Somali "Pirates" (Iran, weapons, companies, cost)

[Bostonian08]

Talk about infotainment! Anyone else think this is downright silly? As if they can't just send a F-18 out and send their little jolly rogers right down to old Davy Jones!

Somali pirates hijack Thai fishing boat, 16 crew

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AP – In this Nov. 11, 2008 file photo made available by Indian Navy, Indian warship INS Tabar, right, escorts …


NEW DELHI – Separate bands of pirates hijacked two ships and captured their crews, while yet another opened fire on an Indian navy ship before being driven off — clear signs that the brigands roaming the Gulf of Aden are becoming bolder and more violent, officials said Wednesday.
A Thai ship with 16 crew members and an Iranian cargo vessel with a crew of 25 were hijacked Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden, where Somalia-based pirates appear to be attacking ships at will, said Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.
"It's getting out of control," Choong said.


Somali pirates hijack Thai fishing boat, 16 crew - Yahoo! News

[Guero]

It's a very tough situation. Who's jurisdiction is it? US ships are only allowed to fire on the pirates if the pirates fire upon them or if they catch the pirates in the act.

But I think that the rest of the world is going to start taking more action.

It's past out of control. They have made ~80 million dollars in ransom this year alone, and are currently holding some 13 ships for ransom.

The more money they get, the harder they will be to deal with.

But - there is some good news - I was watching MSNBC earlier, and they said that a pirate "mother ship" fired on an Indian frigate, which returned fire, and blew up the pirate ship.

They talked to a UK naval officer and he said that it's simply impossible to cover it all, because it's something like 2.5 million square miles of water, where there pirates roam. The UK is sending some ships now, by the way.

[tinman01]

Try this. Tankers should have a trained armed security force on board. Its a big ship. Fit it with a helo deck and hanger large enough for 2 sea cobra's. Pirates attack launch the cobra's and kill the pirates.

[tablemtn]

But that would dramatically raise the cost of shipping, and the shipping industry already operates on fairly thin margins.

[Guero]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

But that would dramatically raise the cost of shipping, and the shipping industry already operates on fairly thin margins.

Not only that, but most of the ships that go through there aren't that size.

As you allude to, it's very expensive to hire that kind of security for every ship, when its well into the 1000s of ships that go though that area each month. It's a running of the gauntlet for the smaller ships, they are virtually sitting ducks if they have bad timing, and there is no way that those companies can afford to equip all their ships with security personnel and equipment.

On a related note, by the end of the year, Blackwater will have a ship for hire in the area, performing escort missions.

[doc1]

Originally Posted by tinman01

Try this. Tankers should have a trained armed security force on board. Its a big ship. Fit it with a helo deck and hanger large enough for 2 sea cobra's. Pirates attack launch the cobra's and kill the pirates.

Good idea. I'd love to watch that on You Tube.

[Luiso]

Originally Posted by tinman01

Try this. Tankers should have a trained armed security force on board. Its a big ship. Fit it with a helo deck and hanger large enough for 2 sea cobra's. Pirates attack launch the cobra's and kill the pirates.

I think every ship should have armed guards lack of it is why these pirates eat them up. A couple of 50 calls will sink any pirate ship.
Its like an armored truck carrying money and the guards have water guns. No wonder they are easy prey

[ottomobeale]

The pirates carry automatic weapons, RPGs and other rockets. They are not boarding with hand guns.

Unfortunately the US cant do what needs to be done. Just kill them. No first attack by them is necessary.

[Luiso]

Originally Posted by ottomobeale

The pirates carry automatic weapons, RPGs and other rockets. They are not boarding with hand guns.

Unfortunately the US cant do what needs to be done. Just kill them. No first attack by them is necessary.

Than they are better armed than I thought. Automatic weapons arent a big deal with a couple of 50 call on deck aslong as your allowed to fire if they get to close but rockets are another issue .

[PG77]

Originally Posted by Guero

It's a very tough situation. Who's jurisdiction is it? US ships are only allowed to fire on the pirates if the pirates fire upon them or if they catch the pirates in the act.

But I think that the rest of the world is going to start taking more action.

I agree. I think the rest of the world will take care of this since we have this "sit back and wait" attitude.