Question: how do these pirates in small boats take over

[dcsmart]

giant freighters...i mean they are huge. i boat in lake st clair and there is a shipping lane. my buddy has a 42' and we pass, not to close, freighters. i cannot imagine how anyone could board something that big....i am sure there is information out there. can anyone enlighten me.

[HardWorkingDem]

1. Saw an owner on CNN and he said...

These pirates are in small boats and blend in with legitimate fishermen and will get close and pull out weapons and ones that fire rocket propelled grenades. They will then throw up grappling hooks and climb aboard. He also said that many of these freighters do not carry large caches of weapons and his boat only had knives (for work and cooking) and barb wire.

So I imagine the threat is seen as the pirates being able to sink a ship versus letting them climb aboard.

I'm sure there's a lot more information out there than just this.

[dcsmart]

6. thanks...

i figured they would have to have some kind of RPGs. why don't the ships carry their own guns. There use to be a merchant marine force that fought pirates. why not contract people to defend the ships....hey, there is a business idea.....i am sure Black Water mercenaries would love to shoot pirates.
thanks for the info

[tocqueville]

10. it's illegal

to arm merchant ships by international law. Imagine the amount of false flag operations that could be facilitated that way...

or : would the US be prepared to received in its harbours oil tankers with armed men aboard ? I don't think so.

[robinlynne]

2. AK-47s.

[MADem]

3. They point an RPG at the thin skin of a vessel loaded with fuel.

Ka-boom.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. They approach in several small boats from different directions,

then throw up grappling hooks and climb up to the deck at several points simultaneously.

Most the freighters have fairly small crews, half of whom are working and can't act to repel the boarders, which pretty much guarantees that some are going to get on board, at which time they can provide cover fire for the others.

Low tech, but very effective, obviously.

[Warpy]

5. It's not the size of the boat, it's the size of the crew

and two dozen heavily armed pirates generally have no problem taking over the small crews most huge ships have. All ships are designed to be boarded from smaller boats when they are in port, it's how the harbormaster sends out a pilot to bring them in.

I understand some Israeli ships have found the perfect defense: a line of razor wire around the perimeter of the deck that prevents pirates from boarding, wire that is retrieved when they reach port.

[mrbscott19]

7. couldn't the pirates still say remove your barbed wire

or we're going to blow up your ship?

[Warpy]

11. Quite possibly that's next

but not yet.

[dkf]

8. Too bad they can't hook up an electrical charge too.

Fry those bastards.

[Warpy]

12. They'd have to figure out how to isolate it from the water

which kinda makes the whole exercise unprofitable for big ships.

[Swede Atlanta]

14. That's one of the recommendations

I think it was on the Rachel Maddow show they were interviewing a man that often captains ships through this area. He said that one recommendation made was that the railings and any external aids like rungs be electrified (controlled by the crew of the ship). He said that unfortunately only a handful of ships have been retrofitted. Yes it would be a great thing..let them start climbing the rungs or grab ahold of the railing and then zap them with several thousand volts of electricity.

[Dennis Donovan]

9. They swing from a rope on their mizzen-mast and SWASHBUCKLE aboard!

"Arrgh!"

:silly:

[The Straight Story]

13. On the seas only criminals have guns

:)

[ladjf]

15. It seems to me that a couple of bazooka marksmen could blow

hell out the pirate boats.

[BlooInBloo]

16. Um, with guns?

[ThomWV]

17. First thing is that the small boats may not be showing up on the ship's radars

And of course once you get under their radar you are invisible to the big boat. I have a boat we take off shore fishing, or used to when fuel was affordable, and we would run across a lot of container ships moving north on the Stream or south on whatever of the Labrador current they could find. You really have to be careful of them because they either can't see you or don't care. I'd bet I've called a hundred of them when we were crossing just to make sure everyone knew what everyone else was doing and never got a response. Generally if the relative positions stayed put on my radar I'd just stop and let them pass then get back on my way once they were gone.

How they board the ships is the mystery to me. I suppose they must have some way of shooting grappling hooks of some kind up over the sides and then board the ships without the crew's knowledge. The ships are large and the crews are small, so maybe it goes unnoticed until its too late and they have taken the bridge. I have seen at least one ship's Master say that they used their fire hoses to keep pirates at bay.

[applegrove]

18. They have rocket launchers. I would think they could sink a boat if they felt like it. Nothing

like the international trade in arms to equalize all boats!!!