Yaaargggg!!! Pirates seize French cruise ship

ayabe

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2005
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PARIS, France (AP) -- Pirates seized control of a French cruise ship Friday off the coast of Somalia, France's Foreign Ministry said.

A ministry official said details about the attack were scarce, and it was not clear how many crew members were on board the ship or if there were any passengers.

The ship is in the high seas in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.

The official declined to identify the vessel or its owner.

The ministry has set up a crisis center to deal with the situation, said the official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off the Somali coast last year.

The U.S. Navy has led international patrols to try to combat piracy in the region. Last year, the guided missile destroyer USS Porter opened fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied to a Japanese tanker.

Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have its own navy and a transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control.

The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy, said in its annual report earlier this year that global pirate attacks rose by 10 percent in 2007, marking the first increase in three years.

CNN

Details are pretty slim, we don't even know if passengers are onboard.

But what I don't understand is why anyone is getting anywhere near Somalia, this stuff has been getting out of control.

Arming the crews of these ships is the only way I see to stop this from happening, put a .50 cal on one of these boats and the pirates would be in for a surprise.
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
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Originally posted by: ayabe
Arming the crews of these ships is the only way I see to stop this from happening, put a .50 cal on one of these boats and the pirates would be in for a surprise.

That would just result in a bunch of people getting shot. People drink on cruise ships. People woud be shooting one another all the time over arguments about who cut in the buffet line. The pirates would be far more skilled with their guns anyway, and would easily overcome the opposition, except then the people on the cruise ship would be dead for sure. The best thing they can do is try to comply with the pirates wishes, give them what they want and hope they don't actually hurt anyone.
 

maddogchen

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2004
8,905
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1. take a bunch of navy speedboats
2. dress them up like rich yachts
3. sail near Somalia in international waters about 5 miles in.
4. When pirates approach and cross the international water line, break out the anti-ship missiles and blow them away.
5. repeat
 

bbdub333

Senior member
Aug 21, 2007
684
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Originally posted by: Nebor
Originally posted by: ayabe
Arming the crews of these ships is the only way I see to stop this from happening, put a .50 cal on one of these boats and the pirates would be in for a surprise.

That would just result in a bunch of people getting shot. People drink on cruise ships. People woud be shooting one another all the time over arguments about who cut in the buffet line. The pirates would be far more skilled with their guns anyway, and would easily overcome the opposition, except then the people on the cruise ship would be dead for sure. The best thing they can do is try to comply with the pirates wishes, give them what they want and hope they don't actually hurt anyone.

Or maybe they should just stop going near Somalia...
 

ayabe

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2005
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Originally posted by: Nebor
Originally posted by: ayabe
Arming the crews of these ships is the only way I see to stop this from happening, put a .50 cal on one of these boats and the pirates would be in for a surprise.

That would just result in a bunch of people getting shot. People drink on cruise ships. People woud be shooting one another all the time over arguments about who cut in the buffet line. The pirates would be far more skilled with their guns anyway, and would easily overcome the opposition, except then the people on the cruise ship would be dead for sure. The best thing they can do is try to comply with the pirates wishes, give them what they want and hope they don't actually hurt anyone.

Certain crew members only, not the passengers.

These guys are not well trained, they are local yahoos in banana boats with RPG's, few rounds would sink them long before they got close enough to do anything to anyone.

 

Atreus21

Lifer
Aug 21, 2007
12,007
572
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Originally posted by: Nebor
Originally posted by: ayabe
Arming the crews of these ships is the only way I see to stop this from happening, put a .50 cal on one of these boats and the pirates would be in for a surprise.

That would just result in a bunch of people getting shot. People drink on cruise ships. People woud be shooting one another all the time over arguments about who cut in the buffet line. The pirates would be far more skilled with their guns anyway, and would easily overcome the opposition, except then the people on the cruise ship would be dead for sure. The best thing they can do is try to comply with the pirates wishes, give them what they want and hope they don't actually hurt anyone.

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or if you can't possibly support the second amendment.

I think the former, but again, I'm not sure.
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
11
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Originally posted by: ayabe
Originally posted by: Nebor
Originally posted by: ayabe
Arming the crews of these ships is the only way I see to stop this from happening, put a .50 cal on one of these boats and the pirates would be in for a surprise.

