Video: Royal Marines capture and sink pirate vessel

[Die Hard]

A run-of-the-mill AK-47 is extremely different than an RPG-7.     Have you been to Somalia?   You know the above as FACT?   

No I've never been to Somalia. Have you?

I know for a FACT that I don't think I've ever seen a group of "average Somalis" without some of them being armed. I bet most if not all Somali fishing boats have weapons on board.

[Halo46]

While there can be little doubt that these Somalis were not out fishing, what the RN have done here is itself an act of piracy; they've boarded a foreign vessel and robbed the occupants of their weapons and sunk one of their boats. It sets a dangerous precedent if navy ships can just board and "confiscate" weapons in international waters without any actual proof that they were pirates or had done anything illegal.

I don't believe you know the definition of piracy and so have come to a faulty conclusion.

Article 101 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines an act of ship-based piracy as consisting of acts of violence or detention, or an act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew of a private ship directed against another ship on the high seas, or outside the jurisdiction of any State. Piracy also extends to the operation of a pirate ship which is a ship used by persons for the purposes of committing pirate acts. This general definition of piracy is consistent with the common expression that a pirate is hostis humani generis: an enemy of all mankind. However, by limiting the definition to acts committed for ‘private ends’ any actions taken for political motives are excluded.

[Masherbrum]

See Rule #2

[Die Hard]

No the conclusion stands. The people were not caught in an act of piracy and there is no evidence either of the two boats have been used "for the purposes of committing pirate acts".

The whole point is that anyone has the right to sail in international waters, no matter how many guns they have on board. As long as they don't actually commit acts of piracy there can be no justifiable reason to attack them, steal their property and sink their vessels.

[Die Hard]

See Rule #2

[trax1]

The obvious answer is yes. How hard can it be for a modern navy to keep an eye on suspected pirate vessels and take action when they make a move?

Yeah that's what they need to do, put a ship on every pirate boat they come across and just watch them.

There's no legal reason to be in the kind of boats they were in with that kind of armaments on board.

[Masherbrum]

See Rules #2, #4

[Die Hard]

Yeah that's what they need to do, put a ship on every pirate boat they come across and just watch them.

Your knowledge of the surveillance capabilities of modern navies seems a bit... limited.

There's no legal reason to be in the kind of boats they were in with that kind of armaments on board.

That's just bull. Do you support "gun control" in America as well, or just in international waters?

[Die Hard]

See Rule #2

[trax1]

Your knowledge of the surveillance capabilities of modern navies seems a bit... limited.


That's just bull. Do you support "gun control" in America as well, or just in international waters?

Yeah thats a good allocation of navel resources, lets watch these guys who we know are pirates and do nothing until they actually attack someone, and maybe even kill a person, that definitely sounds like the better way to go.

And as for gun control, yeah 10 guys on a tiny boat off the coast of Somalia armed with RPG's, yeah there not up to anything illegal, so hey they can arm themselves with what ever they want, but when you dress yourself up like a pirate off the coast of Somalia in this day & age don't be shocked when your treated like a pirate.

[Halo46]

No the conclusion stands. The people were not caught in an act of piracy and there is no evidence either of the two boats have been used "for the purposes of committing pirate acts".

The whole point is that anyone has the right to sail in international waters, no matter how many guns they have on board. As long as they don't actually commit acts of piracy there can be no justifiable reason to attack them, steal their property and sink their vessels.

Hmm, doesn't know the definition of piracy, has never visited the area, was not present at the scene of the incident... I love it when people who have no idea what they are talking about will not concede they don't know what they are talking about. Here ya go, take care of those bad Royal Navy pirates, maybe you can get a reality show on the Discovery Channel or FX or something...  (Sry, I can't resist a funny picture)

[thrila]

A small, fast craft tethered to a larger boat, in addition to the crew armed with rpg's and machine guns is enough evidence to suggest they were indeed pirates, I can't claim i saw any fishing nets in the video either.

Diehard, piracy isn't an easy thing to combat with such few ships available, somalia has a coastline of 2000 miles, with attacks occuring up to 300 miles offshore.

[trax1]

A small, fast craft tethered to a larger boat in addition to the crew armed with rpg's and machine guns is enough evidence to suggest they were indeed pirates, I can't claim i saw any fishing nets in the video either.

Diehard, piracy isn't an easy thing to combat with such few ships, somalia has a coastline of 2000 miles, with attacks occuring up to 300 miles offshore.

Exactly, piracy's not the type of thing you want to adopt a wait & see attitude with.

[Masherbrum]

Hmm, doesn't know the definition of piracy, has never visited the area, was not present at the scene of the incident... I love it when people who have no idea what they are talking about will not concede they don't know what they are talking about. Here ya go, take care of those bad Royal Navy pirates, maybe you can get a reality show on the Discovery Channel or FX or something...  (Sry, I can't resist a funny picture)

(Image removed from quote.)

Exactly!

[68Wooley]

Do you wish U.S. Law was practiced like that? If you look like a criminal you are a criminal?

You know it wouldn't be too hard to come up with examples showing that's exactly how US law (or at least law enforcement) works.