Pirates...OH MY....Ship Security ?

[Moeve]

This may come as a suprise but a few countries like the germans and the french have frigates down there but have not been allowed to open fire on them unless attacked themselves and the pirates seem to know this and have been very careful to avoid this.

 

However both France and Germany are putting legislation into place to change this status. Piracy is not considered an international act of war but rather a police matter which makes the duristriction a problem. This means they could arrest the pirates but and would have to hand them over to Somali Police - whom the pirates are paying to look the other way - so that is a no win.

 

Shoot and sink will be the only way to deter them.

[derf5585]

Piracy is recognized as an offense against the law of nations. It is a crime not against any particular state, but against all humanity. The crime may be punished in the competent tribunal of any country in which the offender may be found, or carried, although the crime may have been committed on board a foreign vessel on the high seas. The essence of piracy is that the pirate has no valid commission from a sovereign state, or from an insurgent or belligerent government engaged in hostilities with a particular state. Pirates are regarded as common enemies of all people. In that nations have an equal interest in their apprehension and punishment, pirates may be lawfully captured on the high seas by the armed vessels of any state and brought within its territorial jurisdiction for trial in its tribunals.

from

http://www.rochedalss.eq.edu.au/pirates/pirate1.htm

[Moeve]

It is however a fact that these blokes are absolute heros in these countries. So there is no way in the world these countries would prosecute them.

[ERTHDOG]

less than a dozen people stopped the intentions of the bad guys on flight 93, i would like to believe a ship with thousands of people would stop pirates from succeeding with a cruise ship take over;)

 

dave

[crewsn]

I was on the Crown Princess two years ago in an ocean view cabin returning to NYC. Around 5 AM we watched through the window as a security officer set up a large hexagon shaped device on a tripod similar to the one shown on page 1 on the navy ship. He also proceeded to run some cabling + power up the device. This was set up in the mechanical area beside where the life boats are stored. Must have been the ear splitting device to prevent close in attacks from the many ships anchored in the Hudson River before docking in Brooklyn.

 

Steve

[derf5585]

I was on the Crown Princess two years ago in an ocean view cabin returning to NYC. Around 5 AM we watched through the window as a security officer set up a large hexagon shaped device on a tripod similar to the one shown on page 1 on the navy ship. He also proceeded to run some cabling + power up the device. This was set up in the mechanical area beside where the life boats are stored. Must have been the ear splitting device to prevent close in attacks from the many ships anchored in the Hudson River before docking in Brooklyn.

Steve

 

May have been a drill

(This is a drill this is a drill.. this is a hammer this is a hammer)

[hockeyboy]

Who stated pirates aren't interested in cruise ships? There's a lot of cash, food, supplies on cruise ships. Also just think how much RCCL would pay to get one of their ships and crew and passengers back. The biggest payoff the pirates have is ransom.

 

Several Seaborn cruise ships have been attacked off the coast of Somalia in the last couple of years.

 

One that I know of outran the pirates after taking a couple hits from rocket propelled grenades. Another blasted the pirates with the sonic cannon. The article I read said the pirates were so close to the cannon that the weapon rendered them temporarily blind and deaf while causeing excruciating pain. The article also said they may have permanent hearing loss.

 

My next cruise goes to Belize. I could see Belize turning to Piracy. They don't seem to be too fond of cruise passengers and they have bunches of fast little boats...

 

I'm kidding about Belize. We're handing them our money voluntarily, they don't need to steal it.

[pcur]

REMEMBER the

Achille Lauro Hijacking

Mediterranean Sea, October 1985

 

I believe the Achille Lauro was hijacked for political purposes, and not for profit. Ransom might have been involved, but the bad guys really wanted to get noticed for their cause.

[warringtonian]

The QM2 has LRADs mounted at the stern. When we were in Brooklyn harbour the LRADS were manned and armed coastguard boats were constantly patrolling.

[BillOh]

I know that this is mainly confined to Somalia right now......but in all seriousness, how well protected are we from something like this happening say around Jamacia or Haiti....aren't those pretty much desperately poor 3rd world countries.

 

 

I think the difference is this poor country, Somalia is also lawless. The carribean countries depend on tourist dollars. Somalia's tourist trade is way down ;)

 

This did happen to a cruise ship in the area somewhat recently. I don't remember the cruise line, the crew fended them off with firehoses. Several passengers cabins were sprayed with automatic weapons fire. Since then the pirates have been using money from ransom payments to upgrade their skills and weapons.

[BillOh]

So why aren't these commercial ships in high risk seas carrying 100 million worth of oil equipped with these?

 

 

Because with ransom money paid the pirates have upgraded their weapons. I'll take several RPGs vs a sonic weapon anyday.

[bajathree]

I think the difference is this poor country, Somalia is also lawless. The carribean countries depend on tourist dollars. Somalia's tourist trade is way down ;)

 

This did happen to a cruise ship in the area somewhat recently. I don't remember the cruise line, the crew fended them off with firehoses. Several passengers cabins were sprayed with automatic weapons fire. Since then the pirates have been using money from ransom payments to upgrade their skills and weapons.

 

 

I am sure it's got to be used for more than that....my hope is it's not going to fund some terrorist group.

[BillOh]

Several Seaborn cruise ships have been attacked off the coast of Somalia in the last couple of years.

 

 

 

Thats who it was, Since then they have upgraded weapons (the pirates) Think about how much money is on board the casinos in some ships and no waiting for ransom payments.

