Pirates Seize U.S.-Flagged Ship

[jyl]

I have an idea. Lets take 8 of the PPOT tough talkers, put you on a football field with no weapons and no help within 300 miles, and now pirates with automatic rifles and rocket launchers are climbing over the bleachers. Here's some firehoses and kitchen utensils, go ahead and fend them off.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by jyl

I have an idea. Lets take 8 of the PPOT tough talkers, put you on a football field with no weapons and no help within 300 miles, and now pirates with automatic rifles and rocket launchers are climbing over the bleachers. Here's some firehoses and kitchen utensils, go ahead and fend them off.

At least the seamen have the high ground.

[Jim Richards]

This would make a great reality TV show.

[jyl]

If I can try to sum it up, the frustration or puzzlement here is that the developed countries have the capability to stop the piracy, so why aren't they doing it?

The navies could fire on all unrecognized small boats, could bomb the coastal towns, could destroy all boats docked there, the merchant ships could carry SEAL squads, all sorts of Rambo-esque scenarios, that we love fantasizing about.

Well, there is a cost to all of those actions. Hostages will die, innocent fishermen sunk, civilians on land killed, etc. Various maritime laws and conventions would have to be changed or ignored. Armed security teams aren't cheap.

Relative to those costs, I think the Somali piracy problem hasn't gotten big enough to force decisive action by the shipping countries. As long as merchant shipowners, crews, and maritime insurers are still willing to send ships through the area, you can assume the economic costs of the piracy are still smaller than the profits from those shipping routes.

When and if the piracy problem beomes big enough, it will be solved.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

This would make a great reality TV show.

Now yer talkin.'

Tune in Tuesday night right after Dancing with the Stars to see this week's exciting episode of

So You Think You Can Hijack a Supertanker
with host Wolf Blitzer

[jyl]

The captain of the US ship is hostage on a lifeboat with several pirates. A Navy ship, the USS Bainbridge, is on the scene.

Apparently the captain jumped overboard and swam for freedom. Pirates recaptured him, so he is back on the lifeboat.

I suppose he might have reasonably hoped that, once he got off the pirates' lifeboat, the Navy would help him get to the destroyer.

Alas, the Navy appears to have been merely spectating. Reportedly they watched the captain's escape and recapture via color video from a drone circling above the lifeboat.

[berettafan]

[legion]

Originally Posted by jyl

The captain of the US ship is hostage on a lifeboat with several pirates. A Navy ship, the USS Bainbridge, is on the scene.

Apparently the captain jumped overboard and swam for freedom. Pirates recaptured him, so he is back on the lifeboat.

I suppose he might have reasonably hoped that, once he got off the pirates' lifeboat, the Navy would help him get to the destroyer.

Alas, the Navy appears to have been spectating.

Yes, I would have liked to think that the Navy would have opened up once the captain was "clear" of the pirate boat.

Then again, maybe his escape attempt didn't get him very far from the boat.

[Rick Lee]

If I were king, once that captain was out of the lifeboat, it would have been vaporized, along with pirates' villages and families. That would cut down future such behavior.

[legion]

What the end-game to this situation?

Do the pirates have food? Water?

They can't go anywhere.

Eventually one of several things will happen:

1) The pirates realize there is no way this situation will work out in their favor and surrender.

2) The pirates run out of food or water and surrender.

3) The boat springs a leak, and the pirates surrender.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by legion

Yes, I would have liked to think that the Navy would have opened up once the captain was "clear" of the pirate boat.

Then again, maybe his escape attempt didn't get him very far from the boat.

Yeah, since they're way out at sea, the boat's probably pretty big. To blow up a boat that big without hitting the captain, he'd probably have to be a couple of hundred yards away at least. I suspect the pirates got him before he got 400meters in the open ocean.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by legion

This just in! The U.S. has opted to finally join direct talks with the pirates.

But only with the moderate pirates.

We need to pull a Black Jack Pershing on these pirates. Do an air drop of pig blood on them then send them to see about those 70 virgins.

How is this for an offer, as I heard a retired Jarhead Colonel teaching at St Mary's

Give up your hostage now, and we will let you escape with your lives, if not, you, and everybody who lives in Somalia within a mile of the beach gets turned into stew.

[jyl]

The lifeboat is 28 feet long, I believe. There are several pirates on it. Seems like machine guns and rifles from the destroyer would be adequate. Hard to imagine the captain didn't get at least some distance away - 40 feet? And unlikely he would dive overboard and start swimming for the destroyer if it was very far away, relative to swimming range. He seems like a pretty level-headed guy.

Maybe the Navy was just asleep at the switch.

[rcecale]

Maybe I've been watching too much television, but I'm curious, how hard would it be for a team of Navy divers to swim up to the lifeboat, underwater, and attach a line or two to it. Then, once attached, slowly begin towing the lifeboat closer and closer to the Navy ship.

Of course, this would work best at night...

Wouldn't that freak those pirates out?

Randy

[Drdogface]

Originally Posted by rcecale

Maybe I've been watching too much television, but I'm curious, how hard would it be for a team of Navy divers to swim up to the lifeboat, underwater, and attach a line or two to it. Then, once attached, slowly begin towing the lifeboat closer and closer to the Navy ship.

Of course, this would work best at night...

Wouldn't that freak those pirates out?

Randy

What ever a diver team could/would do, I like the idea. I hope something like that is in the works.

I still say we need to lay waste to the coastal towns where these scum bags live... Civilians a problem?...there are none there. Everyone in these villages is living off the piracy in one way or another.

[Heel n Toe]

I heard one report last night that said there is a 10-day food and water supply in the boat where the captain is held.

Question: Since that boat is out of gas, how did the hijack crew get to the captain? You know none of them jumped in and swam after him... none of those third worlders can ever swim.

I know that's a generalization... maybe these guys can.

But I was picturing all those dudes leaning over the sides of the boat paddling toward him with their hands.


I thought of the Navy divers idea, too...

Things are changing:

The negotiator said he has spoken with a pirate leader on the ground in Somalia who is coordinating action on the lifeboat adrift in the Indian Ocean. He says the plan is to get the hostage to shore to negotiate from a better position.

Also on Friday officials said other pirates sought to reinforce their colleagues by sailing hijacked ships with other captives aboard to the scene of the standoff.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514039,00.html

[Rick Lee]

Well, the captain is the only thing keeping those pirates alive right. Seems like there could be a worse position for him to be in. Though our current leadership's political will doesn't inspire confidence that these thugs will be dealt with in a way that deters future piracy in that area.

[jyl]

Suppose we, as a country, make a rule that hostages will be treated as if they were already dead. Their welfare will not be a consideration in any subsequent action. To apply in all situations, whether domestic or international, police and military. Would you agree?

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by jyl

Suppose we, as a country, make a rule that hostages will be treated as if they were already dead. Their welfare will not be a consideration in any subsequent action. To apply in all situations, whether domestic or international, police and military. Would you agree?

I believe that's already the rule they use in training hostage negotiators.

[Moses]

Why not just put them all in the water? A big wake from a destroyer escort would do it. A depth charge would do it. Put them in the water then haul their soggy asses out. It's hard to look real menacing while treading water.