Let's just give the pirates our ships - bullets first, ARRGH!

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Mike wrote:

XD-GEM wrote:

My Dad is a Maritime Law attorney - that's a lawyer who deals with legal issues arising from seafaring. He says that having armed crews is problematic for international ships because it would be illegal in some ports of call for there to be any weapons on a mechant vessel. Military vessels making ports of call in such places must be granted waivers in order to enter the territorials waters of such places.

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OK, but seems to me there is a difference between military vessals and crews with garden variety guns on board - ask your dad which ports would refuse entry or board and inspect an American flagged vessal looking to seize or prosecute for ordinary rifles and shotguns?

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I asked him about this, and he couldn't name them off the top of his head. (He's semi-retired and hasn't had to deal with this particular issue in awhile; but said he'd try to look it up for me, if he remembers). He did say that if you check the countries that gave us grief over arming pilots, you'd probably have a good list. That problem was solved, so this one ought to be doable as well.

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I used to be a commercial fisherman off Florida's east coast, Piracy was alive and wellback in the late 80's just as it is now.
And we were only in 45-65 foot Fiberglass hulled vessels with a total crew of 3 men. While near Bahamian waters we had to keep an eye out for dirtbags trying to forcibly board our vessel, and the ones on boardthat were legal to own a firearm, carried one to defend oursleves against any such attacks!
To top it off, the Bahamian coast guard were some of the worst piracy criminals in the area! They would try to say we were illegally fishing in Bahamian waters, attempt to board the vessels, if they were successful they would take over the helm and the boat would get docked on the main island, the crew held in jail until the vessels owner would bail them out and they would get their boat back completely stripped of all valuables.

The 103' US Coast Guard cutter "Point Barnes" stationed in Ft. Pierce FL has saved alot of commercial boats from being taken by criminals based in the Bahama's. it is amazing how a single deck cannon can dissuade would be pirates and drug runners alike. If a commercial shipping vessel was know to be armed, I have a feeling they would be left alone for easier targets. Just like how when we go armed, Would be criminals tend to avoid us.

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Nutczak wrote:

SNIP: it is amazing how a single deck cannon can dissuade would be pirates and drug runners alike...

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This is simply OC on the high seas with the exact same benefits and risks we landlubbers experience everyday.

Of course it works!

These US-flagged ships are used to deliver US aid to starving nations. Are they really going to say we can't come to their port if we're armed?

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Tomahawk wrote:

CaptainFinn wrote:

I think two reasonably-trained ship's crew armed with scoped M1A's could eliminate any pirate threat bopping about on the waves from a safe distance before the leeetle boat could come within AK47 range--especially 'Somali Grade' AK47 range, which appears to be about twenty feet.

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That's mostly true, for now perhaps. It assumes that a huge ship with a crew of only 20 men can spare a lookout all the time. The pirates could bring more men and more firepower, but they'd be better off looking for an unarmed ship to plunder.

The Obama administration, like all these modern idiot presidents, is talking big about "ending piracy" blah blah. They're missing the point.

The US government should be concerned with protectng US vessels, and the hell with the rest; they can handle it themselves. The goal here should be a situation where a pirate runs the other way as soon as he sees the stars and stripes flying from a merchant ship's mast. That flag should mean nothing but trouble for a pirate, the threat of the armed men aboard that ship should convinve the pirate that he would be better served finding some other ship to go after.

Id we can reach that point (and it really wouldn't take much), then the US government has fulfilled its duty.

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A lot like OCing isn't it - tells the BGs to pick a softer target !!!

Yata hey

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Grapeshot wrote:

A lot like OCing isn't it - tells the BGs to pick a softer target !!!

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And deters further while you are around the area.

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Nutczak wrote:

I used to be a commercial fisherman off Florida's east coast, Piracy was alive and wellback in the late 80's just as it is now.

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I was in the Carribean late '70's - early 80's and piracy was flourishing there as well. Not that the MSM paid any attention to it (then or now). It was not uncommon to see a little ol' lady in her white shorts 'n tennies with an Uzi slung on her shoulder board a motor sailboat on the pier in St. Thomas. preparatory to putting outto sea. The problem was with drug runners siezing the boatsas 'delivery packages'. The boat captains and passengers 'dispatched'... and the boats sunk when the deliverys were completed. 'Lost at sea... missing.' Would be a small report in local papers. 'Lotta private boats put out the sea anchor at night and shut down. Easy marks for pirates.

Commercial frieghters/tankers should have armories aboard and maintain lookouts. Many don't... they just run on auto-pilot. I have observed (foreign)freighters at sea with nobody on the bridge... or aloft. Scary.