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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    What would Blackbeard do?

    Armed Guards For UK Ships Amid Pirate Threat


    10:55am UK, Sunday October 30, 2011

    Armed guards are to be deployed on British ships to protect them from pirates, David Cameron has announced.

    A legal ban on security personnel carrying guns will be relaxed so firms can apply to have them on board when their ships head to dangerous waters.
    The Prime Minister said the radical action was needed to combat the increasing threat of Somali pirates which he said had become "a complete stain on the world".


    He unveiled the measure after talks at a Commonwealth summit in Australia with leaders of countries in the Horn of Africa over the escalating problem faced in waters off their shores.


    Officials said around 200 vessels were expected to be in line to take up the offer, which would only apply for voyages through particular waters in the affected region.


    It is expected to be used by commercial firms rather than private sailors - such as hostage victims Paul and Rachel Chandler.


    Under the plans, the Home Secretary will be given the power to license vessels to carry armed security, including automatic weapons, currently prohibited under firearms laws.




    Britons Paul and Rachel Chandler were kidnapped by Somali pirates





    Asked if he was comfortable with giving private security operatives the right to "shoot to kill" if necessary, Mr Cameron said: "We have to make choices.


    "Frankly the extent of the hijack and ransom of ships round the Horn of Africa is a complete stain on our world.


    "The fact that a bunch of pirates in Somalia are managing to hold to ransom the rest of the world and our trading system is a complete insult and the rest of the world needs to come together with much more vigour."


    He also told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "I want to help lead this process and as part of that we are going to be taking the step of putting armed guards on our ships."


    Evidence from other countries with more relaxed regulations over armed guards was that their ships did not get targeted, he said.


    "We are going to have to license that in a proper way, the Home Office has agreed to do that. But I think this is a big step up for our campaign against this piracy."


    Other counter-piracy measures being taken include offering support from Treasury officials to Kenya to help them track down pirates' assets.


    Mr Cameron also said help could be given to countries such as The Seychelles and Mauritius, who were acting to bring pirates to court and imprison them.


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  2. #2
    Philippine Expat
    Davis Knowlton's Avatar
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    Excellent idea. Once about ten or so of these little boats full of murdering scum gets blown out of the water, maybe they'll get the point.

  3. #3
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    Treasury officials to Kenya to help them track down pirates' assets.

  4. #4
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    Surely, every sailor can afford one of these:





    Maybe the luxury yachts and commercial ships can get some of these:



    Taken years to take this simple and obvious step...
    Cycling should be banned!!!

  5. #5
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    I guess the definition of pirate would appear different to some.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
    What would Blackbeard do?

  7. #7
    Philippine Expat
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    ^^^Yep, what took so long? RPG's are dirt cheap, easily available, and simple to operate.

  8. #8
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    what would Blackbeard do?

    I reckon he'd shoot first ask questions later. This has upped the ante somewhat.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rural Surin View Post
    I guess the definition of pirate would appear different to some.

    Maximum 'protective' force for the sake of democracy...

    But, It's simple really: if your minding your own business sailing across the sea and some folks with guns start to climb aboard then you can defend yourself to the max.


  10. #10
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Of course, what will happen is that every fucker will start flying a Union Jack, then sooner or later the pirates will twig and chance it anyway.

    The late Derek Nimmo once said they always took a shooter when they went sailing around the Far East.

  11. #11
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    Scarey!

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bettyboo View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Rural Surin View Post
    I guess the definition of pirate would appear different to some.

    Maximum 'protective' force for the sake of democracy...

    But, It's simple really: if your minding your own business sailing across the sea and some folks with guns start to climb aboard then you can defend yourself to the max.

    It's quite clear, that you [et al] haven't a clue.

    Dreamy Eurocentricism.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rural Surin
    Eurocentricism.
    Yes, to some degree, but we do understand multiculturalism too and offer religious acceptance/consideration:




  14. #14
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    [quote="Bettyboo"]Yes, to some degree[/QUOTE
    I think what your trying to state is ""don't bring a pirate's sword to a gun fight?""
    Last edited by IceSpike; 30-10-2011 at 07:19 PM.

  15. #15
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    ^




    This one gives me a woody...