That would just result in a bunch of people getting shot. People drink on cruise ships. People woud be shooting one another all the time over arguments about who cut in the buffet line. The pirates would be far more skilled with their guns anyway, and would easily overcome the opposition, except then the people on the cruise ship would be dead for sure. The best thing they can do is try to comply with the pirates wishes, give them what they want and hope they don't actually hurt anyone.

Certain crew members only, not the passengers.

These guys are not well trained, they are local yahoos in banana boats with RPG's, few rounds would sink them long before they got close enough to do anything to anyone.

We tried "certain crew members only" with airplanes, and now we have pilots shooting holes in their planes.
 

spacejamz

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
10,781
1,386
126
Originally posted by: ayabe

Arming the crews of these ships is the only way I see to stop this from happening, put a .50 cal on one of these boats and the pirates would be in for a surprise.

the cruise line could add a 'shoot a .50 cal machine gun' attraction on the cruise ship and charge $50 or whatever to shoot for a few minutes... everybody wins :)


 
Jun 27, 2005
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Or they could just stay away from East Africa?

Actually I don't see anything wrong with arming the cruise ships. The Cruise Lines could contract with the Coast Guard or some "private contractor" or train their own private security. The guns/missles could be placed in strategic areas around the ship so the passengers never see them. Some .50 cal or 20mm cannons (Gatlin style like on the A-10) would work just fine...

Two guns on the stern, two along each side and two more on the bow... 8 guns... a crew of 24... Assuming a large passenger liner. I dunno... there's lots of ways to do it.
 

Double Trouble

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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In related news, the French navy has decided to surrender to the pirate ships immediately. ;)

Seriously though, they need to do some "sting" operations in that area, send some nice yachts through, wait for some pirates to try and do something, then blow them out of the water. Repeat as needed.
 
Jun 27, 2005
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Originally posted by: tagej
In related news, the French navy has decided to surrender to the pirate ships immediately. ;)

Seriously though, they need to do some "sting" operations in that area, send some nice yachts through, wait for some pirates to try and do something, then blow them out of the water. Repeat as needed.

Nothing better than live bait! *wiggle wiggle*
 

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
26,967
35,580
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Update is that a French Navy ship is following it now... I hope there are no women on board. :frown:


Actually I don't see anything wrong with arming the cruise ships. The Cruise Lines could contract with the Coast Guard or some "private contractor" or train their own private security. The guns/missles could be placed in strategic areas around the ship so the passengers never see them. Some .50 cal or 20mm cannons (Gatlin style like on the A-10) would work just fine...


I couldn't agree more, arm them up! If the execs of these cruise companies would get their collective heads out of their asses and take piracy seriously (shipping companies, talking to you too!) we wouldn't hear anything regarding this issue in the news. A simple squad of proficient shooters with scoped M-14s on-board would solve the vast majority of attempts, and it's a solution that's available now and at a small cost, unlike the some of the other new fangled things we've been hearing about lately, the directed sound technology for instance (even though it is pretty cool, and already in action). I mean, screw paying for escort fuel, how much is 7.62Nato ball these days? Not sure about the main gun idea, seems to me the obvious heavy weaponry could sorta undermine the whole 'relaxing vacation' image that sells with cruise line customers. We're talking about fishing boats and Zodiacs generally, not a light cruiser or destroyers.
Regardless of the specifics, something needs to be done - fire hoses and hauling ass don't cut it.

$10 says the French go Le Seal on these idiots, and pimp the hell out of it to combat the stereotype already at play in this very thread. Do I smell an example in the making?
 

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
26,967
35,580
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the cruise line could add a 'shoot a .50 cal machine gun' attraction on the cruise ship and charge $50 or whatever to shoot for a few minutes... everybody wins


Forgot to add that's the best idea I've heard all week. :thumbsup::D



 

rpanic

Golden Member
Dec 1, 2006
1,896
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Originally posted by: kage69
the cruise line could add a 'shoot a .50 cal machine gun' attraction on the cruise ship and charge $50 or whatever to shoot for a few minutes... everybody wins


Forgot to add that's the best idea I've heard all week. :thumbsup::D

Just make the cruise for pirate hunting. They could mount the pirate?s heads for them as trophies and video tapes to take home. You know there would be people out there that would pay for this kind of adventure cruise.