I dunno about the paint thinner you Yanks have: ours is “Mineral Turpentine”, or “Mineral Spirits” — you might call it “Solvent”.

We've got mineral spirits in the states, and yes, it's not flammable at all. What we usually call paint thinner I think is more commonly called 'lacquer thinner' and it is quite flammable. That's probably what they were using, at a guess.

Yo ho, yo ho a pirate’s life for me...

Yeah, I was thinking my .300 Weatherby with a Leupold scope, but then I am an Anglophile.

Denatured alcohol is ethanol which has been rendered toxic or otherwise undrinkable, and in some cases dyed. It is used for purposes such as fuel for spirit burners and camping stoves, and as a solvent. Traditionally, the main additive was 10% methanol, which gave rise to methylated spirits.

In the US, mineral spirits is used as a paint thinner - and is a type of refined petroleum - high grade kero if you will. Splash a bit and hit it with a flare, quite the brew up I would say.

I burn it in my wick lamps - no nasty buildup and odor free.

No, various members of the “A-Team” would get winged periodically.

They would also flip at least one car in a single-side ramp/roll. We would take bets if it would spin clockwise or counterclockwise before the show started.

We've got mineral spirits in the states, and yes, it's not flammable at all.

Some odorless mineral spirits are not flammable, but some odorless are and standard mineral spirits are also flammable.

Material Safety Data Sheet
Odorless Mineral Spirits
http://kinetronics.com/store/CCSMSDSData.pdf

Marathon Mineral Spirits Rule 66
http://www.marathonpetroleum.com/content/documents/mpc/msds/0248MAR019.pdf

Also remember they were using a flare gun to ignite, burning magnesium probably at 1,800°F or more.

Well there's your problem....in a nut shell. They need to be able to ARM THEMSELVES!

Which reminds me of these lines from the movie "Unforgiven":

Little Bill Daggett: Well, sir, you are a cowardly son of a bitch! You just shot an unarmed man!
Will Munny: Well, he should have armed himself if he's going to decorate his saloon with my friend.

I STILL think it would be great to outfit a Carnival Cruise Lines Somali Pirates NRA/GOA cruise. “Barbary Tour 2009 — Great Eats, Great Shooting!”

I would be absolutely delighted to stand in line for days in order to get a ticket for such a cruise :-)

"Ian had made some Molotov cocktails out of light bulbs by taking out the element, filling it with paint thinner and plugging the top with toilet paper."

If what I see stuffed in the end of those bulbs is what they use for toilet paper, they are indeed tough men.

Sea Marshalls needed... (sic)

Sounds like an excellent opportunity for private enterprise to step in where Governments have failed.

Former Royal Marine Kevin Brewin, 52, lead the team of Alex and Ian Knight, 38, on their mission to defend the vulnerable vessel.

Marines around the world, from all countries, salute you! Semper Fi ...

Indeed.....we can always count on the Marines to get the job done, no matter what it takes.

History of the Royal Marines History & Ethos Royal Marines Home

History of the Royal Marines

Royal Marines at sea early on

On the 28th October 1664 an Order-in-Council was issued calling for 1200 soldiers to be recruited for service in the Fleet, to be known as the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot. As the Duke of York was The Lord High Admiral, it became known as the Admiral's Regiment. The Regiment was paid by the Admiralty, it and its successors being the only long service troops in the 17th and 18th century navy.

They were therefore not only soldiers but also seamen, who were part of the complement of all warships. In 1704, during the war with France and Spain, the British attacked the Rock of Gibraltar: 1,900 British and 400 Dutch marines prevented Spanish reinforcements reaching the fortress. Later, British ships bombarded the city while marines and seamen stormed the defences. These later withstood nine months of siege. Today the Royal Marines display only the battle honour "Gibraltar", and their close relationship with the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps continues.

Throughout the 18th and 19th century the Corps played a major part in fighting to win Britain the largest empire ever created. Marines were aboard the first ships to arrive in Australia in 1788. The policy of "Imperial Policing" took the Marines to the bombardment of Algiers in 1816, to the Ashantee Wars, and to the destruction of the Turkish Fleet at Navarino in 1827. In 1805 some 2700 Royal Marines took part in the great victory at Trafalgar. Closer to home, they maintained civil order in Northern Ireland and in Newcastle during the coal dispute of 1831. By the outbreak of war in 1914, Britain had the largest fleet in commission in the world, with all ships above that of destroyer size having Royal Marines detachments. Onboard ship, marines were required to operate one of the main gun turrets, as well as secondary armament. Royal Marines also fought on land, notably in the amphibious assault at Gallipoli in 1915, together with ANZAC forces, and led the famous assault on the harbour at Zeebrugge in 1918.

