The Captain of a US Ship Has Been Released

[Dockhead]

Piracy as a business model is working really, really well in Somalia. For every one case like this one, there are 50 where the pirates aren't harmed and make off with a few million bucks in ransom.

Piracy is working well for the Somalis because the civilized world has not so far been willing to deal with it in a way which makes piracy too dangerous or risky to be worth the reward, or unrewarding enough to be not worth the trouble. The incentives are all wrong.

In order to correct the situation, we have to either take away the reward, or add disincentives. Taking away the reward is pretty hard to do, as a couple million bucks is a good deal for a shipowner in an individual case. Adding disincentives will not work, either, as long as there are too few of them (military patrols, which create only a small chance of getting caught), or they are not significant enough (fire hoses).

I think the only possible way to deal with

[Dockhead]

the situation is the traditional way -- with violence. Merchant ships and their crews should be armed. Sailors should get some training fighting. There should be shipping lanes defined where boats must not approach ships within a certain distance, and where ships have the right to fire upon these boats if they do approach and ignore warnings.

Contrary to what some posters have written, it is the pirates who cannot win the arms race. The pirates presently carry AK47's and RPG's on RIBs or small fishing boats. A mounted 50 caliber machine gun, with an effective range of 1800 meters, will easily deal with this kind of threat. It's not a race of arms, but a race of will, where the pirates so far have an overwhelming advantage.

In this race of wills, it is interesting to note Obama's instructions to the Navy in this recent case: use force only if the captain's life is in imminent danger. Say again? Armed pirates take over an American ship at gunpoint, take a hostage, and there are American military forces on the scene, but they are not supposed to use force?! This is ridiculous; and this mentality is what creates the problem in the first place.

There was another thread here on piracy, where it was debated whether or not we should admire the pirates for their boldness. Well of course we should admire them. They have figured out our weak point, and they go out in tiny boats and stop huge ships, and make millions of dollars. This is stupendous; I have tremendous respect for the sheer guts and imagination this takes. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't blow them out of the water!

[Christian Van H]

Gord, leave poor Rover alone. He has obviously seen it all, had the worst of times, and has come to the conclusion that there is only one conclusion; everything goes better with ammo! Just out of my curiosity Rover, how much ammo did you recently stock up on?

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

In this race of wills, it is interesting to note Obama's instructions to the Navy in this recent case: use force only if the captain's life is in imminent danger. Say again? Armed pirates take over an American ship at gunpoint, take a hostage, and there are American military forces on the scene, but they are not supposed to use force?! This is ridiculous; and this mentality is what creates the problem in the first place.

OK, let me get this straight...Obama does everything perfectly, the Navy does everything perfectly, the Seals do everything perfectly, and the hostage crises is successfully ended with no loss of friendly life. So, now you find fault with our President? I seriously believe you've slightly misspelled your name here on the forum Dockhead.

[FrankZ]

As this thread has degenerated into politics and insults it is now closed.