Somali Pirates: What to do?

[timkona]

4 Americans last week.
7 Danes this week including 3 children!!!

I'm sure we all agree that those are dangerous waters, and only the foolish sail through them. However, at some point, something must be done.

I say blast 'em.

What do you think?

[timkona]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

35 views and not one person has a comment???????


Thread Killer strikes again. Too hot a topic eh?

[Mike_Lowery]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Like you said, it's a dangerous place to be. Why even bother going to that part of the world when you know what the risks are? Water covers 2/3 of the world and they chose that freaking part to sail. Do nothing about it. Violence will breed more violence.

Starve the pirates by not going there and giving them people to rob. Doing something about it further inflates the arrogance of the West, who thinks they can go where they please and tell others where they can't go.

[matapule]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Mike, I disagree. These are international waters, people have a right to be there. Cruisers use this passage to gain access to the Suez Canal and the Med rather than going the long route around Africa.

However, I would not take my boat there, as well as a few other places in the world. I have friends from San Diego who did cruise through this area 2 years ago without incident. But they admit it took a week for them to unpucker after the 25 hour transit was complete.

What do you do about the pirates? I don't have a solution other than to not go there. Pirates have the same rights to those waters as everyone else.......as long as they don't engage in piracy. But you got to catch them first, "in the act."

And it is a hot topic on the boating nets.

[bjd392]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

There's a fine line when it comes to dealing with these pirates. IF these were days of old, then they would follow the laws of the high seas where pirates were international criminals, and their crime of piracy meant certain hanging from a yardarm upon capture.

However, as bold and brazen as these pirates are, they do have a slight inkling of intelligence. A HIGH percentage of their attacks occur within the 12 nm territorial waters of some country. Granted, the Indian Ocean is vast and their coverage is large, but a good portion, over 90% of the reports that come in, say their attacks are within territorial waters of a sovereign nation, even if it's some miscellaneous useless island chain of rocks in the middle of nowhere.

Because of this, their capture places them subject to the laws of that nation, which involves court trials and other legal processes. As much as we would love to obliterate these pirates according to the laws of high seas, they play the political game of attacking merchant vessels and private yachts within a territorial claim, rendering them to the mercy of laws, vice high seas engagement.

But reiterating leisure craft and vessels who have no business around Africa and areas of piracy, don't be stupid and test fate. Piracy in that region already has world recognition and warnings explicitly say to avoid that area. Ignoring these blatant warnings is a first class invitation to meet Darwin, Neptune and Davy Jones personally.

[bjd392]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Starve the pirates by not going there and giving them people to rob. Doing something about it further inflates the arrogance of the West, who thinks they can go where they please and tell others where they can't go.

This notion that "the West" is the terrible hand is far from true. As far as international trade and commerce, there are several hundred merchant vessels from dozens of flagged countries that transit through the Indian Ocean daily, and a majority of them are NOT from the "West."

Anti-piracy coalitions come from many countries that want to protect their vessels of interest. Usually, these are from the countries that actually have the capability to perform this action. U.S. (obviously), France, Italy, England, India, and even China and Korea are sending warships into that region to protect their assets. Most of the M/Vs that transit the area hail from Greece, Panama, Malaysia, and multiple European and Asiatic countries. Just because an American warship or two is over there providing assistance against piracy doesn't mean this has ANYTHING to do with Western arrogance. It's about protecting naval shipping, a practice that has been done for over 400 years, if not more.

[turtlegirl]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Bait Boat!! Like the show Bait Car, but at sea!

[timkona]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Awesome Idea TG!!!

Get a nice looking yacht. Load it up with former SEALS/Marines/Delta Force etc. Arm them to the teeth. And do circles in front of Somalias coast.

LOLOLOL

[LikaNui]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

4 Americans last week.

The two murdered owners of that yacht, Scott and Jean Adam, were old friends of mine.

7 Danes this week including 3 children!!!

I obviously hope they all survive, but shame on them for taking their children into such dangerous circumstances.

I say blast 'em. What do you think?

Since two of my friends were killed, it's pretty easy to imagine what I think. At the moment, nuking Somalia off the face of the earth seems reasonable to me.

[timkona]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

So sorry to hear that LikaNui. Old friends are the dearest.

To elaborate on TG's exceptional idea, how about this.

We take a medium to large sized yacht, say about 130' or so. We start a tour business whose only function is to hunt pirates. Kinda like the hunting businesses here in Hawaii or places like Wyoming.

People pay X dollars for the tour, and then rent the weapon of choice by the hour.

$50 for a M-16
$200 for a 50 cal.
$2000 for Stinger Missile.

We could include real yummy food just like on a regular cruise ship. Have betting pools for who get the most kills. Etc . Etc.

Endless Possibilities here. And probably plenty of clientele at about $100,000 a pop.

[joshuatree]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Awesome Idea TG!!!

Get a nice looking yacht. Load it up with former SEALS/Marines/Delta Force etc. Arm them to the teeth. And do circles in front of Somalias coast.

LOLOLOL

It's just simply too much water to do this. The pirates aren't just conducting their raids off the Somali coast anymore.

I always pondered the possibility of setting up secured sea lanes with the use of some old school airships that act as spotters along the sea lane. Didn't the old airships even have the capacity to carry a light single prop plane? If so, that be the immediate interceptor in the case of a spotted attack while the nearest military vessel is enroute to assist. But I guess it becomes a question of who pays for the system.

[68-eldo]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Convoys like during WWII between the US and England?

[matapule]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Convoys like during WWII?

That is already being done by private yachts in that area. But what are 6 private yachts armed with maybe a rifle each going to do with one fast pirate ship with 20 guys armed with Uzis? Like in the the law of the jungle, the pirate ship will pick off the slowest and weakest in the convoy and ignore the others.

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Is there some international law against firearms on ocean vessels? Is it because ships will cross into foreign territorial waters sooner or later?

[matapule]

Re: Somali Pirates: What to do?

Is there some international law against firearms on ocean vessels?

No, there isn't. And if there was, who would enforce it?