Originally posted by: BarneyFife
Ship owners hire private security.
Problem solved.
Some of them have. The pirates tend to go after "easier targets", and apparently have "insider" information about which ships have private security on board. (Which isn't an amazing feat.)
Originally posted by: Slapstick
My solution, station a Carrier battle group half way between the southern and northern most boarders of the pirate attacks. Fly Hawkeyes for surveillance and radio communications. Receive distress call from a ship being attacked and flight of F18's is launched to intercept. Given the distance they should be there within 20 min. Attack pirates, hopefully destroy pirates and get great training to boot. It's a win, win situation. Less pirates and more real life training for our guys.
Regardless, it's not like they engage in battle for 3 hours before they get on board. They sneak up on the ship and climb on board. Unless you've forgotten, it's night for a significant portion of the time. They sneak on board. They don't engage in battles with the crew. And, the pirates are apparently smart. According to one article I was recently reading, they're now hiring caterers to prepare food for their captives. Put yourself in the shoes of anyone in those waters who's confronted by pirates - fight to the death against people who are better trained and more heavily armed than you? Or, say, "fuck it. It's not my battle. Let them take me hostage, feed me, take care of me, and eventually release me after my company pays them. I'm not *that* loyal to my company that I'm going to give my life for them." They had an interview on NPR today with the captain of one ship that had been captured. I missed most of the story, but the parts I overheard were that basically, it was over before it began (20 minutes for the attack copters is about 19 1/2 minutes too late), and that the captain gave them a carton of cigarettes that he usually saved for trading with fishermen for fish.
Originally posted by: dguy6789
Amused's method will cost significantly less lives than any alternative that is currently being used to deal with pirates.(Paying them and keeping them coming back for more)
Less than what? I just googled "pirates killed", expecting to see some story with "pirates killed seven of the crew" that I must have missed in earlier news reports. Instead, I found page after page of stories about pirates themselves getting killed.
Apparently, pirates are already risking their lives and many have been killed. Doesn't seem like death is much of a deterrent when you live in a shit-hole of a country.
But, let's suggest that Amused's idea of making it a policy to kill pirates becomes policy, rather than negotiate with them. What happens then if you're guaranteed that IF you get caught on board, they're blowing your ass out of the water? You think it will stop the acts of piracy? May I remind you that historically pirates were hung when caught. Thus, they didn't hold the crews and cargo - they took what they wanted, killed the crews, sunk the ships.
Go ahead - make it a policy of attacking the ships - when the pirates are caught. Holding the ships for ransom is the EASY way for the pirates to make money. They'd otherwise live in shitholes. (And, the piracy has actually been good for the economies of some of the villages that the pirates are working out of.) ***Switch policies by escalating the response and the pirates can and will will simply escalate their strategy up to killing the crew, taking what they want, sinking the ship. They may not necessarily kill the crew, or necessarily sink the ship. But, many of them are going to make it back home with much more money/goods than they still would otherwise have been able to obtain in a lifetime. While it's a risky proposition, it's still going to be a risk they're willing to take. People don't necessarily act rationally when it comes to gambling and the possibility of great rewards. Look at Los Vegas as a simple example.
There are other suggestions I may as well point out the short-sightedness of. Sure, you're free to open fire on any vessel coming straight at you, with the Jolly Roger flying, in broad daylight. Pirates aren't going to work that way. They're disguised as fishing vessels. What do you do if you're the tanker, heading straight toward a fishing vessel that's 5 miles in front of you? Do a u-turn? Stop?? Give me a break. You're going to go right past that fishing vessel. Maybe it's a fishing vessel, maybe it's pirates waiting for you. Hopefully, you see it in the dark. (I don't know how good the radar is; and I haven't seen someone experienced on these large ships chiming in about their ability to detect small craft in the water.)
The *ONLY* way (imho) to stop the problem, is to have a government in place that will deal with the pirates and not allow their country to essentially be a safe-haven for the pirates. I mean, I could head up to the St Lawrence Seaway and with a little thought, manage to board a ship and take the crew hostage. (Of course, I'd need the help of a handful of people who thought that way.) Why don't I do it? (Besides the fact that I'm generally a nice law abiding citizen who would never even entertain the thought.) Because, even if I got off board the ship, with a million dollars in ransom in my hand, the FBI and every other law enforcement agency in this country would be looking for me to give me a good spanking.
***edit: right now, the pirates are using the easiest, most effective way of getting money once they've captured the ships. Taking part of the cargo, or anything else off the ship, selling it on the black market, etc., is slower, more work, and doesn't provide as much of a reward. BUT, it STILL rewards the pirates.
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