Posted on 11/18/2009 3:41:46 PM PST by majstoll
Only hours ago Somali pirates attacked the USS Marsk Alabama in International waters. But unlike last April, when the ship was taken captive, this time the US flagged ship "responded with small-arms fire . . . and evasive maneuvers to thwart the attack." Hard to port ye mateys! It be an American ship ahead!
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
Did Obama give them permission to do this? Somehow I doubt it.
What took so long? Something along the lines of disguised German commerce raiders in WWI would do nicely too.
What I learned from this article that British ships should be easy pickings.
I have always wondered, from the waterline, how exactly does one board one of these ships?
I was checking cruise lines because I heard the rates are very cheap
right now.
I found a Somali cruise package that departs from Sawakin (in the Sudan) and docks at Bagamoya (in Tanzania ).
The cost is a bit high @ 800 per person double occupancy but I didn’t
find that offensive. What I found encouraging and enlightened is that
the cruise is encouraging people to bring their ‘High powered weapons’
along on the cruise. If you don’t have weapons you can rent them right
there on the boat. They claim to have a master blacksmith on board and
will have reloading parties every afternoon. The cruise lasts from 4-8
days and nights and costs a maximum of $3200 per person double occupancy
(4 days). All the boat does is sail up and down the coast of Somalia
waiting to get hijacked by pirates. Here are some of the costs and
claims associated with the package.
$800.00 US/per day double occupancy (4 day max billing)
M-16 full auto rental $ 25.00/day ammo at 100 rounds of 5.56 armor
piercing ammo at 15.95
Ak-47 rifle @ No charge. ammo at 100 rounds of 7.62 com block ball ammo
at 14.95
Barrett M-107 .50 cal sniper rifle rental 55.00/day ammo at 25 rounds
50 cal armor piercing at 9.95
Crew members can double as spotters for 30.00 per hour ( spotting scope
included).
They even offer RPG’s at 75 bucks and 200 dollars for 3 standard loads
“Everyone gets use of free complimentary night vision equipment and
coffee and snacks on the top deck from 7pm-6am.”
Meals are not included but seem reasonable.
Most cruises offer a mini-bar... these gung ho entrepreneurs
offer......... get this.....
“MOUNTED MINIGUN AVAILABLE @ 450.00 per 30 seconds of sustained fire”
Sign my ars up!
They advertise group rates and corporate discounts...... and even claim
“FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY”
They even offer a partial money back if not satisfied....here’s some
text from the ad.
“We guarantee that you will experience at least two hijacking attempts
by pirates or we will refund half your money back including gun rental
charges and any unused ammo ( mini gun charges not included).. How can
we guarantee you will experience a hijacking? We operate at 5 knots
within 12 miles of the coast of Somalia . If an attempted Hijacking does
not occur we will turn the boat around and cruise by at 4 knots. We will
repeat this for up to 8 days making three passes a day along the entire
length of Somalia . At night the boat is fully lit and bottle rockets
are shot off at intervals and loud disco music beamed shore side to
attract attention. Cabin space is limited so respond quickly. Reserve
your package before Feb 29 and get 100 rounds of free tracer ammo in the
caliber of your choice.”
As if all that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, there were a few
testimonials
“I got three confirmed kills on my last trip. I’LL never hunt big gamein Africa again.”—— Lars
, Hamburg Germany
“Six attacks in 4 days was more than I expected. I bagged three piratesand my 12yr old son sank two rowboats with the minigun. PIRATES 0 -PASSENGERS-32! Well worth the trip. Just make sure your spotter speaks English”
Ned, Salt Lake city , Utah USA
“I haven’t had this much fun since flying choppers in NAM . Don’t worry
about getting shot by pirates as they never even got close to the ship
with those weapons they use and their sh!tty aim—reminds me of a
drunken ‘juicer’ door gunner we picked up from the motor pool back in
Nam” —”chopper’
Dan ——Toledo USA.
“Like ducks in a barrel. They turned the ship around and we saw them
bleed and cry in the water like little girls. Saw one wounded pirate
eaten by sharks—what a laugh riot!! This is a must do.-— Zeke-Minnahaw
Springs Kentucky USA
If it isn’t three snipers up in the superstructure with Barretts, don’t really consider it to be a vagarious defense. Considering that reports are that the pirates lived, I’d say that the US flagged ship hasn’t learned the one true key to American military victories - Respond to threats with overwhelming force and prevent your enemy from having any ability to mount a defense, or a second attack.
Not neccessarily:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2159765/posts
Those men didn’t need to resort to guns like wusses to repel boarders either. :D
Are you serious?
Have you got a link for that? That’s great!
Grappling hooks
The cycle of violence will only be made worse by the...
Screw it! Nice job guys. I’m sorry for people that have some idyllic dream of sailing the seven seas, but these animals are reaching out almost 1000 miles now from theirn coast...they are HIGHLY organized and very professional. It is high time that we fight back a bit. The idea of capturing them makes me SICK. They should get a few holes and then be left for the sharks. It’s insulting to have let them get as far as they’ve gotten.
I would think a well aimed fullisade of .308 or .223 would suffice for most all of these piracy attempts.
It was a joke I got by email back when we took out the pirates last time.
Funny as all get out IMHO. :)
Here’s the US military definition:
“In the U.S. military, small arms refer to handguns or other firearms less than 20 mm in caliber, and including heavy machine guns (typically .50 caliber or 12.7 mm in U.S. service).”
And the NATO definition:
“he NATO definition extends to “all crew-portable direct fire weapons of a calibre less than 50mm and will include a secondary capability to defeat light armour and helicopters.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_arms
Get your facts right. THERE IS NO USS MARSK ALABAMA. There is a M/V Marsk Alabama.
USS ref.s to active duty U.S.Navy ships of which the Marsk Alabama IS NOT.
Get your stuff stright.
Get your facts right. THERE IS NO USS MARSK ALABAMA. There is a M/V Marsk Alabama.
USS ref.s to active duty U.S.Navy ships of which the Marsk Alabama IS NOT.
Get your stuff stright.
Now if they will just lay down enough fire to take out everyone on board.
What do they use for shuffleboard? Claymores? That cruise sounds wild.
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