Modern High Seas Piracy

[Swoop]

hard to believe that you English once ruled the seas.

Why's that then pray tell?

[Simba]

The Royal Navy fought piracy and slavery wherever it was encountered throughout the 19th century and the result was the 'Pax Britannica' freedom of the seas that benefited commerce worldwide. It's a pity no navy has been so effective against piracy in the modern age - but probably that's because 'head money' is no longer paid for each pirate killed. Ah, for the freedom of action enjoyed by 'Rajah' Brooke and Captain Keppel in Sarawak and Borneo in the good ol' days.

Splice the mainbrace!

 

[Selino631]

Forgive my ignorance but......what dangerous areas are there around the US coast that the US coastguard escorts ships through?

Are we talking around the Florida Keys and such?

Well when i said dangrous areas it means like maybe near Guantamano Bay, Cuba cause its so poor down there that things are unpredictable. And over near Somlia the Coast Guard has warships and they do patrols over there and to help Frieghters get through.  When i said Busy areas i'm talking about New York City and Baltimore type stuff. Its not dangrous but with the terrorist and stuff its good to have a escort.

[CAP1]

Is anyone familiar with maritime customs/procedures.

It seems to me the easiest way to foil these new Somali speedboat attacks against maritime ships is to arm those ships with a .50 caliber or a 20mm. 

Of course this is an obvious solution, so there must be some reason why this isn't done.

it's very simple. arm the ships...........it'll take less than a month before these pirates learn better.


 as for ports not wanting to let armed ships in? well, they either escort them in, or the product gets sold to someone who will let em in.

[Saurdaukar]

Given the nature of the threat, I'm not sure a mounted weapon would be the ideal solution.

Shoulder-fired small arms would be both effective (against glorified row-boats) and concealable (for purposes of maintaining a non-antagonistic posture).

[Oleg]

1) You cannt put arms at cargo ships, cause you wouldnt allowed to enter any port (as states before)
2) You cannt escort all cargo ships and pirates increasing their range as time passed

Water jets was proved to be most effective defense against pirates, as long as crew watch over while cross dangerous waters (instead of drinking vodka or whatever).

[CAP1]

1) You cannt put arms at cargo ships, cause you wouldnt allowed to enter any port (as states before)
2) You cannt escort all cargo ships and pirates increasing their range as time passed

Water jets was proved to be most effective defense against pirates, as long as crew watch over while cross dangerous waters (instead of drinking vodka or whatever).

arming ships is the best answer. these people only understand violence.

[Angus]

"Arm" it with a black painted fake from wood, something that looks like a badass gun. Then wait and see if you get arrested. 

[Ghosth]

You can't arm merchant ships, they would immediately pull their insurance.  As soon as you put arms on a ship it becomes in effect a Naval vessel for the country under which it sails. Many merchant ships put into ports that would never allow a naval vessel of that country to enter same port.

The only weapons they are allowed are a limited supply of small arms under lock and seal.




I think the answer is the equivalent of a Navy Seals Unit. Only they'd have to be under UN flag. Ideally they would be a quick strike force with 2 boats, some heavy weapons, instead of defending they would attack as soon as pirates are spotted.

The problem is complicated, its tied up with treaty's between hundreds of country's.
Also the ocean is vast, while some piracy happens in constrained straits. If they are hunted out of those area's they just pop up in others.

I suspect you could accomplish more with a dozen Predator drones and hellfire missile's than anything else.

[CAP1]

You can't arm merchant ships, they would immediately pull their insurance.  As soon as you put arms on a ship it becomes in effect a Naval vessel for the country under which it sails. Many merchant ships put into ports that would never allow a naval vessel of that country to enter same port.

The only weapons they are allowed are a limited supply of small arms under lock and seal.




I think the answer is the equivalent of a Navy Seals Unit. Only they'd have to be under UN flag. Ideally they would be a quick strike force with 2 boats, some heavy weapons, instead of defending they would attack as soon as pirates are spotted.

The problem is complicated, its tied up with treaty's between hundreds of country's.
Also the ocean is vast, while some piracy happens in constrained straits. If they are hunted out of those area's they just pop up in others.

I suspect you could accomplish more with a dozen Predator drones and hellfire missile's than anything else.

the only problem with having some form of security that isn't on the ship being attacked, is that more often than not, there is no way to respond quickly enough.

 as for not allowing the ships into port? fine. they don't get their product. again, pretty simple.

[Ripsnort]

http://www.somalicruises.com/

[Oleg]

I suspect you could accomplish more with a dozen Predator drones and hellfire missile's than anything else.

And how it would help? You see suspicious ship and just blow it away? It would be much worst than piracy itself.

as for not allowing the ships into port? fine. they don't get their product. again, pretty simple.

Who care? It isnt port's direction problem.

[gyrene81]

And over near Somlia the Coast Guard has warships and they do patrols over there and to help Frieghters get through.

Um...Selino...the U.S. Coast Guard does not patrol anywhere near the African continent. What is patrolling those waters is Navy warships from several countries.

Wasn't there a U.N. sanction or something that prohibits merchant ships from being armed with weapons a few years back? I see a huge opening for mercs to ride shotgun on merchant vessels...assuming the shipping companies are willing to pay the price. Hell, if it were me I'd pack a few guys up with miscellaneous weapons...put some softpoint mounts on the ship and charge the shipping company a few grand per man plus expenses for every one way trip...if trouble occurs, the company pays extra for eliminating the problem. When the ship gets into friendly waters, the mercs get pulled off and the ship goes on its way.

[john9001]

from the CG web site.

"In 2008, Coast Guard PSU 309 trained and deployed to the Middle East with the Navy’s Maritime Security Squadron 4 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom point defense and harbor security operations in Kuwait. Six Coast Guard WPBs are currently forward deployed in Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, conducting maritime critical infrastructure protection and security operations. Additionally, the Coast Guard Cutter DALLAS deployed in support of Naval Forces Europe, conducting theater security cooperation with African, Mediterranean, and Black Sea nations. "

[MORAY37]

Merchant ships cannot be armed.  It's maritime law.  If you arm a merchantman with anything mounted(permanent or semi permanent), it is subject to all law that a warship is and the country it is flagged under carries the responsibility for its' actions.  

Only if the merchant fleet is under direct jurisdiction of a country's Navy (as in WW2, when the merchant fleet became part of the Navy) can you mount arms to it.

The obvious implication being that the people responsible for the use of any weapons would be directly accountable for its' consequence of use.  What you speak of, is giving a corporation not only a means of defending its' ships with deadly force, but also its' profits.  Corporations become world powers down this road.....