Somali Pirates Rocking The World (Language alert)

Pat Dollard ^ | Nov 25, 2008 | Pat Dollard

[Islander7]

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) — Shipping officials from around the world called Monday for a military blockade along Somalia’s coast to intercept pirate vessels heading out to sea.

But NATO, which has four warships off the coast of Somalia, rejected the idea.

Somali pirates have become increasingly brazen, seizing eight vessels in the last two weeks, including a huge Saudi supertanker with $100 million worth of crude oil.

Peter Swift of the International Assn. of Independent Tanker Owners said stronger naval action and aerial support were necessary to battle rampant piracy in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia.

About 20 tankers sail through the sea lane daily. But many owners are considering a lengthy detour around southern Africa to avoid pirates, which will delay delivery and push costs up by 30%, he said.

The association, whose members own 2,900 tankers, or 75% of the world’s fleet, opposes calls to arm merchant ships because it could escalate the violence and put crews at greater risk, he said.

“The other option is perhaps putting a blockade around Somalia and introducing the idea of intercepting vessels leaving Somalia rather than to try to protect the whole of the Gulf of Aden,” Swift said.

The gulf connects to the Red Sea, which is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal. The route is thousands of miles and many days shorter than traveling around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

[Islander7]

A blockade along Somalia’s nearly 1,900-mile coastline would be difficult.

“But some intervention there may be effective,” Swift told reporters at a shipping conference in Malaysia.

[roaddog727]

Well, they could always just arm the vessels with M2 caliber .50 Heavy machine guns and Mark 19 Grenade launchers. Maw duece and MK 19 will wreck your day........

[angkor]

Ridiculous.

What a bunch of sissies.

The only way to stop it is with extreme retaliatory measures.

[Star Traveler]

A combination of war ships patrolling along with military jets “on call” for sinking pirate ships would do that effectively, I would think. It shouldn’t be too difficult to do that — if many (and/or several) nations work together.

I really don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s not too difficult to put together, with those countries who have the resources, with other countries helping pay the bills for it, too.

[tvdog12345]

This is not our problem. Oil flowing through the Suez is bound for Europe, not the U.S. I see a job here for the French navy (even the French should be able to take on the Somalis).

[SMARTY]

The ‘Mr. “I Hate America”President’ will take care of that right away...

He will meet with them ‘unconditionally’ and once our ‘tribute’ to them begins, the pirates will back off. Simple!!!

[Star Traveler]

You said — “Well, they could always just arm the vessels with M2 caliber .50 Heavy machine guns and Mark 19 Grenade launchers. Maw duece and MK 19 will wreck your day........”

Well, militarizing cargo shipments would be problematic, I would think. It would also lead to an escalation of militarization of the pirates. There would be a ratcheting up on both sides, if this kind of policy was taken.

The better mode of operation for putting these pirates out of business is to give it to the military branches of various countries (with them working together) to have a combination of patrolling military ships, along with military jets, on call, and shoot the pirates out of the water.

That should be effective *in short order* — because the military branches of various countries are *well equipped* to do the job...

[MindBender26]

Easy solutions:

Commercially available thermal imaging cameras on lookout stations on ships. They are routinely mounted on police cars, cost is <$10,000. No way a pirate vessel can sneak up under cover of darkness when this is used. Would see the neat signature from a pirate boat at >7000 meters.

M2 machine guns with permanently welded mounts in 5 or 6 positions around ship. MK 19 grenade launcher is also a good choice here.

Convoy system with 4 ships together.

Rewards to privateers for each pirate boat sunk, and pirate killed.

[roaddog727]

I disagree.

That would be like waiting for the cops to come (after the fact) after some home invader came by and raped your wife, kidnapped your daughter and trashed you house.

An armed society is a polite society.

Also, if it escalates, fine. I can't see a pirate vessel mounting a 5 inch deck gun on one of their vessels. Too big, too heavy. On a tanker, it wouldn't even register on the scale.

