Comments on: Why don’t the shipping companies hire Former Military Personnel to ride on their ships and just kill the ?

By: cordeliabrainiac

cordeliabrainiac — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:07:37 +0000

There’s a British company that does. They only charge $30K per person per day.

By: Devin A

Devin A — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 07:22:14 +0000

They cant really use a military force but they could hire a personal security company i.e blackwater or some one like that.

By: mariner31

mariner31 — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:57:40 +0000

A nice idea, BUT… MOST nations don’t permit ships to enter their waters and or ports if they are ARMED. Obviously, Naval vessels of allied nations are on waivers, BUT civilian vessels face fines, prison-time, and / or seizure.

I know several boaters who did jail-time for having a shotgun aboard in the waters off Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

I WOULD suggest a few dozen fast heavy coastal-patrol boats like the Typhoon class of the USN…

By: julie d

julie d — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:57:38 +0000

I was watching a news show about this and it showed a video of pirates attempting to take over a ship. It was scary to watch, as it showed this sweet older couple cringing in their cabin and frightened. It amazed me that these three absolute THUGS could terrorize a humongous cruise ship like that, and they did for a few short minutes.

Then, suddenly the captain brought out his secret weapon…a device that emits a sound wave that is so loud, so piercing in its frequency, that it incapacitated the pirates. Perhaps they should just equip all ships with this sound device?

By: Red Rooster

Red Rooster — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:43:59 +0000

We need to send decoys that are well armed to sink the mother ships, then pursue the raiding boats to destroy, take no prisoners, as the ACLU will only defend them.

By: benfranklinscoldbeer

benfranklinscoldbeer — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:36:07 +0000

yes , guys with dual 50s and good optics should keep them away. cheaper than million dollar ransoms. self defense is legal,if a person points a gun at you then you have the right to shoot them down

By: wartz

wartz — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 06:03:52 +0000

They are expensive.

By: N. Cognito

N. Cognito — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:44:37 +0000

Most countries aren’t fond of mercenaries, vigilantes, and various armed vessels entering their waters.

By: Eagle1 Fox2

Eagle1 Fox2 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:48:38 +0000

Armed guards have indeed been one possible solution proposed to the pirate problem. However, many shipping companies as well as the international community are very hesitant to do this primarily because of the slippery slope it may cause. As of now, many see it almost as a “Business” in that the pirates take the ship, the companies pay the ransom, and everyone is released unharmed. If you add in armed guards to the mix, more people are likely to get hurt and this opens up room for liability on the companies.

Also, when it comes down to it, a few armed guards would actually have a hard time defending a ship. They may be well armed with small arms such as AK’s and M4’s, but these cannot stand up to the kinds of firepower that these pirates carry, such as Browning M2’s, AK’s, M4’s, RPG’s, grenades, etc. If they were resisted, there is a good chance they would all out annihilate a ship and its crew.

Finally, shipping is already expensive for companies. Add into this the cost of paying armed guards up to $1000/hour. With shipping by boat taking possibly weeks and in some cases a month or more, the costs would be astronomical since armed guards would be with the ship 24/7. A single armed guard could possible cost $24,000/day or more. Do you really want to pay these costs as a consumer?

The rates of pirates seizing ships compared to the number of ships out there is incredibly small. It would put costs through the roof to arm every ship out there.

By: krollohare2

krollohare2 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:10:34 +0000

The best defense is to arm the vessels and keep a close convoy going.