U.S. Navy Battles Pirates

[Mike Taylor]

Here's a news article about combatting pirates off the coast of Somalia. The crew of one ship, the North Korean vessel Dai Hong Dan, killed it's attackers. The search is still on for four other stolen vessels.

CNN Article (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/10/30/somalia.pirates/index.html)

[Kuseru]

Despite the existance of pirates, one has to wonder if this wasn't all a staged ploy to get some North Koreans aboard a US Warship.

[Big Otis Landfish]

Despite the existance of pirates, one has to wonder if this wasn't all a staged ploy to get some North Koreans aboard a US Warship.

Yeah, but whose ploy? NK or the US? :d/:

Would be interesting to see what the DPRK site has to say about it (they are hilariously and very transparently propagandistic), but I'm not allowed to go there anymore. Damned cold war. :d(:

[Farler]

I saw this story on cnn, and I had to admit I was buying it right up to the part about north koreans on a us navy ship. And by god if that doesn't sound like a cover story then I don't know what does.

Anyone but the us and I would have swallowed it all. I still believe it's true, but still.

[Shryke]

I saw this story on cnn, and I had to admit I was buying it right up to the part about north koreans on a us navy ship. And by god if that doesn't sound like a cover story then I don't know what does.

Anyone but the us and I would have swallowed it all. I still believe it's true, but still.

Sounds good to me. Sailors HATE pirates, and rightfully so. If a nazi commercial vessle was under attack by pirates I imagine that the navy would kick the pirates ass. I'd been hoping that this pirate situation might be a means to bring us and someone unlikely together.

[Farler]

naw, its the federation and the romulans. No matter what the federation does to foster good will the romulans always suspect it, and spin it in a way that makes the federation seem evil.

[Travellar]

One of my best friends is over there chasing those pirates. :D

When it comes to protecting international commerce, especially at sea, the US Navy doens't really play favorites. Pirates are bad for everyone.

[Falling Man]

There is an ancient greek saying from the time before Ajax.

Where there is sea, there are pirates.

[Leffy]

yeah, but you're talking to this crowd. they think "where there are pirates there be wenches!"

and well they don't need to be wenching anything among those ships. they'd get an entirely different crack.

[Crazeyal]

Well..

It'd give new meaning to the word
aRRRRRR

[Mike Taylor]

There is an ancient greek saying from the time before Ajax.

Where there is sea, there are pirates.

Yep. :D

[Seolta]

Where there is sea, there are pirates.


*whistles innocently*

[Ruestir]

*whistles innocently*
*coughs*

[Seolta]

*coughs*


Whaaaaaat?:DP:

[Shryke]

The navies of the world should send all the pirates to the bottom. then shell their shore installations. post arrest warrants for those that survive, and send nasty letters repremanding the mothers of all pirates individually for being poor mothers.

[Lithanial]

The pirates of the world should send all the navy to the bottom. then shell their shore installations. post bountys for those that survive, and send nasty letters repremanding the mothers of all navy officers individually for being poor mothers.

[Mike Taylor]

The pirates of the world should send all the navy to the bottom. then shell their shore installations. post bountys for those that survive, and send nasty letters repremanding the mothers of all navy officers individually for being poor mothers.

So what happens if the navies are the pirates? Do they just kill themselves and write nasty letters to their own mothers?

[Lithanial]

Works for Japan :al:

[CptCalico]

There was a time when pirates effectively WERE the navies; countries didn't have navies large enough during wars to protect their ports, hunt enemy navies, escort valuable convoys AND harass smaller ships transporting goods for the enemy, so they outsorced the last job to mercenary captains. Caper letters, essensially licenses to board and take as prize any ship working for the enemy, by any means necessary. This was done for several hundred years, and many of the better known pirates we know about today started out as caper captains. Some were even pardoned for piracy because it was war, given caper letters and sent out, then when peace came and the caper letters expired the same captains went freelance again :D

[Lithanial]

the official term would be "privateer" ;)

[CptCalico]

Yarrr, matey!

[Travellar]

Or letter of mark.

Either way, my friend has been back home about a month now, so there's probrably some other US Destroyer shadowing those particular pirates.

Oddly enough, 'civilizing' the high seas has made piracy somewhat easier. the idea of 'civilizing' seems to imply takeing away all the weapons. Thus, very few, if any, commercial ships are armed. All a pirate needs to operate today are a big enough speedboat, and a couple of small arms. Most of these cases off Somolia involve perhaps 1-3 AK-47s, and an RPG. They aren't heavily armed, but they are infinately more heavily armed than thier intended victims. Of course, Naval forces are vastly better armed than the pirates.

[sableagle]

There was one case of the target being more heavily armed: fire hose, as seen on the little guy in the corner of this pic (http://www.searchtocruise.com/images/ships/Sapphire_Princess.gif). Someone saw the grapnel arrive and got the water going just in time to wash the boarding party off the deck. That had to hurt.

