US Flagged Vessel Captured! UPDATE: Navy SEALS take out pirates

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

I thought you guys were joking about the battleship thing.

Dude, can you imagine the international ramifications of destroying Somalia's ports, no matter what methods are used? We might as well make a guest appearance on one of those "Save the Children" commercials and start punching starving babies. It would be an unjustified escalation of force, and it would harm civilians more than pirates.

I don't foresee any international objections to setting up private security firms in ports on either end of pirated routes. It wouldn't cost taxpayer money, it wouldn't be an escelation of force, it wouldn't disrupt shipping, it might lower insurance costs, and it would work wonders as a deterrant. After all, any ship could have security forces aboard.......
Better yet, maybe I could have a cool new job
Imo, we should focus on diplomatic efforts to allow such companies to operate.

The PCness and lawyers piss me off too but you can't just say "to hell with them!" The people behind legal entanglements and PC BS are masters at this game, because their livelihood depends on it. Why not pit them against professional-grade opposition?

The thing is, noone wants to make a move, because they don't want to beheld liable for anything. It's just embarassing, all these nations with a military force are cowering like a bunch of scared kittens and caving in to these guys. Maybe we could pay for some bounty hunters to go after these guys. With all of our technology and special forces, somebody should be able to track them then destroy them. Lets just say for fun, we (anybody frankly) aggresively go after them, what's the UN gunna do? Nuttin! They'll sit in the corner and bark.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

The thing is, noone wants to make a move, because they don't want to beheld liable for anything. It's just embarassing, all these nations with a military force are cowering like a bunch of scared kittens and caving in to these guys. Maybe we could pay for some bounty hunters to go after these guys. With all of our technology and special forces, somebody should be able to track them then destroy them. Lets just say for fun, we (anybody frankly) aggresively go after them, what's the UN gunna do? Nuttin! They'll sit in the corner and bark.

I like your idea of hiring bounty hunters. Unfortunately, state-sponsored hiring of private entities to violate the sovereignty nations is frowned upon even more than direct state intervention. There's a lot of implied sneakiness to it. Even legitimate use of state-sponsored private entities to effect foreign policy is considered disdainful (by people I disagree with, I might add)
Just look at Blackwater or Executive Outcomes.

You and I both know that the state really only serves two interests; self-interest, and politics. They never do anything right. What they should be doing is empowering private entities to take care of the problem themselves, and stop trying to solve the problem with their PC BS.

The only real solution is to let people handle their own damn affairs. Which would you rather have if you were being assaulted, a gun or a phone? States around the world argue furiously that calling them will fix your problems, but they never do, and even when they do it's too damn late.
"But" they argue, "we'll prevent such things from happening!"
Yeah, they've done a bang-up job so far.
This applies to firms, as well as individuals, especially when international politics are involved. No state is going to pass a reasonable global solution through its' legislative bowels and come up with a golden egg that everyone will treasure. It has never happened, and it will never happen. Too many conflicting interests are at stake.

The only real answer is to let private firms select private firms to ensure their security in international waters, or not. Maybe they get lucky and the pirates don't attack their vessels. Maybe they aren't lucky and pirates do sieze their vessels. If that happens, it's their own fault for trying to cut corners. Who has a truly productive use for a company that cuts corners? Who chooses them to ship their goods? Who would insure them? Too bad for them.

As with many things, no one has a choice unless they choose choice. Our efforts should be focussed upon navigating international barriers to provide businesses with that choice.

[pythos]

Time to bring back convoys, and arm the merchant ships.

Why is this so hard to figure out? I heard the instructor at the merchantmen academy say "It's gonna be hard". Why? Why will it be hard?

Haven't the people in charge read history, saw how the arming of merchants pretty much put a halt to U-boats carrying out most surface attacks?

These pirates are in small outboard motor boats!!!!

Those frigging destroyers have PHALANX systems on them, a system that can track an destroy incoming missiles, why can't they be used on stupid little pirate boats!!!?

This is insanely stupid. This should never have happened.

[fatty]

21,000 vessels transit the Gulf of Aden every year; that's almost 57 a day. Weighing the imposed costs of contemporary maritime piracy against the prospective costs of equipping all of these ships with weapons or security detachments, plus enhancing port security measures and policy to accomodate foreign-crewed and heavily-armed ships... I don't anticipate arming merchant ships or their crews being accepted as favourable options.

[pythos]

Okay then, re institute convoys. We have destroyers, let's use them. Perhaps the Germans had it correct years ago when they made the U-cargo ships. The Huge submersible cargo boats.