How do we deal with Pirate attacks?

Just give the crews some .50 BMG machineguns covering every direction and some personal weapons. I'd rather be in a huge vessel shooting a .50 cal at a speedboat than be in a speedboat shooting RPGs at a huge ship. Sinking it would defeat the purpose of piracy anyways. And I imagine it would be a real nightmare trying to clear one of those cargo ships without a huge crew of pirates, definitely not worth the money.
 
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major liability said:
Just give the crews some .50 BMG machineguns covering every direction and some personal weapons. I'd rather be in a huge vessel shooting a .50 cal at a speedboat than be in a speedboat shooting RPGs at a huge ship. Sinking it would defeat the purpose of piracy anyways. And I imagine it would be a real nightmare trying to clear one of those cargo ships without a huge crew of pirates, definitely not worth the money.
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Are we all not forgeting that some of these ships are oil tankers. Do weapons (particularily RPGs) and oil tankers mix?
 
Well I think the answer is fairly simple, place an exclusion zone around Somalia and sink any vessels found outside it.

If that fails shrink the zone until it does work even if it means sinking any vessel leaving a Somali port hell I dont care if their ports and coastal villages are attacked in the end they will get the idea and stop.
 
Well they will have to do something, there have been 4 more ships taken in the last 2 days.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7997610.stm

I suppose they could have a thin sea lane that is patrolled by aircraft from a carrier and any small vessel that strays within 10km of this gets attacked. Others within a larger zone could get searched on demand by patrol vessels. I suppose it may be necessary to allow larger traffic from Somalia into the lane and local fishermen would just have to stay away.
 
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Options:

- Send in the Navies! Problem: They are already there but do not work together: Ships from twenty countries are in the region to deter pirates. But they are not coordinating. IMHO, for starters coordination between the 20 nations should be the goal: A global piraycy fighting agency. Even with better cooperation, though, they won't be able to cover all of 1.1 million square miles of ocean that form todays pirates paradise.


- Kill them. ATM everybody is tying to capture them. This does not really make an impression, it seems. Problem: You cannot simply kill anyone on a boat out there until he acts. As Wired´s Danger Room has it:

So why can't the Navy terminate the pirates, when they're found? Well, floating around in a skiff, carrying an AK, is no crime. Nor is it an act of war. But an armed takeover of a vessel definitely is a criminal deed. Which means the pirates can get whacked, right? In fact, the international law is surprisingly murky here.
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- Allow arms on merchant vessels. Problem: Could armed but -relatively- untrained crews get rid of the pirates attacking their ship, especially if those attack from various directions and concerted?

- Mercenaries: Many have got the training, hire them. Problem: They are not wanted for other reasons, again Wireds Danger Room:
But so far, they haven't been very effective in stopping pirate attacks. Besides, few, if any, commercial shipping companies seem interested in having guns-for-hire aboard -- or sailing alongside. "At the moment, tanker vessels absolutely will not carry armed escorts on board; they will not carry any firearms; they don't like armed sailors
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This policy might change if pirate attacks start costing lives (as announced by them today) and grow in numbers.

- Sink the mother ships: Intelligence should have enough ideas where they are, and they belong to the clan chiefs. Take them out, the area to cover for the navies will shrink drastically.

- Form convoys. Worekd in earlier times, might do it again. But, it seems that in todays deliver-on-demand times shippers do not have the time to clog up.

- Do never pay ransom: Again, the relevant article at Danger Room:
Many insurance companies and shipping contractors have decided that it's easier to pay off the occasional hijcaker than to wind up with blood on their hands. So there's a "symbiosis between private insurance and privateering,"
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Would merchants agree to that? Might cost some lives initially.

- Pounce the sources, aka attack Somalia. Today, all clan chiefs have announced their relocation to other places in fear of a US aerial attack, not sure whether that works...

- build a government in Somalia: This is WildWest in the sense that for decades no formal government exists, Intl. Community could go there and form one?

