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| Posted By: Sponge Bob Posted On: Sep 24, 2009 Views: 9068 | arm or not to arm In response to Capt Walker or should I say Barrister Walker, why must it be a competently trained deck officer? Engineer officers and the ratings are trained alike here in the US in small arms. |
| Posted By: Capt Kell Walker Posted On: Sep 23, 2009 Views: 8996 | arm or not to arm |
| Posted By: Retired C/E Posted On: Sep 23, 2009 Views: 8874 | Arming Crews Here is my feeling on arming crews: Don't do it. No matter how much training a crew member received, a pirate will be better trained, and any crew member holding a weapon will be a dead crew member. If companies are worried about pirates then the companies should put PROFESSIONAL SECURITY PERSONNEL on board to protect the ship. Crew are hired to operate and maintain the vessel, not to defend the vessel against attack. The pirates do not want to harm the crews, they need the crew to move the ship from place to place until the ransom is paid. |
| Posted By: SpongeBob Posted On: Sep 19, 2009 Views: 5591 | AKER Philly Seems Tim Colton doesn't like AKER Philly. Must be because they can build ships without Cajun or Navy mentality. They are doing a good job with their series of tankers, the containerships came out alright and if the market would bear any more construction they'd keep on going. Better have a few more KoolAid's with Boysie Bollinger or the Chouest boys. It appears you believe the only ones that can build ships are the swamp lot shipyards of the south. |
| Posted By: HARD TRUTH Posted On: Sep 12, 2009 Views: 5826 | Drinking Kool Ade, Junaid? Poor fishermen who pick up guns are pirates and legitimate targets for lethal countermeasures. Once the gun is in their hands they are asking to be shot |
| Posted By: junaid Posted On: Sep 11, 2009 Views: 5796 | the Lies about pirates |
| Posted By: Brady Posted On: Sep 11, 2009 Views: 5677 | Missing the point The crux of the problem with merchant ship pirate defense is simple. 4000 men and weapons on an aircraft carrier, 20 men and no guns on a tanker the same length. The sparse crew numbers and stretched work resposibilities of merchies are the real problem. Training crews and giving them weapons is not the answer. You can't shoot when you're asleep after a 12 hour workday. Armed escorts are realistic defense tools. But they have to be additional people with real weapons and tools for repelling bad guys. Remember if Exxon hadn't convinced the USCG that they didn't need a local pilot to Hinchinbrook entrance they (Exxon)wouldn't have forced their mates to get pilotage and do you seriously think a rested pilot would have run that ship on bligh reef? |
| Posted By: Flying Dutchman Posted On: Sep 10, 2009 Views: 5626 | Arm Merchant Ships Pirates will continue their "business" because they do not receive adequate response. Some crew members must be trained and arm to be kept in safe box. For navigation in dangerous waters crew could be increased for 2-3 AB to keep watch Separate security team acceptable on big ships with valuable cargoes. The international legislation against pirates to be urgently worked out. |
| Posted By: Capt D. Posted On: Sep 1, 2009 Views: 5900 | Arm the Crew - Do It Now! Amid all the hand-wringing by shipowners afraid of liability and the naysayers in the security business who are simply trying to feather their own nest, let's not lose sight of the real issue when it comes to Arming the Crew - and it's not about piracy. This issue has morphed beyond the activity of the bandits in the HOA, GOA and IO. Since the well-publicized taking of the ALABAMA I have no doubt that every terrorist group in the world is dusting off it's "maritime attack" plans armed with the knowledge that any merchant ship, in any port, anywhere in the world can be had for the taking. At worst they may encounter a blustering rent-a-cop; at best they will find the crew locked up in some panic room. One doesn't have to have too fertile an imagination to envisage the consequences of terrorists taking over a supertanker, a pax ship, or a gas carrier. Ram the Golden Gate, pollute the Cote d'Azur, breach the dam at Gatun lake - the scenarios are endless and will make 9/11 seem tame in comparison. And when Al Qaida comes a'knocking it won't be a bunch of teenagers armed with AK-47's. Ransom will be the furthest thing from their mind. I've had rifles, shotguns and pistols in my weapons locker for 25 years. My crew trains annually with the weapons and also undergoes training in the use of deadly force. No one has ever gotten shot. Failing to arm the crews of merchant ships is tantamount to leaving the cockpit door open. This should not be a decision left to the IMO, shipowners or underwriters. The stakes are too high. |
| Posted By: TxMarEng Posted On: Aug 28, 2009 Views: 5988 | ARAPAHO August 09 Issue Page 10 Maersk Line ltd appears to be trying to claim some new afloat forward staging base. Looks a lot like the ARAPAHO project that MarAd proved feasible in the 80's only to be shot down by the carrier types in NavSea. Believe the system was given to the Brits during the Falkland crisis. Trust me it worked fine but the Flyboys didn't want anything encroaching on their ability to build more carriers or amphib types. |
| Posted By: MODERATOR Posted On: Aug 27, 2009 Views: 5908 | SHOTS AT HELICOPTER It happened--and we've posted the video on the site |
| Posted By: NMMarEng Posted On: Aug 27, 2009 Views: 5744 | Chopper fired upon What's this story of a US chopper being fored upon by a Somali pirate mother ship with large caliber weapons? And the question is ~ Why didn't they shoot back? Time the international maritime community asked some questions and demand some answers including an inquiry by the IMO into the incident. |
| Posted By: Capt B. Posted On: Aug 19, 2009 Views: 5940 | Armed? You bet! You bet! Put a couple three Phalanx vulcan cannons aboard ships and those pirates will get a rude surprise! Do that on numerous ships, and the pirato's will likely take up another line of work. In addition, train the defensive system operators / crews of course, and have the guns concealed either under cover, or camoflaged somehow, sort of a "concealed carry" system. |
| Posted By: Capt Laszlo Simon Posted On: Aug 10, 2009 Views: 6249 | Arm Merchant ship I saw & reading the international articles on this actual situation and is very delicate but must be need to take inmediately action on this matter, the best way in my personal opinion shall be On board a special team with guns and others special arms for protection the life and the vessel. the seafarers shall be need to protection from the Company's side. carefully if this dangerous situation to extent on the Caribean area, hoping the OMI and the strong countries to put the all programs to reduce totally this threat for all Seafarers on the world |
| Posted By: MODERATOR Posted On: Aug 8, 2009 Views: 6228 | DELETED COMMENTS Apologies to those concerned. In deleting some spam comments a couple of real comments got trashed. If one was yours, please repost! |
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