Royal Marines at sea early on (2)

Uniform from 1664-1748

During World War Two some 80,000 men served in the Royal Marines, and they continued to operate at sea and in land formations, but 1942 saw the formation of the first Royal Marines Commandos. 5 RM Commandos were amongst the first to land on D Day, and two thirds of all the landing craft involved were crewed by Royal Marines. 16,000 members of the Corps took part in Operation "Overlord" in many roles, some even manning tanks. After the war the Royal Marines spent much time in action in the Far East, including involvement in the Malayan emergency and in Borneo, and also in Korea, Suez, Aden, and Cyprus. In 1982, the Royal Marines played a major part in recapturing the Falkland Islands from the Argentinians, and in 1991 they participated in the Gulf War, mounting a sizeable humanitarian task force - Operation Haven, in support of the Kurdish people of Northern Iraq. This was the start of a particularly busy decade for the Royal Marines. In 1994 a commando unit flew to Kuwait following threats by Iraq. The next year the Royal Marines provided the commander and staff for the Rapid Reaction Force in Bosnia, and in 1997and 1998 a Commando Unit flew to the Congo Republic to protect British interests. In the same period help was provided to the local populations of Montserrat in the West Indies following a volcano eruption, and in Central America following a hurricane. The last two years have seen elements of the Royal Marines on operations in Northern Ireland (where they have completed some 39 tours of duty since 1969), Kosovo, and Sierra Leone. In addition, while few ships now have the traditional RM detachment aboard, Royal Marines Protection Parties join ships as necessary, and have served in such diverse places as Albania, and East Timor, where they worked closely with Australian forces.

With the introduction and successful operational deployment of the Landing Platform (Helicopter), HMS Ocean, and the launch of HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion, as successors to the in-service Landing Platform (Dock) the amphibious capability of the Royal Marines is greatly increased, and becomes a key element in the country's capacity to intervene in areas of conflict overseas. This was proven by the ability of 40 Commando RM to remain in the Gulf area following exercises in Oman during October 2001, available to participate in the war in Afghanistan when needed. With further additions to the amphibious fleet, and a wide range of new equipment coming into service, the Royal Marines are as ready as ever to meet the nation's need for a flexible force that can poise at sea, and intervene in areas of trouble at an early stage.

www.royalmarinesmuseum.co.uk

“Now, I have a technical question: lite bulbs filled with paint thinner.”

We of course can’t know these details, but I’d imagine the least flammable item we could be talking about is more flammable than lighter fluid. You’re right, “paint thinner” can be anything from turpentine = mineral spirits, but given modern paints, especially epoxies et al as used on ships, there could be some far more volatile stuff involved: benzene, MEK, Xylene, Methyl Chloride grade solvents. Flashy.

Build an (unarmed) tender and a half dozen gunboats (Couple of light cannons, some heavy and light MGs and small arms for the crew, good surface-search radar and good sea-keeping characteristics). Offer gunboat escorts (money-back guarantee: if your ship is captured while under escort, You Don't Pay!).

Tender can enter and leave ports since it is unarmed. Gunboats are serviced by the tender since they can only enter and leave ports that allow private armed ships.

Biggest problem, though, is what happens when a gunboat actually shoots at a pirate - a lot of poor excuses for countries will want to prosecute the sailors for murder and sue the corporation for damages and a lot of lawyers will be willing to do it for them...

Or have all shipping vessels be licensed for whale hunting, hence the spear guns mounted fore and aft.

Handed over to Puntland...” No good. It becomes just a frustrating and unprofitible day for the brigands. The navy should have held quick court before the vessel’s commander and then hanged the pirates to a boom, a “yardarm” as it were. Perhaps the bodies could then have been offloaded at Puntland.

“Can ANYBODY explain the logic behind the restrictions which prevent merchant vessels and their crews from carrying weapons to protect themselves?”

You make a critical mistake in assuming socialist idiots who make anti gun laws are logical. Why return the captured pirates back to Somalia? There is no functioning government there so it is a guarantee that the pirates will be back to pirating the next day. Socialism is a mental disease and the lunatics are running the asylum. There is no such thing as logic anymore.

the do skeet shoot off the fan tail. So take about 50 shotguns and a couple of cases of slugs. 7/8 of an ounce of lead. It will go through a boat or a terrorist.

The roller bearing sabot would be a good choice also.

Worth quoting:

...Denied guns by law, the men were forced to used improvised weapons – including mini grenades made out of light bulbs and paint thinner...

I thought all ships had a controlled armory, no matter how small.

“Can ANYBODY explain the logic behind the restrictions which prevent merchant vessels and their crews from carrying weapons to protect themselves?”

So they cannot resist authority.