My wife and I were talking the other day, and she asked me how the pirates were coming up to these huge ships in their little bitty ones and taking over? She said "It's not like they can sneak up on them!?" I agree 100%, and told her that it would be a simple matter of arming the freighters with LAWs (Light Antitank Weapons) and rocket launchers and issuing a warning when another ship approached within 300 yards -- Come on the loudspeaker and give a warning: "Turn around, this is your LAST warning. If you do not cease approaching, you WILL be fired upon." It's another case of the criminals having the guns and the good guys not... if they were armeed themselves, they could hold them at bay and then have a spotter fly over and call in an artillery strike from a nearby destroyer if Obama wants to keep his promise about fighting the piracy, especially since we've got American crews and ships in the area.
Greg, I agree, I think all of these ships should have an armed crew and a set-up that will protect against such events. Hell it's stupid NOT to. I honestly think the U.S. Navy should send the owners of the Marsk ship a bill for serviced rendered.
More shootings today from pirates with automatic guns and rocket propelled grenades on ships! I with you Greg, give more fire power!
I believe there are restrictions on arming merchant vessels. I am not sure how much I would like a heavily armed merchant vessel from a less than friendly nation sailing up the Chesapeake to Baltimore.
Surely they've got radar? I just think more criminals need to be killed, no matter what the venue. In Sunday School this past weekend, one of the ladies -- about my wife's and my age -- put in a prayer request for her father. He and her mother had come home Friday night from being out and interrupted a burglary in their house. He walked in on the guy in the basement after he heard a "thump" down there and went to check it out; they stood face-to-face for a few seconds before he gave chase. Ended up chasing him outside before the guy turned and threw a haymaker that caught him in his eye... I don't WISH for something like that to happen to me and my family, but that kind of crap needs to happen to someone LIKE me. If it DID happen to me, so be it... because it would have made the national news all around. I carry EVERYWHERE, and I'm already armed walking into my house when I return from somewhere; no need to go back to a "back room" or somewhere... When I came face-to-face with the idiot, 911 would have truly been a clean-up call. Enough people do things like that to criminals and I'd be willing to bet we'd see less of that sort of crap. Same thing with the pirate idiots.
The difference is that they're not likely to be hijacked in the Chesapeake Bay as they are in that region of the world. To hell with "restrictions," the only way you'd get me on one of those ships would be with a capable weapon to defend myself. The quickest way to put an end to that nonsense is to make a few of those filthy bastards DEAD!!! This problem is nothing a good .50cal machine gun and a set of Night vision goggles and a night vision scope couldn't fix. Unless these pirates have some awesome boats and phenomenal swimming ability, a handful of .50 cal rounds would leave them sinking in the ocean. Greg, I don't "carry" but I can assure you that the guy wouldn't have been involved in a chase of any sort, he'd have been made unconscious, and then given to the local Sheriff Dept. when they arrived to pick up his restrained body. But as I get older, the idea of just shooting someone rather than roughing them up becomes a little more appealing.
Thats 2 sentences you don't often hear together.:d J/K Greg! Shooting the pirates is one way to deter them. Sounds like a target rich environment to me. :uzi:
Let me give you another scenario besides hijacking. Now the heavily armed merchant vessel in the Chesapeake may be manned by a group of suicidal zealots that want to make an impression. First they start taking out any and all small craft that their weapons can reach before they get to the inner harbor. Of course they destroy the bay bridge after they have passed under it. Once in the harbor they train their weapons on buildings and anything else they might want to destroy. Think about it.
I see where you're going with this Bruce, but what the hell is holding them back anyway??? Nothing really, they just don't have the ship to do it with. Hell, in all honesty, one cargo bin full of C4 could blow Baltimore into the bay, but that don't mean it's going to happen.
LOL! I'm a God-fearing man, and I love my Lord... sinner, yes but by God's grace I'm forgiven. Still, I firmly believe he empowered us to defend ourselves and our loved ones... ever read about his chosen people? Some of the mightiest warrirors in history... of course, largely by His hand and might -- which furthers my point.
There is a bit of a difference between being legally allowed(international law) to arm your merchant ship to the teeth and and doing it illegally.
Really? With all the US NAVY vessels in the Chesapeake? Do you think they would make it to B-more if they started blowing pleasure craft out of the water? That scenario is a bit farfetched. I think Chicken Little said something about the sky falling?
Give the guys on board hand guns, but in no way should merchant ships be given missiles and rocket launchers, IMO. The Captain and crew could have capped the pirates as they tried climbing from their dingy, no need to have rockets. Off topic, I know it is illegal for anyone under 21 to PURCHASE a handgun, but is it illegal to own one? Won't really phase me either way, just curious on the law. The day I turn 21 is the day I apply for a concealed carry license.
I agree but a merchant ship wouldn't need to be heavily armed to fend off an attack like the ones going on off Somalia. The pirates are using small craft to attack unarmed vessels. One or two men could defend a ship with a Barrett's .50 or similar weapon. I don't think it would be difficult to disable an approaching small boat with the proper use of small arms fire. The reason the pirates are so brazen is because they know they won't have to face defensive fire.
I've been living around the bay all of my life (minus 6 years US Army), how long have you lived here? How many, and what kind of "all the US Navy vessels" are in the bay and alert ready? How fast do you think "all the US Navy vessels" can go on the water? Especially when it is prime weather and prime fishing time? Have you ever actually been on the Chesapeake Bay? No one is saying the sky is falling but lightning strikes can be a b!tch .
Yes lightning strikes can be that way. And maybe Navy vessels aren't fast enough. But I spent a couple of years at Pax River Naval Air Station. I bet those fighters are fast enough and I don't think all the traffic on the bay would be much of a concern to them. Again I think your scenario is rather farfetched. I have fished the bay and been aboard a Navy ship, (USS Raliegh LPD-1), the traffic you mention would be a bigger problem for a renegade merchant vessel than it would be for our nations defensive mechanisms.
They would just run right over it(the boat traffic). They could bring the bay bridge down and be in the harbor amd wreaking havoc before the planes left the runway. Crashing planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon seemed pretty far-fetched to some people, I'm sure.
How much damage do you think a 50 cal could do to the surrounding area from a merchant ship docked in any US port? It only takes one fanatic to ruin a lot of people's day.
I think the answer is contracted professional armed security teams hired by the ship owners to provide onboard security through the areas that it's deemed necessary. The team boards the vessel before it enters the Gulf of Aden or Indian Ocean even and then debarks the vessel to deploy to another after the vessel is in safe waters or before it enters it's port of call.
