Article

2010-12-15 Africa North

Pirates attack Italian ship in Oman Gulf

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Posted by Fred 2010-12-15 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11126 views ] Top
File under: Pirates

#1 Can I guess they don't have any Roccos or Guidos on board then?

Posted by gorb 2010-12-15 00:29|| 2010-12-15 00:29|| Front Page Top

#2 alerted naval forces operating in the area, including an Italian navy ship, for a possible rescue

'Rescue' as in 'blow the pirates out of the water' or 'rescue' as in 'fish the Italian crewmen out of the water?'

Posted by Glenmore 2010-12-15 05:58|| 2010-12-15 05:58|| Front Page Top

#3 You've got a 750-foot long ship, weighing several hundred thousand tons. Start doing some very wild maneuvers, turning first toward and then away from the pirate launch, altering speed from full ahead to full astern. Sooner or later you're going to hit that da$$$$ skiff the pirates are in, and it's going to dump its crew into shark-infested waters. Most of the pirates will probably NOT be able to swim, and certainly will be in danger of being sucked into the freighter's screws. Pretty soon, it's going to be too expensive in lives and equipment lost for the pirates to continue, or they'll start picking easier targets, like fishing boats. Even there, a gaff hook works equally well on a 150-pound Somali as it does on a 300-pound tuna. The only reason the pirates are succeeding is that the crews of these ships don't have enough gumption to fight back. When they do, the pirates beat feet.

Posted by Old Patriot 2010-12-15 14:04|| 2010-12-15 14:04|| Front Page Top

#4 You've got a 750-foot long ship, weighing several hundred thousand tons. Start doing some very wild maneuvers, turning first toward and then away from the pirate launch, altering speed from full ahead to full astern

Do you have any idea how long it takes to stop a vessel of that size? Or to go from forward to reverse? Especially with a propulsion plant and a hull that's not designed for quick moves?

We're talking 'fat merchantman', not a cruiser. A ship designed to haul grain. As in "a full load of grain". It'd be like trying to do a slalom course in a dump truck loaded with sand.

The maneuvering makes sense, if only to keep the pirates from boarding.

Posted by Pappy 2010-12-15 22:04|| 2010-12-15 22:04|| Front Page Top

#5 Dump an F-150 on them from a Q ship.
Then call in an ARCLIGHT...

Posted by tu3031 2010-12-15 22:12|| 2010-12-15 22:12|| Front Page Top

#6 Three rounds in the O Club on tu3031. Everyone is welcome! (It's ok, he chose of his own free will to celebrate Christmas early with us all.)

Posted by trailing wife 2010-12-15 23:47|| 2010-12-15 23:47|| Front Page Top

23:54 USN,Ret
23:47 trailing wife
23:45 USN,Ret
23:35 gorb
23:31 Secret Master
23:19 gorb
23:09 DarthVader
23:04 gorb
23:02 JosephMendiola
23:00 gorb
22:59 gorb
22:57 tu3031
22:57 JosephMendiola
22:54 gorb
22:43 Dar
22:39 JosephMendiola
22:31 tu3031
22:24 Pappy
22:20 tu3031
22:15 Mikey Hunt
22:15 tu3031
22:14 CrazyFool
22:12 tu3031
22:10 tu3031