[Blue Highway]

Rewards to privateers for each pirate boat sunk, and pirate killed.

Unfortunately, in the world and day we live in, these actions are frowned upon. It would be a good start for not caving in to terrorism.

[PapaBear3625]

The only thing that will work is for pirate boats to be blown out of the water on sight. It doesn’t take a lot, if you an use those rules of engagement. All it would take is a couple of UAVs with good night-vision capabilities making patrols along the shipping lanes.

[Blue Highway]

I also never understood why cargo ships were not armed.

[Blue Highway]

Patrol the shipping lanes with Predator Drones? What about a few submarines lurking underwater to keep the pirates nervous that they be sunk at any given moment. The fear would be enough to keep them from pulling their crap.

[roaddog727]

Roger that.

On the high seas, you always have the right to self defense.

I will be soon getting a sailing vessel of my own, and I’m making damn sure I can defend myself against hostile acts. From a distance

[holden]

could escalate the violence and put crews at greater risk

Spoken like true inside jobbers among the ships' crews.

HF

[PapaBear3625]

Patrol the shipping lanes with Predator Drones? What about a few submarines lurking underwater to keep the pirates nervous that they be sunk at any given moment.

A submarine costs somewhere over a $billion and has a crew of about 140 men. A Predator costs a few million, can be operated by somebody in the US drinking coffee in an office, and can patrol a MUCH larger area.

And from 30,000 feet, your first indication that your pirate boat has been spotted is when a 500 pound smart bomb hits you. I would think THAT would be much more terrifying.

[Star Traveler]

You said — “I disagree.

That would be like waiting for the cops to come (after the fact) after some home invader came by and raped your wife, kidnapped your daughter and trashed you house.”

—

Well, notwithstanding that we individually have the right to defend ourselves, individually, being armed — this is not something that carries over to the international scene in the same manner.

The solution is so simple and so quickly solved by the military forces of several countries working together in this area — that’s it’s sort of stupid to go any other route.

The military forces of several relevant and significant countries are already equipped and already trained. The people on board these cargo ships are not trained and don’t have the military equipment to do these things.

The militaries of several countries could be put to use, immediately, within a matter of days and effectively put a stop to this. To go the other route would take years of training and equipping of many vessels, a *repeating* of resources, over and over again, on many different cargo ships (while the militaries of several countries are *already* equipped and trained).

Ships at sea are relatively slow moving and military jets can quickly respond to these attacks — even quicker than a cargo ship can even *become engaged* personally with these pirates.

There’s no reason to go to a much more *complex* solution for attacking these pirates, when *all the resources* are there and available for *immediate use* through the militaries of various countries. That’s what patrolling the high seas is about, anyway. We’re only talking about adding an “on-call” function for military jets to respond to calls in this particular area.

The owners of the various cargo ships wouldn’t want to increase their risks by engaging in military-style battles on board their ships. They’re not inclined to do that, which is why they simply pay the ransoms. It’s going to have to be the military branches of several countries that responds to this kind of threat.

So, when you look at the situation, you look at the available resources you have, who has the ability to respond effectively to these things (think “India” for a recent example, of “military response”) and how fast you can deploy these resources.

In all regards, it’s the military that can do it...

[Minn]

And from 30,000 feet...

You sure drones fly that high?

[roaddog727]

It will still be a day late and a dollar short.

[Star Traveler]

You said — “It will still be a day late and a dollar short.”

I can’t see how it could be. With a coordinated effort, planned as in the style of the military, one can respond to such attacks in minutes with the combination of patrolling by ship and responding by military jet aircraft, which are “on call” for these situation and are staged in areas (either on board aircraft carriers or land bases).

Attacks have even been thwarted by cargo ships by simply being aware and outrunning pirate ships... LOL... If they can do that, by being aware, it’s really obvious that by simply being aware and calling in the military jets you will *liquidate* all the pirates’ assets in short order... :-)

This is sort of like “a piece of cake” with regards to the kind of results you would have, of wiping out the pirates in short order.