Comments on: Piracy, Drugs, and Money… http://www.thegunline.com/blog/2009/04/piracy-drugs-and-money/ A view from the haft of the spear... Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:38:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: seattlefishermanguy http://www.thegunline.com/blog/2009/04/piracy-drugs-and-money/comment-page-1/#comment-231 seattlefishermanguy Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:30:41 +0000 http://www.thegunline.com/blog/?p=171#comment-231 Freighters care about where their going, not where they've been. Most of them have their radars located in front of their superstructures, leaving them blind to what's going on behind them. Add to that, that small wooden boats don't show up very well on radar, that ocean swells hide (small) boats pretty well, that freighters are lit up like Christmas trees, that, just like in a big truck, you can't see small objects once their close to you, and that there's lots of blind spots and places to hide once on deck. It's just not always easy to see what's coming. Most boats boarded by pirates are boarded at night, from the stern and the crews didn't know they were there until the pirates showed up on the bridge. You've written a good piece of fiction, but that's what it is: fiction. Some freighters already have aft facing radar and security crews when in high risk areas. As soon a the shipping companies insurance companies start requiring aft facing radar and security teams while traveling in high risk areas (and shouldn't it be shipping companies and their insurers, not U.S. tax payers, paying to keep them safe?) the amount of piracy will drop way off. It's also important to note that most of the pirates used to be fisherman. When the government of Somalia collapsed all fishing regulations and enforcement collapsed with it. With the fishing wide open factory trawlers, including boats from American companies, moved in and wiped out a healthy, robust fishery. The fisherman turned to the illegitimate economy only after the legitimate economy collapsed. One of the hidden costs of cheap fish-sticks in the U.S. is a dead fishery and piracy off the Somali coast. The collapse of the Somali government, economy and fishery doesn't justify piracy. There's a long-long-long-long maritime tradition of shooting pirates and we should continue that tradition. But, we should also ask where products we buy come from, how they were produced and what hidden cost occur in their production. <em>SGT B sends: You are correct: This is fiction. It is written from the viewpoint of an operator, and provides a possible immediate solution to the issue, compounded by some pretty strong memories of the events of the early 90s... But it is fiction. You bring up some very salient points (beyond the technical issues regarding sensor technologies - the P-3C Orion was the sensor platform best equipped to "see" the bad guys, but I digress...) The longer term issues are twofold: First, how does one bring order to chaos, so that the process of rebuilding has a fighting chance. Two: How do you keep outside folks from coming on a messing up te works (in this case, foreign fishermen exploiting the Somalis inability to control access to their own fishing grounds)? These are the primary issues, and I freely admit that I am not the one to provide the answers. My thought stops at the purely tactical reasoning that pirates have a hard time conducting piracy if their boats keep getting blown out of the water. Admittedly not the most enlightened viewpoint, which is why I am a soldier, and not a statesman. Thank you for your comments, hopefully they will stir some soul better suited to the task to come up with a more permanent solution that doesn't require such drastic steps.</em> Freighters care about where their going, not where they’ve been. Most of them have their radars located in front of their superstructures, leaving them blind to what’s going on behind them. Add to that, that small wooden boats don’t show up very well on radar, that ocean swells hide (small) boats pretty well, that freighters are lit up like Christmas trees, that, just like in a big truck, you can’t see small objects once their close to you, and that there’s lots of blind spots and places to hide once on deck. It’s just not always easy to see what’s coming.

Most boats boarded by pirates are boarded at night, from the stern and the crews didn’t know they were there until the pirates showed up on the bridge.

You’ve written a good piece of fiction, but that’s what it is: fiction.

Some freighters already have aft facing radar and security crews when in high risk areas. As soon a the shipping companies insurance companies start requiring aft facing radar and security teams while traveling in high risk areas (and shouldn’t it be shipping companies and their insurers, not U.S. tax payers, paying to keep them safe?) the amount of piracy will drop way off.

It’s also important to note that most of the pirates used to be fisherman. When the government of Somalia collapsed all fishing regulations and enforcement collapsed with it. With the fishing wide open factory trawlers, including boats from American companies, moved in and wiped out a healthy, robust fishery. The fisherman turned to the illegitimate economy only after the legitimate economy collapsed. One of the hidden costs of cheap fish-sticks in the U.S. is a dead fishery and piracy off the Somali coast.

The collapse of the Somali government, economy and fishery doesn’t justify piracy. There’s a long-long-long-long maritime tradition of shooting pirates and we should continue that tradition. But, we should also ask where products we buy come from, how they were produced and what hidden cost occur in their production.

SGT B sends: You are correct: This is fiction. It is written from the viewpoint of an operator, and provides a possible immediate solution to the issue, compounded by some pretty strong memories of the events of the early 90s… But it is fiction.

You bring up some very salient points (beyond the technical issues regarding sensor technologies – the P-3C Orion was the sensor platform best equipped to “see” the bad guys, but I digress…)

The longer term issues are twofold: First, how does one bring order to chaos, so that the process of rebuilding has a fighting chance. Two: How do you keep outside folks from coming on a messing up te works (in this case, foreign fishermen exploiting the Somalis inability to control access to their own fishing grounds)?

These are the primary issues, and I freely admit that I am not the one to provide the answers. My thought stops at the purely tactical reasoning that pirates have a hard time conducting piracy if their boats keep getting blown out of the water. Admittedly not the most enlightened viewpoint, which is why I am a soldier, and not a statesman.

Thank you for your comments, hopefully they will stir some soul better suited to the task to come up with a more permanent solution that doesn’t require such drastic steps.

]]> By: The Spocity Kid http://www.thegunline.com/blog/2009/04/piracy-drugs-and-money/comment-page-1/#comment-230 The Spocity Kid Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:39:27 +0000 http://www.thegunline.com/blog/?p=171#comment-230 Um... Just thought that I'd point out that "heaving to" is stopping... <em>SGT B sends: "Heaving to"..? Where do you see that? Just kidding, thanks for the observation... I went in and changed the wording.</em> Um… Just thought that I’d point out that “heaving to” is stopping…

SGT B sends: “Heaving to”..? Where do you see that?

Just kidding, thanks for the observation… I went in and changed the wording.

]]> By: spokanephoenix http://www.thegunline.com/blog/2009/04/piracy-drugs-and-money/comment-page-1/#comment-228 spokanephoenix Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:36:15 +0000 http://www.thegunline.com/blog/?p=171#comment-228 NNNNNNNNNNNNoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! (please?) <em>SGT B sends: Don't worry, I'm not applying for a position...</em> NNNNNNNNNNNNoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! (please?)

SGT B sends: Don’t worry, I’m not applying for a position…

]]>