Just some thoughts,

Rattler
 
rattler said:
Options:

- build a government in Somalia: This is WildWest in the sense that for decades no formal government exists, Intl. Community could go there and form one?

Just some thoughts,

Rattler
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They tried this and it failed because the Somali's didn't want it I see no good reason to try again.
If in the future they decide they want to build a stable country then all they have to do is prove it and take the first steps themselves, I am sure people will be willing to help them out but right now it is a lawless wasteland that sorely needs napalming and forgetting.
 
KJ said:
You will always risk loosing a hostage while storming wessels/houses/planes whatever.
Then again the French might have botched the operation, wouldn´t be the first time.

When you give in to pirates you only invite them to try again.
Airplane hijacks have almost completely siezed (not counting suicidal idiots) since the goverments of the world took a stand.
Same with this crap, when the hostagetakers realize the only way off a hijacked ship is in a box the hijacking rate will plummet.
Not as fun to step onboard if you know with certainty you´ll be carried off...
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I'll go with KJ on this. Hostage Rescue Op's always factor in the real possibilty of friendly causalties. Thats why dynamic breaching ops are a last resort.

Conversley you can only negotiate with hostage takers for so long until they decide to prove themselves to you.

So you you have to factor in the net result of getting the hostage out and taking the bad guys down. It's not science.
 
Most of those methods discussed so far would be relatively expensive. Perhaps the easiest and cheapest way is to form an enclave until help arrives. Remember they don't really want to kill anyone just hold them and the ship to ransom at a cost that doesn't justify a military presence. However, this limits the pirates options.

Pirates have used rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons to attack another US merchant ship off the coast of Somalia. The pirates damaged the Liberty Sun, which was carrying a cargo of food aid, but were not able to board it.
The ship asked for assistance from the American warship involved in the rescue of a US captain seized last week.

We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets, also bullets," Thomas Urbik, 26, told his mother, Katy.
"We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no-one is hurt. (A) rocket penetrated the bulkhead but the hole is small. Small fire, too, but put out."
The Liberty Sun had been en route to Mombasa from Houston, Texas, when the attack took place.
After coming under fire, the ship immediately requested assistance from the USS Bainbridge, said owners Liberty Maritime Corp in a statement.
The navy destroyer arrived some hours later, by which time the pirates had gone
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7999350.stm
 
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notice how a lot of these food aid ships are getting attacked?
What would be the consequences of not sending the aid other than the recipients starving?
 
Looks like the French have caught them. Good job Obama had made up with the French or they may have joined forces with the pirates!

A French warship has captured 11 pirates off the coast of Kenya, amid calls for the international community to deal with the problem of piracy. The pirates were captured by a warship from an EU piracy patrol, French officials said, hours after a failed attack on a US ship.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8000447.stm
 
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has unveiled a four-point plan to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
She said an expanded international effort was needed, as well as freezing pirates' assets, and plugging gaps in the shipping industry's own defences.
Improving the situation in Somalia itself was also key, she said.

Pirate attacks have increased in the past few days, including on US vessels, despite anti-piracy patrols by the US and other navies.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8001102.stm
 
The West has tried to improve the conditions in Somalia before without sucess. Hillary should know that Bill was in office. Somalia seems content to live in it's constant state of Clan warfare and sqaulor. So be it. They are a rouge region and a failed state. The only diplomacy and action they understand in their little pea brain, khat addled minds comes out of the barrel of a gun. Thats exactly what they should get.
 
perseus said:
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has unveiled a four-point plan to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
She said an expanded international effort was needed, as well as freezing pirates' assets, and plugging gaps in the shipping industry's own defences.
Improving the situation in Somalia itself was also key, she said.

Pirate attacks have increased in the past few days, including on US vessels, despite anti-piracy patrols by the US and other navies.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8001102.stm
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Hehehe, without making this a political thread..

The Clintons trackrecord in skinnyland isn´t that impressive.
A mate of mine were in on their first attempt.

In short, I´d trust her "piracy plan" about as far as I can throw her..

Cynical perhaps, but I´d take the word of my mate over hers anyday of the week.
 
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