This is the second of two parts about the piracy crisis. Click here to read Part I.
Today’s naval leaders are perplexed as to how to stop piracy. While they sit in their offices and study several dozen law books, “White Papers,” and studies on how to stop piracy, the pirates continue to capture ships, apparently with great ease. The most common statement heard is, “We do not have enough ships to patrol millions of square miles of ocean.” The much easier approach would be to study a map, locate the ports that the bad guys are operating from and patrol that area. It should be pretty small area, maybe a mile at the most. The best part is we do not have to stay there.
The American military is buying several types of unmanned aircraft to carry surveillance equipment, throw a few rockets, drop a few bombs, and scare the hell out of bad people. We have so many satellites in the heavens right now that are underemployed, we could spare one to orbit the Somalia coastline on a 24/7 basis and not worry about the other millions of square miles of ocean. It might prove the point that finding pirates is not hard, but first you have to look in the most obvious place – like their home port.
The pirates are using the same idea that the British Navy founded in the 1880s. Back then, the British had ships designated to carry ten 2nd Class torpedo boats. These “mother” ships sailed to the area of concern, dropped their small boats over the side and picked them up that same evening. While the torpedo boat crews ate, rested and had their boats worked on by mechanics, the ship traveled to another area for operations.
The Somalis must be great readers of naval history. Their concept of using mother ships to carry about a dozen inflatable and fast motor boats to the target ship is working, just like it did in the 1880s. Now the next question is, can today’s navy do the job of stopping them? The answer is no.
This is where we need the United States Coast Guard with its small cutters and well-trained crews, the right boats for the job and better yet, working knowledge. The Coast Guard has been fighting piracy since they were founded long ago. When the navy is operating in a time of peace, the Coast Guard is involved in running gun battles with drug lords all over the Gulf of Mexico, the waters between Florida and Cuba and the American Virgin Islands, plus combating the drug trade off Puerto Rico.
We have an effective small boat force capable of dealing with a bunch of half-doped-up, gang-banger pirates and stop their antics immediately. Would someone please dial 911 and ask for the Coast Guard?
Joe Hinds is the author of The Ship Killers about the evolution of Motor Torpedo Boats.
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Mike Halvorsen said:
OUTSTANDING! The only thing I might add is the notion of going after their home ports…such as they are. We wouldn’t even have to send in troops. A half-dozen Mk82 500lb “Dumb” bombs, some 20mike-mike and some napalm (for effect) would adequately express our displeasure with their antics. The other sentiment I read in part 1 sums things up nicely:
One doesn’t negotiate with pirates…One hangs pirates.
Thanks for the voice of reason, especially in an era of apparent idiocy.
April 14th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Joseph Hinds said:
Mike, Thank you for participating in this. I believe that people are easy to spook with language and get carried away with “Images” rather then facts. These creeps do not deserve the title “Pirate”. They are just simple minded little thugs.
Nothing scary about them.
Thanks again,
Joe
April 16th, 2009 at 5:08 am
Kelsey360 said:
Read no further if you do not want to solve this….While we are asking the question-who will also stop Europeans and Asians from stealing over a billion dollars worth of seafood from Somali waters? Will NATO enforce that too?..yea right.. Therein lies the bigger issue. Lets get to the root of what started this whole thing. 1) Stop the Bushite the US Covert war on Somalia through Ethiopia-it is destabilizing the entire Horn. 2) Stop Europe and Asia from Stealing Somalian fish 3) Stop Europeans from dumping radioactive waste in Somali waters. These are the events that facilitated the current pirate situation. Somalians rightfully wanted to protect their waters, and it has devolved into this. Europe has to start respecting African property. Somalia must be self-governing and economically self-reliant. Otherwise dont act surprised about the consequences-what did we expect?
April 19th, 2009 at 4:44 am
Nemesis (Resident Evil) » Motor torpedo boat tender said:
[...] Dealing with Somali Pirates Part II : Great History [...]
May 7th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Exuma (musician) » USS Belle Grove (LSD-2) said:
[...] Dealing with Somali Pirates Part II : Great History [...]
May 9th, 2009 at 4:21 am
Igor Vovchanchyn » Blog Archive » Motor Gun Boat said:
[...] Dealing with Somali Pirates Part II : Great History [...]
May 10th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Mike said:
Mr. Hinds. Some rightwing goon sounding off. Didn’t we just have 8 years of rightwing know-nothings sounding off?
October 14th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Nathanael Greene said:
Maybe if the Horn of Africa countries had legitmiate governments and a desire to enter the 21st century instead of raping, pillaging, and destroying what ever national resources and infrastrucure already there, they would not be in a position to be taken advantage of Western nations. Stop fighting with each other, stop using the West as a scapegoat, and form a coalition government that actually rewards prosperity and freedom and you just might be taken seriously.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Tracey McCormick said:
Nathaniel and others – I wonder what you think about Martin Dula’s take on how to solve the pirating problem: http://greathistory.com/solving-pirating-the-ancient-way.htm
October 20th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Nathanael Greene said:
The Somali pirates are not pirating because they are mad at the West for dumping radioactive waste on their beaches. They are pirating because there is no other legitimate way to earn a living or maintain a subsistence. They are pirating because certain nations are willing to pay a ransom for the sailors and ships they hold hostage.
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They pirate because there is no government to stop this action that is considered illegal in every civilized society in the world. If radioactive waste was the root cause, then whatever at-the-time-in-power warlord should take his grievance to the UN like any other respectable nation. Since we know that the UN is such a great arbitor of conflict, that problem should be taken care of in, oh, about 24 hours, don’t you think? So in reality the Somali pirates are not martyrs nor are they freedom fighters. They steal cargo that they do not own and they hold people against thier will for a monetary reward. They are criminals and should be treated as such.
Regarding Pompey, maybe he was right in his day.
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Today, respectable people want criminals behind bars not living behind them. We don’t want child molesters living on our block; we don’t want Gitmo detainees, aka terrorists, living next door, and I think I can safely say that we don’t want Somali pirates living across the street from us. Putting them behind bars is the answer, not repatriating them to a civilized country where they can wreak more havoc on innocents.
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However, if you choose to have criminals living next door to you, please let me know where you live so I can move at least a hundred miles away.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:47 pm