Somali pirates capture oil tanker.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Russic

Have to wonder if the increased risk will force boats to arm-up heavily though. Eventually the pirates are going to try and take over a ship that is anticipating them.

Oh for sure. Until this point though, I think it makes economic sense for companies to just pay the ransom, better that than getting a rocket slammed into your hull.

Bu yeah, sooner or later Blackwater or somebody else is going to make a fight of it.

[CaptainCrunch]

Water cannons with an effective range of a hundred feet are useless against an RPG with a range of a 1000 meters.

They need to start arming these ships with .50 calibre machine guns, or men armed with light anti tank weapons.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Water cannons with an effective range of a hundred feet are useless against an RPG with a range of a 1000 meters.

I didn't know those weird Dungeons and Dragons dice could be thrown that far and that dangerously.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

I didn't know those weird Dungeons and Dragons dice could be thrown that far and that dangerously.

The ship had a higher THACO than the RPG.

[Bobblehead]

Hmmm....

Price of oil super high.
Oil tanker gets hijacked
Pirates ask for huge ransom
Price of oil plummets
Value of oil on hijacked tanker plummets
Requested ransom plummets
Ransom paid

I propose the Saudis purposely drove the price of oil through the floor simply to make the ransom of their tanker more economical.

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by Cheese

...and within a week those same pirates will be deader than a doornail...a single bullet hole through the skull.

5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share

Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and port town resident said Saturday.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Cheese

5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share

Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and port town resident said Saturday.

and people say karma doesn't exist.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Dan02

and people say karma doesn't exist.

Karma or a Navy S.E.A.L.S?

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Cheese

5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share

Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and port town resident said Saturday.

Probably just infighting amongst them and a little 'thinning out' to increase the survivors share.

[Devils'Advocate]

Given the latest hijacking with the American captain being held hostage I thought I'd bump this thread. I saw this video on CBC the other night:
http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/vide...f_somalia.html

When you think of the desperation that the people in Somalia have - with their children dying of malnutrition, the lack of any kind of medical/health treatment.... I have said in other places that I understand the desperation that drive these people to work for the warlords that organize these raids and supply the weapons. I have been chastised and condemned as a supporter of the violence and of condoning their actions. But I don't condone the actions - I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY FEEL THERE IS NO CHOICE. When you have to choose between kidnapping a stranger and providing food for your starving children, I can understand why they have turned to working for the warlords.

[CaptainCrunch]

This is far different from stealing a loaf of bread to feed your family. A lot of these pirates are now living in luxury houses with sports cars.

You can blame this on the government in place there, but they're effectively turning a blind eye on it.

If I'm running a shipping line, I'm hiring mercenaries, and buying Law's rockets or RPgs and maybe some deck mounted canons, and setting a maritime exclusion zone of a mile around my ships.

The Navies need to start sinking these boats before the hijacking, or after they pay the ransom.

They also need to move either a carrier or a Amphibious assault platform with sea Apache's and Harrier's into the area to start making strikes against the boats, the houses and the docks where they come from.

Enough is enough, paying the ransoms just encourages them.

[HPLovecraft]

These guys are going to end up working themselves out of business. They're becoming too successful, if that is possible.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

These guys are going to end up working themselves out of business. They're becoming too successful, if that is possible.

Thats because people keep paying them.

Stop paying them and start killing them.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

You can blame this on the government in place there, but they're effectively turning a blind eye on it.

This new provisional government has no power. Most of the members live outside the country because it's too dangerous to go into the country. Most of the members of the last provisional government are dead.

And not being able to buy bread is where these guys start. Most of these people doing the piracy were former fishermen... back when there were fish.

[Hack&Lube]

Relax, this just gives the world some new bad guys for the latest Bond film.

After the Soviet Union collapsed, all we've had are religious terrorists for our movie villains. Some pirates are a nice change.

[Mike F]

Ninjas had better step up and pull off something big soon.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

This new provisional government has no power. Most of the members live outside the country because it's too dangerous to go into the country. Most of the members of the last provisional government are dead.

And not being able to buy bread is where these guys start. Most of these people doing the piracy were former fishermen... back when there were fish.

Frankly, I don't care, when someone starts pulling guns on unarmed people, or gets into the art of kidnapping or murder for money, the reason to me is irrelevant.

You shoot back, you kill them, you leave their bodies to rot.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Frankly, I don't care, when someone starts pulling guns on unarmed people, or gets into the art of kidnapping or murder for money, the reason to me is irrelevant. You shoot back, you kill them, you leave their bodies to rot.

But what I have been asking is - what would you do in their situation? These fishermen and their families were starving to death and the warlords offered them a job. Some have tried to escape the country but the refugee camps are full and are turning people away. The choice for many has become "take up guns and live" or "die". I don't know what I would do given such a desperate situation.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

But what I have been asking is - what would you do in their situation? These fishermen and their families were starving to death and the warlords offered them a job. Some have tried to escape the country but the refugee camps are full and are turning people away. The choice for many has become "take up guns and live" or "die". I don't know what I would do given such a desperate situation.

I don't know, I was raised in a different environment and I was given a code of conduct. So its impossible for me and you to put ourselves into their shoes.

However from the other side of the equation, the side that's getting their livelyhoods threatened and are getting kidnapped or getting guns stuck in their faces, these pirates have become a very real threat. If you keep paying their demands then you encourage more and more and more of them, so that's not a solution.

So you start finding ways to make it a unpopular solution.

[Azure]

Apparently some of the pirates fired on the US sailors, forcing the Navy ship to turn back.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa...ef=mpstoryview

Obama on the other hand, won't comment on the 'situation.'

http://www.reuters.com/article/marke...01101720090409