[Sehson]

being that typical firehose puts out a 2" stream of 150psi water, which by the way is enough to lift a 220 pound man off his feet and move him 4 or 5 feet into a wall. I know this from being on the recieving end. Now you get a 3" or 4" crew manned (3 people min) hose and well those on the recieving end don't stand a chance.

[CptCalico]

Oh! Oh! I get to tell one of my favorite stories! :dgrin:

This was in the early 90s, and a german rocket cruiser was visiting the town. For reasons not vital to the story, I went aboard during open-to-visitors hour and got to talk a bit with one of the minor officers.
Brand new ship, with all the most awesome technology - antirocket systems that could see any approaching target and shot it down within a certain range within so many seconds, huge rocket control systems, silos, the works. But the most interesting piece of equipment for me were a couple of small machine gun nests, placed there a year after the ship was launched. According to the officer, they were there because it had been discovered that ships like this, that could see and take out practically anything - had no defence system against armed men in rowboats...

[sableagle]

I've had fun discussing designs for small ships intended to protect a fleet against that sort of thing and/or hunt pirates.

Small, low-lying, low radar profile, bullet-proofed ship with a tall extensible mast carrying active and passive radar and listening gear for "looking" over islands (it retracts for nasty weather), a shallow draft for lurking and 7.62mm and 12.7mm MGs along both sides plus a Sabre turret on the front, maybe one each end, or two each side on a bigger version, with a computer capable of using all the weapons to engage multiple radar blips at once, and override manual control of individual weapons in case the computer got damaged. The idea was that it could sit between a fleet inshore and any kamikaze boat threat or go off hunting pirates and smugglers, and against the suicide bomb types it's a difficult thing to get past that doesn't cost much to replace while against the latter it's a dangerous object that just might be lurking nearby without you knowing. It's not as sneaky-creepy as a submarine, but it's got a smaller crew and smaller unit cost and it's meant for close-range work only, so it doesn't need the big guns or torpedos. I'd have a cache of Starstreak onboard, just in case.

[CptCalico]

Awww....what's wrong with the traditional greek fire catapults?

[Sehson]

Oh! Oh! I get to tell one of my favorite stories! :dgrin:

This was in the early 90s, and a german rocket cruiser was visiting the town. For reasons not vital to the story, I went aboard during open-to-visitors hour and got to talk a bit with one of the minor officers.
Brand new ship, with all the most awesome technology - antirocket systems that could see any approaching target and shot it down within a certain range within so many seconds, huge rocket control systems, silos, the works. But the most interesting piece of equipment for me were a couple of small machine gun nests, placed there a year after the ship was launched. According to the officer, they were there because it had been discovered that ships like this, that could see and take out practically anything - had no defence system against armed men in rowboats...

Eh, you don't need a machine gun nest, Just an armed security team...
Or engineers... They didn't give us guns Because we were scary enough with pipe wrenches and firehoses...

Its true, They asked to get some engineers on security detail and weapon qualed... Cheif engineer and XO both said no... because of that...

[RazorJAK]

Eh, you don't need a machine gun nest, Just an armed security team...
Or engineers... They didn't give us guns Because we were scary enough with pipe wrenches and firehoses...

Its true, They asked to get some engineers on security detail and weapon qualed... Cheif engineer and XO both said no... because of that...

You want truly scary? Try playing the old version of White Wolf's game MAGE with three engineer students who all played Sons of Ether(*).

Nothing like someone explaining HOW their prime sphere railgun is powered by pure quintessence and being able to convince you WHY it works.

(*) The Mad Scientists

[Crazeyal]

Yeah..

Then try playing MAGE live action with an aspiring writer and part time MADMAN as GM!!

[Travellar]

He was talking about an entirely different kind of engineer.

As for your picket boat, how about these? (http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/publications/cyberpioneer/features/2005/may05_cs.html)

and you can't really use an extendable mast to look over an island. maybe a tethered balloon.

[CptCalico]

He was talking about an entirely different kind of engineer.

As for your picket boat, how about these? (http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/publications/cyberpioneer/features/2005/may05_cs.html)

and you can't really use an extendable mast to look over an island. maybe a tethered balloon.

I *like* them.

[Sehson]

You want truly scary? Try playing the old version of White Wolf's game MAGE with three engineer students who all played Sons of Ether(*).

Nothing like someone explaining HOW their prime sphere railgun is powered by pure quintessence and being able to convince you WHY it works.

(*) The Mad Scientists


Yep nothing like being a Pagan gamer with a strong background in engineering and science to really fuck with a campaign. I mean hell If I had access to game magic........Even low level stuff...

Well lets just say the world would be a very scary place, techno-magic be my savior....