Posted on 03/24/2010 5:38:53 AM PDT by docbnj
Private security guards shot and killed a Somali pirate during an attack on a merchant ship off the coast of East Africa in what is believed to be the first such killing by armed contractors, the EU Naval Force spokesman said Wednesday.
The death comes amid fears that increasingly aggressive pirates and the growing use of armed private-security contractors aboard vessels could fuel increased violence on the high seas. The handling of the case may have legal implications beyond the individuals involved in Tuesday's shooting.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
AP is the American Pravda. Nothing but communist propaganda.
Unsoak your panties, girly-men. Piracy ALWAYS involves violence, and defending against piracy ALWAYS involves violence.
You don’t get ransom if your cargo is toast and your crew is bleeding. I don’t think there is any danger of the pirates “escalating” the violence . . . especially the pirate who was killed.
That's why we have a second amendment.
Just one possibility. The pirates have the resources to escalate. Whether or not they will, and whether or not piracy will remain profitable if they do escalate remain to be determined.
You’re right: I don’t know how they could move the cargoes and ships if they couldn’t ransom them. But given their organization, I wouldn’t be surprised if they started hiring brokers...
Same bunch of bed-wetting wusses who denounce our Second Amendment. When these pirates meet superior firepower they will have a rude awakening. Too bad the navies in the region don’t deal with them as in olden days - pirates would soon learn it is not profitable to remain in their line of work.
I’d be proactive and sink every boat in that toilet bowl known as the coast of Somalia.
Brokers don't have much interest in food, clothing, or electronics that are saturated with salt water. If the pirates escalate to bigger weapons, they're going to be letting water flow to the wrong side of the ship's hull, and the cargo will be worthless. I think forcing them to escalate to a shootout with a real navy is an excellent alternative compared with paying them for committing piracy.
Ships have value even with with bullet holes in them.
Even if a relatively large amount of damage is inflicted on the ship a substantial part of the cargo will be intact, esp. if fire is directed at the superstructure rather than the hull.
The problem is not intact cargo, but finding customers.
Also, if the pirates actually do shoot hell out of a merchant ship at long range, how many other merchants are going to continue resisting?
Don't bet on it.
For the most part if these scum had any native intelligence they wouldn't still be living in the seventh century.
My money is on private security forces, the Indian Navy, and others on the good side from countries that don't care about a few dead pirates. Financially, the pirates can't just shoot up a ship at long range. A cargo ship can take a whole lot of damage compared with the little speed boats they use for interceptions, or even with the pirate mother ships. Unless the pirates are using weapons that could destroy the cargo, the good guys get to shoot back, and it doesn't take many RPG hits to win against a pirate boat. By the time the pirates know they are in a shooting match, they will be dead, if we sink them instead of trying to make arrests.
Well, I’m for sinking the pirates, burning out their home ports, destroying their suppliers, and sanctioning anyone who pays them ransoms.
In the meantime, if private security companies can cut into their income stream I’m all for them, too!
Contractors Kill Somali Pirate, Prompting Fears of Rise in Violence...against the Somali pirates.
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