Petraeus: Shippers should consider armed guards

[Texas_Bryan]

Leaving marksmanship aside, if they'r dumb enough to come in one boat, the maximum point of vulnerablty is when they're along side and boarding, 40 feet below deck level. A grade or two lobbed over the side from a prone position would get their attention. I can't see frag penetrating a ships hull.
FQ13

Find out how far it is to the water and tie a rope of appropriate length to a riot grenade and pop it right in their faces.  Or you could just get a propane turkey fryer out on deck and kick that sumbitch over the side.

[deepwater]

You clearly have never tried to fire a weapon ship to ship.  even hitting the other ship with a mounted machine gun is not a easy task, let alone trying to hit a single person on it from a shoulder fired weapon.

sounds like you expect them to come during VERY rough weather. a ship is much more stable to fire from. One ship I was on had a couple of air guns for playing while doing long sea passages (good clean fun) and yes we would shoot at anything we could. it's not that hard to do from a SHIP. also, they have to come alongside to get aboard, rough weather would do them no good. besides we're talking about the Guf of Aden the entrance to the red sea. it's a damn mill pond there. just like the other piracy hot spots in the world, Malacca etc..

how about just shooting the first one to try and climb over the rail? his body falling back into the boat oughta be a good deterent 

[PegLeg45]

I guess you could just wait for them to come along side and just drop bowling balls down on them.........   


It'd be much cheaper, too.   

[Fatman]

Let's see... insurance companies charge more for a ship with an armed crew and some ports won't let you dock with an armed crew.

Solution is arm the crew, install a hidden locker for the weapons (for use when coming into 'some' ports)  and drink a big cup of STFU about your capabilities.  Concealed is concealed, no one needs to know.  If you do need to defend yourself, who's going to report the pirates missing?

[TAB]

Let's see... insurance companies charge more for a ship with an armed crew and some ports won't let you dock with an armed crew.

Solution is arm the crew, install a hidden locker for the weapons (for use when coming into 'some'99.9999%  ports)  and drink a big cup of STFU about your capabilities.  Concealed is concealed, no one needs to know.  If you do need to defend yourself, who's going to report the pirates missing?

You would be amazed at what has been found in ships and where its been found.  Lots of stuff can and does get thru, but I've seen pictures of hiding places that will just make you scratch your head as to how they ever found them.   unless you weld it shut, chances are good it will be found at some point.

[Sponsor]

[1776 Rebel]

Gee, armed guards DOES work...what a novel idea ! 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090426/ap_on_re_af/piracy

Cruise ship fends off pirate attack with gunfire
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI AND NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer Rukmini Callimachi And Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Writer
Sun Apr 26, 2:44 pm ET
 
NAIROBI, Kenya – The small white skiff approached the Italian cruise ship Melody after dinnertime as it sailed north of the Seychelles, the pirates firing wildly toward the 1,500 passengers and crew on board.

What the pirates didn't expect was that, in the darkness, the crew would fire back.

In a new twist to the increasing scourge of Somali pirate hijackings, the private Israeli security forces aboard the MSC Cruises ocean liner fired on the pirates Saturday with pistols and water hoses, preventing them from clambering aboard, the company's director Domenico Pellegrino said.

"It was an emergency operation," Pellegrino told The Associated Press. "They didn't expect such a quick response. They were surprised."

Passengers were ordered to return to their cabins and the lights on deck were switched off. The massive vessel then sailed on in darkness, eventually escorted by a Spanish warship to make sure it made it to its next port.