Rescued Captain Calls For Armed Ship Crews

[LuckyBrush]

Now on msn.com, the ship captain who was rescued from pirates is calling for armed ship crews. Hmmm, I wonder why? Really, I feel like its a Pepsi Max commercial : Wake Up People!!

 

[skigun75]

yeah, i just posted about that. did you see what the CEO of the company said? I like your PepsiMax analogy

 

[CulpeperMM]

 

[citizenvain]

yeah, i just posted about that. did you see what the CEO of the company said? I like your PepsiMax analogy

Yep, of course the CEO and any upper management would say that, they aren't the ones on the boats in harm's way. Just like all the elitist lib types basking in their ivory towers in their gated communities not understanding why anyone would need guns to protect their homes and loved ones.

 

[skigun75]

im with you, but that doesnt even make sense

 

[LuckyBrush]

Yep, of course the CEO any any upper management would say that, they aren't the ones on the boats in harm's way. Just like all the elitist lib types basking in their ivory towers in their gated communities not understanding why anyone would need to guns to protect their homes and loved ones.

+1 !! I couldn't have said it better! The lazy pig CEO wasn't the one that got taken hostage and thought for sure he was a gonner. P.S. Sorry for the thread jack!

 

[minuteman32]

Maybe the CEO/management of these companies should be required to accompany @ least one ship per month through this area, without their armed security details!

 

[Bucky623]

When I first heard about this incident and found out the crew wasn’t armed my jaw dropped. When you’re on the high seas, there isn’t any 911. All you got is yourself and your crewmates.

That being said, my only experience on a ship was a two-day trip ten years ago when I was on a superferry (let the wisecracks flow) in the south Pacific. A few miles before we went into a port we would take on a harbor pilot to navigate the ship to the dock. As the smaller boat bringing the harbor pilot came along side many of the crew (I counted 10 to 16 just where I was standing) would take watch with rifles and shotguns.

Pirate ships are somewhat common in those parts.

I think an armed crew is a most. If not an armed crew than maybe a few surplus deck guns manned by retired vets on a working vacation.

Bucky

 

[cosermann]

It's no-brainer. The pirates tried preying on fisherman some years ago. The fisherman armed themselves. The pirates moved on to softer targets (voluntarily softer/or corporate imposed softness), i.e. the commercial vessels we see now.

Merchant sailors quite commonly carried guns up to the late 1980's at least. Didn't hear all that much about piracy back then, did we?

File:Target practice.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[rafterman191]

How about send the bill (probably in the millions of dollars) for the rescue of their goods and employees to the CEOs then see what the have to say. I don't particularly think I want to pay for protection of companies doing business in hostile waters, but that is exactly who is paying for it, you and I.

 

[rkba_net]

I am not totally convinced on this for several reasons...

- Most of the Pirates will still outgun the ships. The pirates have full auto weapons and RPG's and the like.

- it will be impractical to train the crews

- insurance costs will be an issue.

I am more in favor of using the Q Ship concept... with aggressive engagement rules... see...

Q-ship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[agentl074]

Hire merc's who can run 20mm guns.

 

[LuckyBrush]

How about send the bill (probably in the millions of dollars) for the rescue of their goods and employees to the CEOs then see what the have to say. I don't particularly think I want to pay for protection of companies doing business in hostile waters, but that is exactly who is paying for it, you and I.

And the soldiers by risking their lives to save hostage captains. Hey, I don't care if they have machine guns. They have those cause they are a bad shot. It only takes one bullet to kill a damn pirate.

 

[CulpeperMM]

Hire merc's who can run 20mm guns.

this^^^

 

[citizenvain]

I am not totally convinced on this for several reasons...

- Most of the Pirates will still outgun the ships. The pirates have full auto weapons and RPG's and the like.

- it will be impractical to train the crews

I respectfully disagree with some of your points, but understand where you are coming from. However, in the stating that the prirates can outgun the crews, wouldn't the crew's (at least a trained one) have a tactical advantage from having the hire ground? These are huge ships vs little ships right? Seems like every time they show a pirate ship on the news it is tiny compared to the ships they hijack.

Don't train the crews, have professional mercs who are trained to protect the crew. Certainly he crew's lives are worth the additional funds to hire the appropriate protection.

I'm going to have to read up on the Q thing.

 

[Crystalship1]

How about bigger versions of these: