Piracy and Firearms - Another View

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

That's not a problem because they will return it when I leave. All the examples listed allow you to enter port of entry with a gun aboard. They will even arrange transport to your port of exit if you request that.

So what use are they if you surrender them,then sail away from port cruising the country and get pirated a couple of hundred miles up the track?

The guns wont help you locked up back at the police station now will they, might as well not even bothered having them.

We have a good, gun locker and have been to countries that state the guns must be surrendered. When they learn I have a shotgun they didn't even bother to come and seal the locker. Rifles and especially handguns are a completely different matter though.

I wouldn't like to bet on that over here, I reckon they'll take the lot and I think I have heard in some places (Indonesia or PNG I think) that you may not even get the same gun back, a new for old policy, they get the new and you get the old.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by cat man do

The guns wont help you locked up back at the police station now will they, might as well not even bothered having them.


.

Thats right. So they are only effective on long passages. And thats where it gets difficult: Do you have the hassel for 5 years for a 1 week trip up the Gulf of Aden? (the only real pirate are in the world)

Remember you can't buy guns in the ports along the way as they must be legally registered in your own home country.

You could buy some in the last port of call, say Oman or india and throw them overboard before the nex port. But thats a lot of money and buying weapons on the black market in either of those 2 countires could have you in jail for a looooooong time.

There is no easy way of seriously taking weapons.


Mark

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by cat man do

The guns wont help you locked up back at the police station now will they, might as well not even bothered having them.

You miss the point. For both areas discussed (Somali and Caribbean pirates) you would have the gun. That makes it like what 99% of all cases?

I wouldn't like to bet on that over here, I reckon they'll take the lot and I think I have heard in some places (Indonesia or PNG I think) that you may not even get the same gun back, a new for old policy, they get the new and you get the old.

It's not about what you reckon fortunately. I think you just dreamed that up while typing your post. Pls. keep it with facts, it's serious and confusing enough. We've never had any trouble nor seen any trouble. Often the guns are cleaned and maintained because they wouldn't want you to leave with a gun that's not ready.

cheers,
Nick.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

So they are only effective on long passages. And thats where it gets difficult: Do you have the hassel for 5 years for a 1 week trip up the Gulf of Aden? (the only real pirate are in the world)

Long passages? 5 years? Aden only? real pirates? wow, you must be an expert ;-)

Remember you can't buy guns in the ports along the way as they must be legally registered in your own home country.

Which countries apply that rule? I know one and that's Indonesia. All the others only enforce that on their own citizens, not visitors.

You could buy some in the last port of call, say Oman or india and throw them overboard before the nex port. But thats a lot of money and buying weapons on the black market in either of those 2 countires could have you in jail for a looooooong time.

Legal guns cost a fraction of black market guns. You can get a shotgun in a gunshop for $20 if cost is the issue.

There is no easy way of seriously taking weapons.

At last something I can agree with ;-) It's also not easy to see them rape your wife. We can keep that up for a long time. Just come up with two references of cruisers who didn't make it during an armed conflict with pirates. I'll give you the first one: Sir Peter Blake. Oh but wait, that was in Brazil so those guys weren't real pirates.

p.s.: Blake didn't make it because he shot the first pirate in the leg and then his pistol jammed.

cheers,
Nick.

[Chief Engineer]

I have patiently "endured" reading the various opinions on piracy and guns.

Having been a paid crewmember (Engineer) aboard a yacht whose owner was a tad more than paranoid (and a few fries shy of a happy meal). I have the following feelings about guns aboard a boat.

If you want guns....that's fine with me.
Keep in mind that they make not only Coast Guardsmen but also local LEOS very nervous. When they board your boat you had better answer yes...to "The Question".
If you are in Maryland....leave them ashore......

More importantly is your choice of cruising destinations.
Cruising in harms way is foolish in my opinion.
One or two items on your vessel is worth more than what some of these impoverished, desperate people make in a year. They have no hope, no options.
Life is not held in such high regard.....look at their life expectancy in the grinding poverty they sail from.

The AK47 or Soviet RPG are the two weapons that have defined armed combat and insurrection in the 20th and 21st Century. They are as unsophisticated as their users.

To try to defend yourself will probably find you at the "short end of the stick".

The bottom line for me is either go in a large group if you must transit the area, take your chances solo, or avoid the area altogether.

Would you go thru the worst area in your hometown with money hanging out of your pockets, with your family....on foot?

The tactics of piracy are stealth, swiftness and overwhelming force.
I doubt if any crew is going to be on guard for that....that wouldn't be enjoyable cruising in my opinion

[FrankZ]

This is another example of a gun thread going off topic and degenerating into muck and mire.

Time to put this one to bed.