Somali pirates (not of the Caribbean)

[HarryN]

In Feb 2008, I had a chance to visit an old middle ages castle in Heidelburg, Germany. (cannot remember the name of it, but if you go there, it is pretty obvious).

The bottom line, is that its immense wealth largely came from 3 sources:
- Charging people a "fee" for boats going up and down the river
- Taking a cut out of any local crops and business
- Various local "taxes or death" schemes.

If you didn't pay the "fee", then the chain across the river blocked you, and your ship was blown out of the water by some strategically placed cannons. This went on at many sites on the Rhine (and other) rivers for hundreds of years. Western Europe was full of such enterprises.

There was a long history of travelers paying "fees of passage" through the middle east for spices, etc.

The Panama and Suez canals are run similarly, with a similar fee structure for passage, as well as many Turnpikes and bridges in the US - virtually all long ago paid off. I am pretty sure that if I don't pay my taxes and road access fees, the local law will come a-knocking.

I don't really condone the activities off of Somalia of course, but it is interesting to put the situation into a historical context. This is probably why no one really says anything - it is a long standing practice to ask for, and receive, fees of passage in the world.

 

[jzmtl]

Still the canals and bridges are built by the investors as an investment. The pirates didn't build the sea for ship to pass. As for the castle, that's just how the world is during that time.

 

[Lightraven]

Piracy doesn't demand a fee--it demands the ship and its cargo. Nor is there any contract, express or implied. The hunting waters of pirates could be anywhere. Crews have been murdered throughout the history of piracy. Not exactly a "fee of passage."

Piracy is armed robbery on a boat. For a brief episode in history, the Golden Age of Piracy, it was used by nations as a weapon of warfare by proxy. Those nations learned that pirates, like any criminals, aren't especially nationalistic. They prey on anybody. They later learned that paying extortion fees doesn't satisfy the pirates--they continue to prey or demand ever higher extortion. The U.S. had enough and hunted down the pirates along the Barbary Coast, essentially ending piracy on a serious scale.

To the extent that the Somalis are dirt poor and shipping tycoons are a cliche known for being ultra wealthy, we might be tempted to sympathize with the former. However, ships' crews and merchant seamen aren't wealthy. They don't want to be thrown overboard, nor deserve it. However, historically, that has been the fate of many at the hands of pirates.

 

[LEDninja]

These pirates may be poor

In a report last month, the UK-based Chatham House thinktank said there had been at least 61 hijacks or attempted hijacks off Somalia this year. Ransoms paid out could exceed £1m per ship at a cost of around £20m in total.

Poor with £20m in their pockets.

 

[Monocrom]

Check out the one pirate in the boat who's smiling and waving. Oh that's funny as Hell!

 

[Ken_McE]

Poor with £20m in their pockets.

I don't know who the money goes to or how organized they are. I think the guy who's actually out there with an AK in a motorboat is probably poor.

 

[V8TOYTRUCK]

So many fun options for the pirates

.50 cal if they're close
CWIS/Phalanx for total devastation
5'' Gun to put on a show for the crew

 

[Monocrom]

It's all about willing to use force, not about what weapons you have access to.

I recall a scene in an independent film where an extremely muscular guy took off his shirt, and started flexing in front of a guy who was skinnier than Olive Oil.

Skinny dude said he knew the muscular dude wasn't actually going to do anything to him. Said it to the muscular dude.... right before kicking his @$$! Muscular dude eventually picked himself up off the floor and stumbled home.

Point being, those pirates knew that having a $#^%load of firepower doesn't mean $#^% if you don't have the willingness to use it. And many of the developed nations have shown their unwillingness recently.

That's why it's so funny that the one pirate is smiling & waving. He knows he has nothing to fear from the "muscular" ships.

 

[LuxLuthor]

The question I have is what kind of idiots load and sail a ship with rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns and 30 Russian T-72 tanks...and then let it be taken over by amateur pirates? They deserved to be humiliated for losing that one.

 

[Monocrom]

The question I have is what kind of idiots load and sail a ship with rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns and 30 Russian T-72 tanks...and then let it be taken over by amateur pirates? They deserved to be humiliated for losing that one.

