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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russia: How to beat sea piracy: put grenade launchers on boats |
| 2008-07-31 |
| Russia's top arms producer has unveiled plans to help repel attacks by pirates and reduce the number of hijacks on the country's civil ships. Vladimir Korenkov, from arms manufacturer Bazalt, said it's equipping vessels with it's multi-barrel grenade launching systems to help curb pirate aggression. But the move is a complex one and involves passing stringent measures regarding weapons on boats. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #12 Everyone believes the pirates are all based out of the Phillipines and Indonesia but a lot of them are actually working out of China. Been that way for over 20 years. For a portion of time, the vessels being targeted were Taiwanese. Governments need proof of this and then they need to get the Chinese government to respond. Bit of a problem when a significant portion of Chinese pirates(and smugglers) are either in or affiliated with the PLA. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-07-31 22:03 |
| #11 How'd they originally deal with pirates and piracy in the Caribbean? It wasn't by being nice to the pirates. As I recall, piracy was an instant death sentence even if all you were was part of the crew or even if you'd been shanghaied or pressed into service. It's high time to stop treating our own modern-day pirates with kid gloves. Issue a few Letters of Marque to hunt pirates o a couple of mercenary outfits and turn 'em loose. Sink every pirate vessel encountered and execute any pirate who doesn't surrender immediately. Those that do surrender are hanged, publically.. Shell, torch, and otherwise destroy any port or community found to be harboring pirate vessels. Back everything up with the might of the US (since the Russians don't have a fleet-in-being much anymore) or the Japanese if anyone protests the US being involved (and they will). This shit will stop real fast. |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2008-07-31 17:19 |
| #10 Put a high-voltage wire on short pylons about four feet below the ship's rail. Run 20,000 volts at 180 amps through the wire. Anyone touching it would get a very good reason to abandon piracy. Back the wire up with crews specially trained to drop whatever they're doing, grab automatic weapons, and attack the pirates. Offer a bounty for each one killed, and a larger bounty for captured pirates (so they can be "interrogated"). Include at least one crew-operated 4.5" weapon that can put a round through the waterline of any "mother ship" that might try to interfere. Bunch up and run as a convoy through pirate-infested waters, with the armed ships being on the outside, in front, and behind the formation. Burn any village to the ground that harbors or supplies pirates. Allow armed ships to add a surcharge to their cargos, and to get paid by other ships for providing defense. Grenade launchers, unless they're capable of swiveling 360 degrees, aren't much of a defense. An old WWII 4.5" cannon with beehive and armor piercing ammunition would be far more effective. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-07-31 13:10 |
| #9 During WW2 the Germans had commerce raiders disguised to look like merchant ships. We need a few of those. The pirates come aboard and suddenly they're facing a fully armed ship loaded with troops. Grab the pirates and force htem to lead you to their base and clean out one of the nests. One problem with piracy they don't often talk about are the shadow ships and shadow crews. Basically a shadow ship takes on cargo and then disappears. The ship is reported lost but of course it is repainted, renamed, and takes on some other fools cargo. So no armed pirates are involved so grenade launchers would not help. With a shadow crew the pirates hire on as seamen and at some prearranged time disable the ship so their buds can board without problems. Grenade launchers would be less effective in this scenerio as well. Although some decent GPS tracing devices to track them back to their lair would be helpful in both cases. And that is the final problem. Everyone believes the pirates are all based out of the Phillipines and Indonesia but a lot of them are actually working out of China. Governments need proof of this and then they need to get the Chinese government to respond. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-07-31 11:41 |
| #8 I'm for all options. Give the ships some crew served weapons that are hell on small boats and have the special forces "negotiate" with the villages that provide pirates safe havens. Piracy will drop to nothing. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-07-31 11:10 |
| #7 A couple of Somali ports raided and burned to the ground might get the idea across. |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-07-31 11:10 |
| #6 Alternatively, you can send Spetnaz to visit some pirate villages. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-07-31 10:23 |
| #5 The reporting I've seen about pirates in the Filipinos showed they were quite well-armed, with automatic light weapons and Rpg-7, an di doubt the armament is lighter for the somalia guys; so, if crewmen wish to repel a boarding, if only by making it too costly (I doubt the pirates are willing to take much casualties, simply not cost-effective), a crew-served weapons with more reach & bang could be a good answer, an automatic GL or even a GPMG. Such weaponry always wasn't out of reach for civilians and private societies, the early days of the machine-guns were very fuzzy, and until 1934, US police departments or large coproration securities actually packed WWI surplus grenades and machine-guns without anyone finding it unacceptable, so, it's not like it never has been done. Over that basic self-defense ability, a few weapons specialists with personal weapons onboards for larger boats, and private security companies patroling dangerous waters on behalf of insurance companies, and even over that, an actual willingness from pirate-dens countries to fight against them (by actually hitting them where they live, fishermen villages, shutting down corruption,...)??? |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2008-07-31 08:01 |
| #4 How about an arms locker with a couple of shotguns and AR-15s. At least make it a little hard on them. The grenade launcher should be required gear for sailing. |
| Posted by: Angusomp Ghibelline4344 2008-07-31 07:21 |
| #3 An old idea recounted by Neal Stephenson in " Quicksilver" was the Comet: wrap a cannonball in oil soaked rags, set it alight and toss it into a troublesome boat. The point is, it isn't so complicated. These mopes are in aluminum dinghies, and they are in arms reach of the hull. When it gets to the point where seamen start to say, " Fuck this", the problem will start to disappear. |
| Posted by: Grunter in Denver 2008-07-31 01:57 |
| #2 I like the idea of a 360-degree waterline flamethrower myself. Then use grenade launchers on anything not hightailing it out of Dodge fast enough to suit whoever is running the grenade launchers. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-07-31 01:24 |
| #1 "Multi-barrel grenade-launching system". D *** NG IT, THIS SOUNDS LIKE YET ANOTHER DREAM/VISION OF MINE, BUT DOES PAULA "HOW ABOUT SOME INFORMATION, PLEASE" "DELILAH" "COCONUT KILLER" ABDUL REMEMBER??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-07-31 01:19 |