[BillOh]

I am sure it's got to be used for more than that....my hope is it's not going to fund some terrorist group.

 

 

Yes, your right it is being used for more, but the reports I have watched recently suggest the pirates are "putting money back into the business" because of the low risk/reward ratio. The size of the boats, the number of support craft, GPS guidance systems and radars are now in the pirates hands that weren't until more recently.

[AnotherCruisingKid]

I still don't believe the ideas that a cruise ship is a good target.

 

Ok, there is cash in the casino. How much do you really think is in there? $100,000,000 I highly doubt. At most it would be $1,000,000. And in the business world, and piracy is just another business, 1 million isnt worth the risk and effort.

 

The human factor is too unpredictable.

 

Very few humans cruising are worth much of a ransom. I know if they asked my family for anything more than a couple hundred I'd end up dead and laughing.

 

Too many separate negotiations. They would have to deal with each family and then the cruise company. The overhead for taking care of humans is huge. We need to eat, drink, shelter, and then secure us too. Not worth the effort.

 

Piracy is about large amounts of fast money. Very low risk to very high reward. And a cruise ship is NOT that.

 

It just takes one ex seal in the kitchen with a knife.....

[derf5585]

[quote name='BillOh']Thats who it was, Since then they have upgraded weapons (the pirates) Think about how much money is on board the casinos in some ships and no waiting for ransom payments.[/QUOTE]

Sort of like an "Oceans 11" type deal.
Will they have to pay 3% to get the money out of the casino?

[RevSmith]

[quote name='bajathree']Maybe I just had my head in the sand....but when I just heard on GMAsecurity's that 17 commercial ships are held by pirates I was....well:eek: It's like out of an Austin Powers movie....talking about mother ships and pirate lairds. They were interviewing a former worker that was held by pirates and he said that the problem is that they have no weapons aboard these ships. How the heck can you have a tanker holding 100 million dollars of oil with a crew of only 25 and have NO security:confused:So my wifes first ? to me was "well do cruise ships have armed security on board to prevent this from ever happening?" Well...do they?[/quote]
[SIZE=3]OP...I actually asked that question and this is what I was told. The crew has many drills, among them is a pirate drill. The ship has a plan of action, just in case anyone tries to over take the ship. I hear the plan is quite good, and hopefully fool proof. But rest assured, despite all the jokes, there is a well thought out plan to protect the ship and it's passengers...and the drill is routinely practices, as are fire drills and such.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Hope this puts your mind at ease.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Rev[/SIZE]

[Pomperaugrr]

Sonic weapons...gee, I sure hope the pirates don't use all that ransom money to buy [COLOR="Red"][SIZE="3"]earplugs![/SIZE][/COLOR] :eek:;)

[njdevil08]

[quote name='AnotherCruisingKid']I still don't believe the ideas that a cruise ship is a good target.

Ok, there is cash in the casino. How much do you really think is in there? $100,000,000 I highly doubt. At most it would be $1,000,000. And in the business world, and piracy is just another business, 1 million isnt worth the risk and effort.

The human factor is too unpredictable.

Very few humans cruising are worth much of a ransom. I know if they asked my family for anything more than a couple hundred I'd end up dead and laughing.

Too many separate negotiations. They would have to deal with each family and then the cruise company. The overhead for taking care of humans is huge. We need to eat, drink, shelter, and then secure us too. Not worth the effort.

Piracy is about large amounts of fast money. Very low risk to very high reward. And a cruise ship is NOT that.

It just takes one ex seal in the kitchen with a knife.....[/quote]
Thank you for posting, this was my exact thinking. A ship with a value of 100,000,000 dollars with 25 people onboard would seem like a better target than a ship with not nearly that much money and a few thousand people on board!

[safari njema]

[quote name='Hot Pocket Hank']I would only be worried if you are cruising to Somalia! Although it would kinda cool to tell everyone my cruise was raided by big manly pirates in the Caribbean.:p[/QUOTE]

You are positively outrageous! And Lance I loved your mambo on Monday night!

[bajathree]

You know something.....I have just realized that there is no worry with pirates attacking an RCCL ship, WE ARE SAFE.....with the stock collapsing there is no value in it for them....they are better off attacking the boys in red...aka...Carnival;) We are safe:D

[alwayshappytocruise]

[quote name='Pomperaugrr']Sonic weapons...gee, I sure hope the pirates don't use all that ransom money to buy [COLOR="Red"][SIZE="3"]earplugs![/SIZE][/COLOR] :eek:;)[/QUOTE]

Pomp, as usual I love your post however, I think the pirates could afford the Bose noise cancelling headphones. Opinions???

[IKE]

All joking aside "Does anyone remember the "Achille Luro Cruiseship" back in the 80's? A man from NY was thrown overboard in His wheelchair because He called the Terrorists "Cowards". Never say never, it could happen again in this day and age.

[hockeyboy]

One ex navy seal with a Kitchen Knife couldn't stop 30 pirates.

Only Steven Segal could have done that, and 15 years ago when he wasn't old and fat.

Yes pirates would attack cruise ships. They have already attempted to take 2 or 3 Seaborn ships.

Of course those passengers are richer than your typical RCCL passenger.

[Pomperaugrr]

[quote name='alwayshappytocruise']Pomp, as usual I love your post however, I think the pirates could afford the Bose noise cancelling headphones. Opinions???[/quote]


You raise a good point. It was discussed that they were upgrading their weapons, why not get the Bose as you mentioned. :p:D