of airlines complain about underfunded maintenace and low wages, in merchant traffic, these are standard.
Ships and crews are pretty much considered expendable, all the more because most of the ships are second hand and most of the crews are not from the same country as the owners.
Convoying would cost shipping companies more than losing the odd ship and crew to pirates.
Also, these ships are usually flagged under cheap flags. And as far as I know neither Liberia nor Cyprus are renowned naval powers.
Also, the great shipping companies like Maersk or HAPAG-Lloyd are not the ones to lose ships.
HAPAG ships give Somalia a wide berth and move quite fast, above 17 knots. At high seas, a Dhow or RHIB will have trouble catching them. Not to mention that for those companies, neither ships nor crew are expendable, some of them even register their ships under their national flag(!).
It is the bottom tier of maritime traffic that suffers, and those companies do not have the political leverage Maersk, P&O or HAPAG have.

Blacklight · 11-17-08, 02:13 PM

One of my first responses would be: If a port is identified as a pirate haven and is used once for that purpose, it would be bombed.

I too support military strikes against these guys. We need to send a message of cruise missiles and bombs to these guys and reduce their speedboats to matchsticks.

We also need to get a LOT more multinational armed patrols in the area. Maybe even set up a "no trafic zone" where any vessel under a certain size will be terminated on sight.

Skybird · 11-17-08, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MothBalls

Time for the UN to ask for naval support from a coalition of countries and start doing convoys.

Arent we already doing something like that? Combat units we have in the operation's area. The problem is the ROEs. the Russians for example are allowed to open fire, as far as I do know (not sure, though). that'S why the mere fact that they were going in was enough to scare away the pirates trying to catch the Saudi freighter. especially the western navies seem to have ROE that bind both their hands on their back.

Skybird · 11-17-08, 01:50 PM

Isn't it stunning how civilised we deal with the problem?

If it were up to me, some fast attack boats and frigates, some missile-armed helicopters, and blazing guns and flying vampyres whenever a pirate contact pops up on the screen, gets reported, gets sighted, or a home port and a home village of pirates gets identified. Problem solved.

Instead the german frigates: seeing an attack, observing while being forbidden to do something, anything, and then writing a report. That is what I call superior civilised ROEs!

The effect of deterrence is immense. And keeping precise record of one's own failure is important.

I wonder if they send the pirates maybe even a weather update, to make sure they safely make it back to port, those poor and handicapped little fellas.

Sounds like a nice hunting ground for some Little Birds armed with FFARs. What else for do we sent combat units into the region? For just writing reports? That could be acchieved with a rubber boat of the city police and a traffic cop with binoculars as well.

Politicians...

SteamWake · 11-17-08, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skybird

Isn't it stunning how civilised we deal with the problem?

If it were up to me, some fast attack boats and frigates, some missile-armed helicopters, and blazing guns and flying vampyres whenever a pirate contact pops up on the screen, gets reported, gets sighted, or a home port and a home village of pirates gets identified. Problem solved.

Instead the german frigates: seeing an attack, observing while being forbidden to do something, anything, and then writing a report. That is what I call superior civilised ROEs!

The effect of deterrence is immense. And keeping precise record of one's own failure is important.

I wonder if they send the pirates maybe even a weather update, to make sure they safely make it back to port, those poor and handicapped little fellas.

Sounds like a nice hunting ground for some Little Birds armed with FFARs. What else for do we sent combat units into the region? For just writing reports? That could be acchieved with a rubber boat of the city police and a traffic cop with binoculars as well.

Politicians...

Skybird Im supprised at you, what about the enviromental impact? :hmm:

11-17-08, 01:35 PM	#1
SteamWake Rear Admiral Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 13,224 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Somali Pirates hit a new high... er low Stunning act of piracy http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453030,00.html

11-17-08, 01:48 PM	#3
geetrue Cold War Boomer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Walla Walla Posts: 2,837 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	This is the biggest heist so far ... the Saudi's are not going to be happy. They could even cut off Kenya's oil supply for this one. Whatever happened to that russian ship loaded with tanks anyway? __________________

11-17-08, 02:11 PM	#6
AntEater Grey Wolf Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Germany Posts: 936 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Actually the title should be: "Pirates go to new (ship) lenghts" :rotfl: Re convoying, the problem with that is that international maritime trade is a merciless business. Some pilots of airlines complain about underfunded maintenace and low wages, in merchant traffic, these are standard. Ships and crews are pretty much considered expendable, all the more because most of the ships are second hand and most of the crews are not from the same country as the owners. Convoying would cost shipping companies more than losing the odd ship and crew to pirates. Also, these ships are usually flagged under cheap flags. And as far as I know neither Liberia nor Cyprus are renowned naval powers. Also, the great shipping companies like Maersk or HAPAG-Lloyd are not the ones to lose ships. HAPAG ships give Somalia a wide berth and move quite fast, above 17 knots. At high seas, a Dhow or RHIB will have trouble catching them. Not to mention that for those companies, neither ships nor crew are expendable, some of them even register their ships under their national flag(!). It is the bottom tier of maritime traffic that suffers, and those companies do not have the political leverage Maersk, P&O or HAPAG have. __________________ Last edited by AntEater; 11-17-08 at 02:17 PM.

11-17-08, 02:13 PM	#7
Blacklight Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,507 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	One of my first responses would be: If a port is identified as a pirate haven and is used once for that purpose, it would be bombed. I too support military strikes against these guys. We need to send a message of cruise missiles and bombs to these guys and reduce their speedboats to matchsticks. We also need to get a LOT more multinational armed patrols in the area. Maybe even set up a "no trafic zone" where any vessel under a certain size will be terminated on sight. __________________ Be my friend or be a mushroom cloud. "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes !"

11-17-08, 01:50 PM	#9
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,834 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Isn't it stunning how civilised we deal with the problem? If it were up to me, some fast attack boats and frigates, some missile-armed helicopters, and blazing guns and flying vampyres whenever a pirate contact pops up on the screen, gets reported, gets sighted, or a home port and a home village of pirates gets identified. Problem solved. Instead the german frigates: seeing an attack, observing while being forbidden to do something, anything, and then writing a report. That is what I call superior civilised ROEs! The effect of deterrence is immense. And keeping precise record of one's own failure is important. I wonder if they send the pirates maybe even a weather update, to make sure they safely make it back to port, those poor and handicapped little fellas. Sounds like a nice hunting ground for some Little Birds armed with FFARs. What else for do we sent combat units into the region? For just writing reports? That could be acchieved with a rubber boat of the city police and a traffic cop with binoculars as well. Politicians... __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

11-17-08, 01:39 PM	#2
OneToughHerring Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	If I was a pirate, I'd seriously consider that as a potential target. Or maybe Abramovich's luxury yacht. Taking care to avoid the missiles and other defence systems he has set up on that thing.

11-17-08, 01:55 PM	#5
MothBalls Ace of the Deep Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,012 Downloads: 20 Uploads: 0	Time for the UN to ask for naval support from a coalition of countries and start doing convoys.