So seems that behaviours are the topics, one can’t forbid veils and authorise miniskirts !

http://bit.ly/8LwQc

It’s a sad state of affairs that our world is in when executives choose to risk the capture of their ships and crew along with million dollar ransoms just to avoid some negative news articles.

Hopefully someone will have the guts to start arming their crews. My guess is that if one company does it with any amount of success, others will follow.

For US flagged ships, one .50 caliber rifle with a Marine behind it is all that is needed. Chopper him off before he reaches port, like harbor pilots.

One round would do it.

Sometimes the obvious escapes the bureaucrats.

not in the medias, or so discretly !

http://www.marine-marchande.com/v2/information/information_maritime-20090915-4591.php3

Armed government or contracted guards board ships entering the pirate zone likely using a small boat like a zodiac. They protect the ship while it passes through pirate waters and disembark into their towed zodiac when the danger has passed. Then they board another vessel going into the opposite direction through the hot-zone. Repeat ad nasum. The guards would either need a friendly port nearby or a floating mothership to handle logistics and other noncombat functions.

Its a winner because:
a) Guards are only aboard the ship when needed.
b) Guards aren’t wasting time or money in the middle of nowhere.
c) No changes are required in the regulations of foreign ports.

People become pirates for the same reason that they rob banks…because they make money doing it.

When the people who set sail to go a-piratin’ simply no longer return, then a lot less guys will be willing to take to the racket, see?

There’s another factor that I’d look into. Flag of Convenience 3rd World seamen are paid so little and treated so poorly, that it would not surprise me a bit if some of them are quite willing to become “hostages” in exchange for a cut of the swag.

Look at it this way, if going to sea and working 18 hour days like a dog for six months on some rust-bucket, eating bad food and not getting any shore leave is only going to net you 10 grand, but you knew of some cats in Somalia who would pay you the same amount just to sit around and drink beer, scratch your behind, and catch fish for a few weeks, wouldn’t you do it?

I betcha some of these vessels are “scheduled” for a pirate takeover by their own crews or by the shipping agents up and down the east African “Scary Plumbing Fixture” coast.

The Maritime industry is ancient, and there ain’t a scam any and all of us could dream up here that hasn’t already been run hundreds and thousands of times.

That’s what I’m trying to tell y’all, man.
Many of us already ARE! Small arms and security training is already given at the union schools and many of the private schools as well. The nation already HAS a cadre of mariners trained to arms and ready to be employed. All we need are the tools and the permission to use them, and then the Piracy Problem becomes SEP-Someone Else’s Problem.

“12 hour shifts sound nice but the standard for naval watches is 4 hours except for the “dog watches.” ”

That’s where you are in error, the Merchant Service is distinct and separate from the Naval Service. Put what you might know from the Navy or the Coast Guard out of your head, it does not necessarily apply on a merchant vessel, and until pirates start hitting destroyers and cruisers, as opposed to freighters and tankers, the Merchant Service is the arena to deal with.

“If we are talking about a limited deployment of a team for up to two weeks then the shorter rotating watch could work. Agreed that after two weeks sleep deprivation becomes a factor. People start acting strange”"

They start acting strange regardless, once you’re south of the Suez, but that’s neither here nor there. 3 guys, each standing 4 on and 8 off, or 2 guys doing the 12-12 “Swiss Watch”, (don’t ask me why it’s called that), are the minimum.