Quote:

American crew members aboard a U.S.-flagged ship have regained control of the vessel hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia Wednesday, FOX News confirms. Defense Department officials confirmed that one pirate is in custody. A U.S. official said the status of the other pirates is unknown but they were reported to "be in the water." "All the crew members are trained in security detail in how to deal with piracy," Maersk CEO John Reinhart told reporters. "As merchant vessels we do not carry arms. We have ways to push back, but we do not carry arms."

Now that puts a smile on my face.  I particularly like the part about the other hijackers are in the water.

AVAST!
Beware the Bermuda triangle.........and Somalia??

It's odd to me, as the entertainment industry romanticizes Piracy, it is a real problem in foreign countries!
Imagine, being on a Celebrity Cruise Ship, in the middle of the Bahamas, and some of these pond-scum try to board. Can you say "walk the plank"?

I know, I'm messed up!

Cathi :D

Good find, Bob.


Bob P wrote on Apr 8^th, 2009 at 12:54pm:

Now that puts a smile on my face.  I particularly like the part about the other hijackers are in the water.

Without perhaps adequate facilities to securely confine a bunch of pirates, it could be a resourceful idea to use a few circling fins to keep an eye on them.   ;)

Dang, I thought this was going to be a baseball story.

I wonder if this is a good omen for the Cardinals tonight...

Brew wrote on Apr 8^th, 2009 at 1:27pm:

Dang, I thought this was going to be a baseball story. I wonder if this is a good omen for the Cardinals tonight...

Of course it is!  This is not going to be a good day for any pirates.  :P

Beth

What is the reason merchant vessels are completely unarmed?

One could assume that a modestly stocked arms locker, with just $5k in weapons and ammunition, would drop the risk of piracy to near zero.

An open boat such as the pirates use could be easily repelled by a single crewman armed with a $500 semi AK and a few magazines of ammo.  

Pirates?

Thinking Jonny Depp and Orlando Bloom and and.. PHWOARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! ..does anyone know which air lines fly to Somalia?!

I'm with you Limey..........take a flight or take the long way round but stay the heck outta Somalia!!!!!

Joe

Quote:

What is the reason merchant vessels are completely unarmed?

Mostly its becaue the risk of having the vessel sunk is greater than the payout. So far the situation is non violent in that no one is hurt and the vessel are released unharmed.
Ships owners would be foolish to escalate this into violent altercations where crew and vessels are put at extreme risk. (although it has been discussed many times in the industry)

I thought Pirates was a new strength training exercise.

You've heard of Pilates, now here's Pirates.

Lobster wrote on Apr 8^th, 2009 at 2:34pm:

What is the reason merchant vessels are completely unarmed? One could assume that a modestly stocked arms locker, with just $5k in weapons and ammunition, would drop the risk of piracy to near zero. An open boat such as the pirates use could be easily repelled by a single crewman armed with a $500 semi AK and a few magazines of ammo.

Got that right.  Handguns, Shotguns.  Anything is far superior to a sword.

Arrrrrrrrg!     Keel Haul EM

                                                        JPC

midwestbeth wrote on Apr 8^th, 2009 at 1:46pm:

Brew wrote on Apr 8th, 2009 at 1:27pm: Dang, I thought this was going to be a baseball story. I wonder if this is a good omen for the Cardinals tonight... Of course it is!  This is not going to be a good day for any pirates.  :P Beth

Avast, ye lassie.

Pirates 7, Cardinals 4.

These guys need to be armed at least as well as the guys that do the gun show that we did. :o

It's about time for Navy escorts. It would make my day on cable news too. >:(

Charlie

Lobster wrote on Apr 8^th, 2009 at 2:34pm:

What is the reason merchant vessels are completely unarmed?

They don't have to be completely unarmed, but international law limits merchant ships to a few small arms.  When merchant ships from other countries enter our ports, we don't want them armed with cannons or nests of machine guns.  They don't want our ships entering their ports armed like that either. So a few small arms are all that is allowed, and some commercial companies prohibit anything more than a ceremonial pistol kept in the captain's safe.

I think areas that have piracy problems might benefit from a little creative policing ... float a decoy with a skeleton crew that is trained to retreat to a safe room. Have a military ship just over the horizon, with several helicopter SWAT teams ready to go. When the pirates pounce, they are pounced upon.

Is it still legal to refer to them as Pirates? That has so many negative connotations attached to it.

Are you sure that they aren't simply Undocumented Merchant Trader Opportunists?

Marc wrote on Apr 9^th, 2009 at 12:35pm:

Is it still legal to refer to them as Pirates? That has so many negative connotations attached to it. Are you sure that they aren't simply Undocumented Merchant Trader Opportunists?

or... displaced wall street traders?
::)

Tony

Good point, Tony - we could put most of our legislators on the list too.

I was really just making a point that I hope the world community continues to treat this seriously and doesn't take a soft touch. At some point, one of these monster ships will end up sinking.......

Soo, basically, my viewing this as a light subject was off base......

Yes, it is shocking that ,in this day and age, Pirates- or Opportunists from Third-World countries exist. More shocking  is the 3 piece-suited contingent of Pirates who have boarded your financial ship and are currently pillaging right here in our country. At LEAST good pirates fly the Jolly Roger, so one can identify them as such!

Meanwhile, I'll continue to romanticize Pirates, as in Johnny Depp and, oh, crap, that wonderful old Swashbuckler whose name escapes me for now.......and I'll do my level best to ignore people who talk down to me about it.......

:PCathi, who was having some fun........
BTW- Captains of these vessels DO keep a pistol.just in case.......and, if someone attempts a mutiny, theyare trained to use it. Fact is, the ship is worth more ON the water, rather than UNDER the water, should the Pirates board it . Their goal is to empty the ship and then sink it......imagine the $$ loss for THAT!

Am I the only one left a little disturbed by this?


Quote:

Pirates? Thinking Jonny Depp and Orlando Bloom and and.. PHWOARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! ..does anyone know which air lines fly to Somalia?!

Quote:

I'm with you Limey

You know your wife's around, right Joe??   ;D

   For more than a few decades there have been on average 30 ships a month lost to piracy in the Molacca Straits alone. Foreign flagged container ships aren't news. American flagged container ships are. So now everybody knows there are still Pirates on the high seas. Even if it is the low level guys guys off the African Coast. Well its a start I guess.
[smiley=smokin.gif]

Em wrote on Apr 12^th, 2009 at 10:19am:

Am I the only one left a little disturbed by this? Quote: Pirates? Thinking Jonny Depp and Orlando Bloom and and.. PHWOARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! ..does anyone know which air lines fly to Somalia?! [quote]I'm with you Limey

You know your wife's around, right Joe??   ;D[/quote]




Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh :-[