It isn't a military ship. To keep 24 hour watch would be crazy. These cargo ships are out at sea a long ass time.
Seriously this is starting to make me mad. FBI is involved which is good, the have a good HRT but it is about time to get moving. I don't understand why they don't grab these bastards.
I can understand not arming these boats. Right now, the pirates seem to be releasing crew and ship unharmed when they are paid their ransom. They can capture a ship without shooting anyone. If crews start shooting at pirates, then pirates will have to be more violent from the outset on any boarding attempt. So, while you may protect your own ship with armed security, you would still escalate violence for all other victims. Much like I don't want a CHL-carrier defending a Burger King register, I don't think armed sailors should defend multi-million boats.
Again, I'm not trying to be blood-thirsty about this. However, earlier I mentioned twin 50s because IIRC they have a 2,000+ yard range, especially those that are electronically targeted. At that range, the skiffs could be warned. If they keep coming, start shooting. Second, when there is an attack, Naval air could get into the area quickly and detain any proximate mother ship long enough for a Naval warship to arrive and "inspect" it. Again, I plead maritime inexperience in such affairs, but I feel that this is a question that needs consideration. Also, should we consider sinking every ship moored at Eyl just to send a message?
Unless you are talking about the pirate with the chesty babe in MoonDogg's picture, I can't understand for the life of me how you could make such a statement. That's way past absurd. JuanValdez's position is predicated on minimizing loss of life now and in the future. That I can understand. Please explain your position.
By 24 hour watch I mean several eyes on the water. Because that is what it would take to positively ID the pirates. They come on the ship very fast and are very small. In 15 minutes they can be out of sight out of range to boarding. The best deterence is swift decisive action when they do this. Make it unprofitable in a huge way. No one should ever feel they can take a US flagged ship by force and have it work out to their benefit.
The main problem is there is no time and no warning. If they had the benefit of knowing and warning like you are suggesting they could easily flip the boat over with the huge water cannons.
Possibly because these are Somalia pirates who did this to our soldiers? NSFW Spoiler I know you are trying to be funny, but these people are sub-human.
Dude, WTF I can't believe you would say something like that, if I ever run into you I am going Pirate of the Caribean on yo ass - mofo
While I agree on not rooting for the pirates (they're a good underdog facing overwhelming odds right now, but the captain is an even bigger underdog at the moment; besides the 4 Somalis lost some of that underdog when they called home for help), but I think you're going over the line. These pirates most likely had nothing to do with Blackhawk Down. Are you harboring a resentment against all Somalis? And, has that resentment gotten so bitter that you want to dehumanize your perceived enemy? They aren't subhuman; they are human and doing many of the wicked things humans usually do.
Something has to be done about this ongoing piracy BS. Take the fight to them on the shore. This is getting very old and it's absurd that this can happen in the present-day. It's just going to keep getting worse. You can't patrol all that ocean. You have to take the fight to them on shore. Unfortunately, that means hostages are going to be placed in peril. But, if you continue to play Marco Polo in the ocean, then it's just going to get worse. The world should not be playing the victim of blackmail here. These pirates deserve to die a harsh death. Wipe them out. Teach them a lesson. Do the Black Ops thing. Do whatever needs to be done.