As mentioned above.... Those who don't have the willingness to use force when it's needed.

 

[AlexGT]

LOL, they had way more firepower than the pirates and didn't use it! Geez!

 

[meuge]

The question I have is what kind of idiots load and sail a ship with rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns and 30 Russian T-72 tanks...and then let it be taken over by amateur pirates? They deserved to be humiliated for losing that one.

It was a civilian cargo vessel... with people who were certainly not trained in maritime combat. Should it have had marines? Maybe, but dozens of other cargo ships that have been hijacked this year are no different.

 

[nerdgineer]

Now they got themselves a Saudi supertanker. They are apparently developing a blue water (long range) piracy capability.

I think the common wisdom is that you cannot deal with pirates on the waters, you have to clean out their havens on land to get it under control. So who is going in and clean out Somalia?...

 

[LuxLuthor]

You don't have to be trained in maritime combat. You point and shoot.

You make it sound like only Marines can use guns or protect themselves. This would be the same as watching a group of thugs coming up to your home knowing you have an arsenal of weapons for self-protection...then hiding in the bathroom hoping for the best. Like I said, they deserve to be humiliated, sitting in some pathetic Somali-squalor flat, and hoping they are rescued.

 

[Monocrom]

So who is going in and clean out Somalia?...

Our brave new fearless leader....

I'm sorry, I can't say that with a straight face.

 

[Lightraven]

Actually, a Navy SEAL wrote about the difficulty of seizing a ship during the embargo of Iraq under Saddam Hussein. The Iraqis made the pilot house a veritable fortress requiring serious metal cutting and rappelling capabilities.

Rather amusingly, the crew wouldn't surrender to the SEALs when they managed to cut through, but would step forward to be punched in the face by the SEALs--one by one. In this manner, they could claim to have "defended the ship" against the Americans (with a shiner under the eye as proof) and hopefully avoid execution at the hands of the Iraq government.

 

[Ken_McE]

The question I have is what kind of idiots load and sail a ship with rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns and 30 Russian T-72 tanks...and then let it be taken over by amateur pirates?

1.) You're assuming the crew knew what was in the hold.

2.) If they knew what was in there, you're assuming it was accessible during the voyage, not covered by 50 tons of soybeans or needed a crane to lift it out or something.

3.) If they knew, and had access, you're assuming they had time to go to the weapons, prepare them, and move them to duty stations. The pirates would probably have been trying for surprise. Modern civilian ships tend to have just one guy looking forwards, and he is mostly watching the radar display. The other twenty-four people were likely below and working, not watching for boarders.

4.) Tanks are not all that useful on a ship.

5.) Anti-aircraft guns are normally not man portable. They may well require power or a crew to operate.

6.) The equipment may have disassembled and crated for shipping

7.) It is unlikely that merchant seamen had any training in operating this equipment. Just walking up cold and trying to operate these weapons in a hurry would be a recipe for disaster. Something as simple as standing in the wrong position while firing the main gun on a tank will instantly turn a large portion of your anatomy into hamburger. Firing an RPG in a confined area, like the passageways of a ship, can kill/cripple the operator in a hurry, assuming they can even figure out how to load/activate/aim it

8.) It might have been reasonable to send guards with the shipment, but no one did, and you can't really blame the crew for not doing what they weren't trained for.

 

[phenwick]

New jobs for solders for hire. The shipping companies should start putting some on their ships and deal with it.

 

[Shreknow91]

Now they got themselves a Saudi supertanker. They are apparently developing a blue water (long range) piracy capability.

I think the common wisdom is that you cannot deal with pirates on the waters, you have to clean out their havens on land to get it under control. So who is going in and clean out Somalia?...

Non family friendly phrasing removed - Empath


Now... please don't get mad at me... this is just MY Opinion

 

[tygger]

New jobs for solders for hire. The shipping companies should start putting some on their ships and deal with it.

The only problem is that it would be prohibitively expensive. There's a reason ships have no official security personnel or firearms on board, money. Higher insurance and operating costs would dramatically increase the price of goods everywhere.