Posted on 11/06/2005 7:39:59 AM PST by aculeus
A few crew members armed with shotguns could make matters uncomfortable for a boarding party.
Why would anyone want to cruise near Somolia?
I thought all merchant ships had a small armory....
Armed men on board two 25ft inflatable boats fired live bullets and rocket-propelled grenades as they tried to climb aboard the liner.
Owl_Eagle
"You know, I'm going to start thanking
the woman who cleans the restroom in
the building I work in. I'm going to start
thinking of her as a human being"
My motorhome has a slide-out living room. Surely, cruise ships could be fitted with slide-out armored gun turrets. Flamethrowers sound good too.
Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum!
Leni
I'm told that Mogadishu is lovely this time of year.
A better ending to the story would have been for the pirates to be blown out of the water with some 54-calibre Mark 42 single gun mounts - should be standard equipment for all trans-Atlantic cruise ships.
I'm sure - LOL.
Allah Aaaarrgghhh!!
It is kinda difficult to imagine how -- exactly -- they planned to board ship.
I think all they had for defense were water hoses. No kidding.
If the pirates had managed to board, they would have been able to steal a king's fortune in cash and jewelry from the very rich passengers.
The ship was very lucky.
This really plays up the class envy angle, to a factually dishonest degree. The reality is that the cost for this all inclusive vacation option is about $300-400 per person per day, if you are in a standard room with a balcony. I highly doubt that Trump or Gates has ever been a passenger onboard, unless they chartered the whole ship. And the Conde Nast rating of "the most luxurious in the world" sounds dubious. Yes, Seabourne rates at or near the top of small ship cruise lines in their reader's choice poll, but that's it.
Photo's show aach open boat - only slightly larger than a Boston Whaler - ONLY held 5-6 people.
When everybody is disarmed (Because they were searched and x-rayed prior to getting on the cruise ship!), only the criminals will have arms.
ONly a few weapons, held by 4-5 crew members - could have held off the whole raiding party.
Next pirate ship only need be bigger - as they are off the Indonesian straits.
Most ports of call and most countries that flag cruise liners, tankers and freighters don't allow them to have any defensive fire arms aboard.
These rules are just nuts as the terrorists and pirates are out there and very bold. Maybe the ship owners ban arms as they hire multi national crews can't expect the low wages to ensure loyalty to the ship or captain.
I'm pretty sure they have a modest arsenal under lock and key. But for inflatable boats, all you'd need is a CO2 airgun.
Doubtful. Weapons would get you hassled in almost every port.
Nah, a couple of dual 3"/50 mounts should be quite sufficient. At least that's what the Navy told us on our Leahy-class DLG's. :=)
The passengers all contribute to the right muslim causes, too.
Where's the gratitude?
...200-man crew and no security??? Those boats should have been not just repelled, but sunk!
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