Pirate 'mother ship' left in flames

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

The Russians have sent in some warships.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa...lia/index.html

This is what is needed. I'm really, what the hell, you got a few small boats pulling along side and taking over large merchants. Time to arm the merchant crew also.

No. They are no trained fighters. Nor would I base infantry squada aboard civilian ships. And I wonder if arming them this way may change the legal status of the ship.

Give weapons only to trained hands, else they may do more bad than good.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Skybird

No. They are no trained fighters. Nor would I base infantry squada aboard civilian ships. And I wonder if arming them this way may change the legal status of the ship.

Give weapons only to trained hands, else they may do more bad than good.

Something has to give. Arm the ship with troops from the nation the ship hails from. A few guys with automatic weapons should do the trick.

[August]

I think India has the right idea. Keep sinking the pirate mother ships. Forcing them to base their little speedboats off the beach ought to limit their effectiveness quite a bit.

[jpm1]

Dude , if the russians send their warships there i wouldn't like to be on the pirates side the russians have quite impressive units ..

[MothBalls]

Originally Posted by jpm1

Dude , if the russians send their warships there i wouldn't like to be on the pirates side the russians have quite impressive units ..

More important is their willingness to use those toys. I think the pirates are about to be schooled.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by MothBalls

More important is their willingness to use those toys. I think the pirates are about to be schooled.

Exactly, Russia has had a itchy trigger finger for a long time. They are not afraid to use their toys.

[Tachyon]

I'd like to see Russia send a nuclear sub to the region, assuming she doesn't bork like the Kursk.

Oh wait, I have a better idea. Stuff all the Pirates into the Russian sub and wait for the reactor to leak. Problem solved!

[bookworm_020]

Originally Posted by Tachyon

I'd like to see Russia send a nuclear sub to the region, assuming she doesn't bork like the Kursk.

Oh wait, I have a better idea. Stuff all the Pirates into the Russian sub and wait for the reactor to leak. Problem solved!

That was a little below the belt???

[Skybird]

Geman news says that heavily armed islamistic fighters have entered the harbour town of Heradheere in search for the pirates who caught the Saudi Sirius Star. They said they would hold them responsible for having hijacked a Muslim ship, means: they want to attack them. A local warlord's spokesman said that hijacking a Muslim ship is a greater crime than hijacking an non-Muslim ship.

No joke, it's true. Could we next have the the parade of the clowns and the choir of the Jehovian witnesses please.

[AntEater]

I suppose the Saudi arabian merchant marine will experience some growth in the next weeks.....
:rotfl:

[fatty]

Originally Posted by Raptor1

Russia should hopefully know better than to use silly self-restricting ROEs, ne?

It's not so much silly self-restricting ROEs that are in the way as it is international maritime law. One gets you a reprimend, the other sends you to international criminal courts.

[Etienne]

Am I the only one here who's thinking about the CREW of those ships?

Yeah, go ahead. Starve 'em. It's not like sailors are human beings or anything (Ok, change of subject, you don't want me to start on THAT rant)

The pirates don't care if you disable the engine of the tanker. They don't really intend to move it around that much, so the only person who's gonna be pissed is the ship owner (And the crew members you just killed)

Destroying the superstructure without destroying the rest of the ship? Good luck. There's this thing known as heat transfer, and... Well, let's just say the rest of the ship'd suffer.

Also, you just killed the entire crew.

As for the pirates using explosives to spill oil, good luck. We're talking double-hulled tankers here, so unless they have TONS of explosives, they might be able to get one, two tanks to spill. And if they want to spill the whole tank, they have to make a pretty big hole.

I don't think the spill response ressources are available in that area to mitigate that... Plus, who's gonna pay them? Most of them are private companies. And moving that much spill response ressource to one area is gonna leave other areas wildly uncovered. Something the insurance companies, coastal states and P&I wouldn't like. Increase in premium, increase in shipping rates, increase in oil prices, etc.

Really, modern piracy? It's just like Pirates of the Caribbean!

[Task Force]

Well, maby ships should start sailing in escorted convoys when going through pirated areas. Maby arm ships so they are ready, just incase of a pirate boarding.:hmm: Etienne did bring up a good point, what about the crew who did nothing. They dont diserve to be killed.

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by Task Force

Well, maby ships should start sailing in escorted convoys when going through pirated areas. Maby arm ships so they are ready, just incase of a pirate boarding.:hmm: Etienne did bring up a good point, what about the crew who did nothing. They dont diserve to be killed.

Convoys would mean having the ships wait around until there are enough units available to form a convoy. Hence, delays, lost revenues... Shareholders won't like it. Statistically speaking, I doubt the companies would consider it profitable.

Also, who's gonna pay to escort the ships? Their flag states? Yeah, I'm sure the Bahamian navy's gonna team up with Liberia and rush to Somalia... International forces, well, there's alway a ton of bitching that goes with that, isn't there?

Eventually, international forces will have to start cleaning up the areas, but I don't see that happening too soon, although the spike in media interest (Y'all don't think this is something that just happened overnight, do you?) might help somewhat.

Arming merchant ships just isn't practical, for many reasons (Legalities, training, and cost, amongst other things) so don't expect to see that happening anytime soon.

The best way to get to those pirates would be to start on land, as was mentionned earlier. Speedboat chases are cool and all, but not very efficient.

[MothBalls]

I don't know what the right answer is, but it has to be something other than paying the ransom.

Pirates collect $150 million in ransoms

More than $150 million has been paid to pirates around the Horn of Africa over the past 12 months, Kenya's foreign minister said Friday.
....
They currently hold 17 vessels and are estimated to have attacked more than 90 ships in the region so far this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center, which monitors piracy around the world.
...
The money is also funneled through international crime syndicates who take their cut, give the rest to the pirates, and use their profit to bankroll even larger attacks with bigger ransoms.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa...ref=rss_latest


It's a global issue. I think it's time the UN coordinate a military solution with all of the global powers and put an end to this now.