  16. #16
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    Aye but she has concealed Her weapon, and it appears to be lethal!

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rural Surin View Post
    I guess the definition of pirate would appear different to some.
    Elaborate please.

  18. #18
    Thailand Expat CaptainNemo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rural Surin View Post

    It's quite clear, that you [et al] haven't a clue.

    Dreamy Eurocentricism.
    ...about what?
    I'm pretty confident that most seafarers have no moral issue with the dispatching of pirates, they are nothing but violent heavily armed gangsters who are capable of committing some atrocious acts of torture and violence against people (as well as armed robbery, mugging, rape, GBH etc.) who sacrfice epic amounts of time away from their families to earn a fairly modest yet significantly higher salary than they could get home (and I'm thinking mainly of the Filipino ratings).

    Most of the ships that are caught by pirates are ones that do not have well-established procedures and training in place, and basically slack, and cut corners, maybe due to crappy employers and commercial pressures as well in some cases. Idiots like the Chandlers are another case in point - they were warned explicitly to not go where they did, and they chose to ignore it.

    The idea of having armed guards on board (they are usually ex-army squaddies, and not necessarily the sharpest knives in the drawer) creates additional risks of bullets pinging about and causing sparks and explosions, never mind ricocheting into the body of a crewmember, which creates all sorts of legal implications - potential for murder or manslaughter charges against the guards themselves. It's a legal nightmare to sort out through the IMO. The other risk is that the armed guards themselves become a bit mercenary, and end up taking the ship hostage themselves!

    If you were serious about this problem, you would have some portable heavy machine guns that you could fix to the side and a small team of Navy personnel to spray oncoming pirates with bullets and make sure there are no survivors; they will not hesitate to fire RPGs at the bridge.



    Alternatively, the IMO could perhaps insist on convoys through certain zones, and compel flag states to help enforce this. Again, this would take some time to get agreed internationally.

    Better still, would be a full air-sea blockade and patrol of the coast of places such as Somalia and Yemen (rather than trying to patrol a huge area of sea), and some dedicated pirate hunter fleets in the west African Atlantic, and SEAsian seas.
    Considering how much trade and energy is dependent on the sea, it's quite flabberghasting how little money is put into this issue as if things keeping carrying on, the pirates will simply continue to rake in huge sums of money, which they can reinvest in even better equipment for their organised crime business, and thus enable them to invest in further "business" activities, such as drugs, weapons, and people-smuggling/prostitution, the human cost of piracy is potentially huge, never mind the economic one.

    Any suggestion that we should be treating pirates with kid gloves, offering expensive legal niceties such as "yooman rites" is hopelessly naive; and arguably complicit in the suffering of many innocent people - the somalli drought itself was a byproduct of the piracy issue. Gunning down a few pirates without trial in self defence (much like you would an armed burglar breaking and entering your home) is pretty clearly morally justifiable, when you see the rape and starvation that are knock-on effects of this trendy crime.

    There's nothing dreamy or eurocentric about that.

  19. #19
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    ^ I think he was referring to the definition of pirate.

  20. #20
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    ^ who knows what he was referring to???

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by alwarner View Post
    ^ I think he was referring to the definition of pirate.
    In any case, Nemo [and most of the other catatonics might] completely missed the twisted euphemism....

    Missing. More common than the exception here.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bettyboo View Post
    ^ who knows what he was referring to???
    Not me, I just think I do.

  23. #23
    Thailand Expat CaptainNemo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rural Surin View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by alwarner View Post
    ^ I think he was referring to the definition of pirate.
    In any case, Nemo [and most of the other catatonics might] completely missed the twisted euphemism....

    Missing. More common than the exception here.
    Another dreary clunking illiterate euphuism more like.... <smug sigh>.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rural Surin View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by alwarner View Post
    ^ I think he was referring to the definition of pirate.
    In any case, Nemo [and most of the other catatonics might] completely missed the twisted euphemism....

    Missing. More common than the exception here.
    Ah, a world-weary allusion to the rapacious nature of international capitalism or somesuch.. That was soooo profound.

  25. #25
    Thailand Expat Boon Mee's Avatar
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    Well, regarding pirates, the company I used to work for has armed snipers stationed on their rigs off Madagascar. So far, no reports of any 'kills'.

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