Piracy...Why So Hard To Defend Against?

As an admitted naval defense measures dummy, would someone please explain to me why it appears to be so difficult for a large ship at sea to successfully prevent a small group of untrained criminals from approaching & boarding their ship while underway?
I would think that 1 or 2 (trained) crewmen with fully automatic M16's would be able to hold off a small army???

What am I missing?

Hand held RPG's ? LAW's ?? in the hands of the pirates?

Greg L

LsFarm wrote:Hand held RPG's ? LAW's ?? in the hands of the pirates?

Greg L

I hear you Greg...so how about we up the anti in terms of the weapons on the cargo/cruise ship. A 50cal machine gun (or 2) would be able to keep any small vessel from getting close enough to accurately fire shoulder fired weapons & certainly defeat a small amateur boarding party on the high seas...I would think?? (most cargo ships & cruise ships have pretty high sides with no easy access from a small boat)

Edit: & if it's $$$$ that is the problem, I would think that training a few crewmen & providing them with a few small weapons would cost allot less (for the merchant ship companies & insurers) than losing a whole ship or cargo.

I think they should have a few armed drones patroling, if they come across some a well place rocket should do the trick. In a couple of days if a ship happens to be around look for survivers.

samhill wrote:I think they should have a few armed drones patroling, if they come across some a well place rocket should do the trick. In a couple of days if a ship happens to be around look for survivers.

That's a possibility to Sam. There are many options I could think of off the top of my head:

1. Announce a new maritime rule (either through the UN of unilaterally, if necessary) that no small boat will be allowed to come within 1 mile of any cargo/cruise ship underway on the high seas, unless given an OK to do so.
2. Should a suspicious boat violate this rule, efforts should be made to stop the boat by firing warning shots.
3. If "Shots Across The Bow" don't stop the small boat from approaching....Then blow them the hell out of the water!!
.....& then machine gun any survivors as their bobbing around in the water!!
(the cruise ship lines could make that part of the cruise entertainment!!.....Machine gunning pirates bobbing around in the ocean!..The blood would attract sharks for a better show....& the Princess Cruise Line could give prizes (at "First Seating" dinner) to the passengers with the highest "Head Count" of the day!!)

All merchant & cruise ships should be armed & capable of defending themslves until a friendly navy shows up.
(I think of waiting for a navy to save you as the same concept as carrying a gun or waiting for the police.....I prefer to depend on myself for protection)

I think the pirates probably have better weapons than you think. Just last month someone gave them 300 million dollars ransom. That's got to buy some fancy rockets. It's time the good guys spent a million on each ship to arm them with whatever is needed. It just blows me away that the pirates have been allowed to get away with their game.

Freddy wrote:I think the pirates probably have better weapons than you think. Just last month someone gave them 300 million dollars ransom. That's got to buy some fancy rockets. It's time the good guys spent a million on each ship to arm them with whatever is needed. It just blows me away that the pirates have been allowed to get away with their game.

I can't imagine what weapons the pirates could possibly carry/fire ....on small speedboat on the high seas that would make them a match for even the most rudimentary & cheap defensive weapons a large ship could carry Freddy.
Again, I'm no expert on this stuff & if anyone has some real knowledge about it...I'd love to hear it. I must be missing something??
Where's BugsyR when you need a naval expert???

I'd imagine they don't want these commerce ships armed to the teeth. Other than giving them guns it going to require a lot of training plus you're going to have a lot of people with access to weapons they probably shouldn't have access too. Other than putting military people directly onboard I don't see arming them with some real weapons as a choice.

Close in weapon system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR39mdjXCCw&NR=1

AKA; Phalanx system.

I tend to believe that the U.S.N. has dozens and dozens of 5 inch 38's on ships in mothballs that stand very little chance of ever being used again.They are big,low tec and powerful.They could easily provide some to the merchant fleet.The military sensitive cargos get them first of course. If one of those shells hits ol pirate pete and his bunch
,you won't even have to discuss survivors or the boat they road in on. I have seen them in action. It is high time to stop this nonsense once and for all before a lot of innocent lives are lost. It is time to man up,not give up. Mike

It is against maritime law or international law to carry guns on the cargo ships. Cant remember where I got that info but it was in a news piece or Nat Geo. It seems silly to me also. Just heard a ships captain on the radio talking about how it works for the pirates. He said there are so many out there it looks like a Wal-Mart parking lot on Sun. If we just put a few Special Forces types on a few ships and make them more attractive to pirates we should be able to reduce to population very quickly and get some training for the boys to boot.

Kevin

CNN is now reporting that evidently the pirates are holding the ship's captain hostage on a lifeboat.
Does anyone disagree with me that the following things should be the outcome to this?:

1. Not allow any reporters access to the scene. (no news helicopters, boats or planes within 50 miles)
2. Promise the pirates ANYTHING they want....safe passage/money/nuclear weapons.....ANYTHING
3. When they release the captain, ....Tell them we had our fingers crossed..... shoot them multiple times in the head (take their watches in payment for the expelled ammo used) & then feed them to the sharks (& then shoot the sharks!)

Surrender should NOT be an option here!

Devil, your short term memory is acting up again. Let me jog it for you. You are a Liberal, we are supposed to talk and talk and talk until they shoot themselves in frustration.

Kevin

KLook wrote:Devil, your short term memory is acting up again. Let me jog it for you. You are a Liberal, we are supposed to talk and talk and talk until they shoot themselves in frustration.

Kevin

Politically I'm a liberal...Economically I'm a moderate....Criminality-wise I'm slightly to the right of Attila The Hun!

KLook wrote:It is against maritime law or international law to carry guns on the cargo ships.

Change the law or violate it! (are forum members HERE really going to argue the U.S. should not exercise it's sovereignty on the high seas??? )