Posted on 04/15/2009 9:16:52 AM PDT by Ben Mugged
How does a small gang of lightly armed Somali pirates hijack a modern cargo ship?
Speed and weaponry, mainly. Modern pirates, whether off the coast of Somalia or in the crowded shipping lanes of southeast Asia, typically use fast speedboats to zoom up to the sterns of slow-moving cargo ships. They then toss grappling hooks up to the rails and climb up ropes to clamber on deck.
Pirates are generally armed with assault rifles and, increasingly, rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Modern ships' crews are usually unarmed for a number of reasons, among them laws that prevent armed vessels from docking in the ports of many countries.
"The maritime unions, shipping companies and the International Maritime Organization all agree that ship's crews should not be armed," says Capt. George Quick, vice president of the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots, based in Linthicum, Md. "It would only escalate the situation The [Somali] pirates are pretty well funded, and they'd just get bigger weapons."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
How about low-tech weapons? Israeli ships sail the Red Sea and Horn of Africa day and night, yet not one has never been successfully hijacked.
I’ll bet Israeli crews are armed to the teeth with Uzis, M-16s, SAWs and grenade launchers. They also probably shoot first and ask questions if there are any survivors.
George Quick doesn’t sound like a french name, but he can sure speak their language.
Phalanx Close-in Weapon System for self-defense:
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/weaps/mk-15.htm
Close-In Weapons System (CIWS)
The MK 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS - pronounced “sea-whiz”) is a fast-reaction, rapid-fire 20-millimeter gun system that provides US Navy ships with a terminal defense against anti-ship missiles that have penetrated other fleet defenses. Designed to engage anti-ship cruise missiles and fixed-wing aircraft at short range, Phalanx automatically engages functions usually performed by separate, independent systems such as search, detection, threat evaluation, acquisition, track, firing, target destruction, kill assessment and cease fire. Phalanx underwent operational tests and evaluation onboard USS Bigelow in 1977, and exceeded maintenance and reliability specifications. Phalanx production started in 1978 with orders for 23 USN and 14 Foreign Military Sales (FMS) systems.
Phalanx is a point-defense, total-weapon system consisting of two 20mm gun mounts that provide a terminal defense against incoming air targets. CIWS, without assistance from other shipboard systems, will automatically engage incoming anti-ship missiles and high-speed, low-level aircraft that have penetrated the ship primary defense envelope. As a unitized system, CIWS automatically performs search, detecting, tracking, threat evaluation, firing, and kill assessments of targets while providing for manual override. Each gun mount houses a fire control assembly and a gun subsystem. The fire control assembly is composed of a search radar for surveillance and detection of hostile targets and a track radar for aiming the gun while tracking a target. The unique closed-loop fire control system that tracks both the incoming target and the stream of outgoing projectiles (by monitoring their incoming noise signature) gives CIWS the capability to correct its aim to hit fast-moving targets, including ASMs.
The gun subsystem employs a gatling gun consisting of a rotating cluster of six barrels. The gatling gun fires a 20mm subcaliber sabot projectile using a heavy-metal (either tungsten or depleted uranium) 15mm penetrator surrounded by a plastic sabot and a light-weight metal pusher. The gatling gun fires 20mm ammunition at either 3,000 or 4,500 rounds-per-minute with a burst length of continuous, 60, or 100 rounds.
CIWS has been a mainstay self defense system aboard nearly every class of ship since the late 70’s. It was originally designed to defeat low altitude antiship cruise missiles (ASCMs) and was called the block 0. As antiship cruise missiles became more complex in maneuvers and ability to be detected, and warfare areas moved from open ocean to littoral environments, CIWS has evolved to meet the threat.
Block 1 incorporated a new search antenna to detect high altitude missiles, improved search sensitivity, increased the ammunition available for firing by 50 percent, a pneumatic gun drive which increased the firing rate to 4500 rounds per minute, and started using tungsten ammunition as well as depleted uranium. Block I improvements provide increased elevation coverage, larger magazine space for increased round capacity, a variable and higher gun fire rate, and improved radar and processing capabilities.
Block 1A incorporated a new High Order Language Computer (HOLC) to provide more processing power over the obsolete general purpose digital computer, improved fire control algorithms to counter maneuvering targets, search multiple weapons coordination to better manage engagements, and an end-to-end testing function to better determine system functionality.
Block 1B Phalanx Surface Mode (PSUM) incorporates a side mounted Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) which enables CIWS to engage low slow or hovering aircraft and surface craft. Additionally, the FLIR assists the radar in engaging some ASCM’s bringing a greater chance of ship survivability. Block 1B uses a thermal imager Automatic Acquisition Video Tracker (AAVT) and stablilization system that provide surface mode and electro-optic (EO) angle track. These Block 1B enhancements will allow day/night detection capability and enable the CIWS to engage small surface targets, slow-moving air targets, and helicopters.
Baseline 2C improvements provide an integrated multi-weapon operations capability. During integrated operations, the command system controls CIWS sensors, target reports, mode employment, and doctrine. The sensors are utilized to provide 360 degree search and track coverage, while providing track data to, and receiving designations from, the Command system. This CIWS installation includes a conversion kit for each weapon group to facilitate ease and safety of maintenance; the “maintenance enclosure” kit installs the below-deck equipment for a gun mount in a prefabricated enclosure with the mount located above it.
problem with that is on a oil tanker you’re not even supposed to carry a lighter.
they typically use water cannons , loudspeaker blasts and lots of lights...not much protection there.
If laws prevent crews from carrying, we need to change the laws.”
Hire Blackwater to protect the ships. They are not as busy these days in Iraq.
Well, one option might be to hire a company like Blackwater to provide armed protection.”
You beat me to it...and it is the best option which can VERY QUICKLY be employed to solve this problem.
Blackwater stated about six months ago that they’d like to get into “maritime security”.
True, except for the last week, the French seem to have changed their language.
“Anti-grappling rails - large diameter pipe to prevent getting a hook to fasten to the ship.”
Is there no way to electrify those rails when they come climbing up? It’d be very enjoyable to read of some of them having their worthless selves fried when making contact.
That's like saying if we gave a gun to all the convenience store clerks then there wouldn't be any stickups. We know better - it's not their job, it's not what they're trained for, and the odds are they won't want to die for someone elses money anyway.
If you want to put arms on the ships then contract it out. Let every U.S. ship, for example, pick up two or three armed professionals as they're entering the area and then have them ride the ship through pirate waters. As the ship leaves the danger area, the security team is air lifted to a ship that is inbound. Shipping lanes are pretty well defined and you could set up half dozen or fewer points that would be convenient for most of the U.S. ships going through the area to pick the guards up at. And if the pirates show up, you have a couple of trained professionals who know what they're doing and were hired specifically to protect the ship and its crew.
One shot, multiple kills.
A couple of these new auto shotguns on the port and starboard sides, the aft and bow of each ship would go a long way in erradicating the Pirate Scum.
The video doesn’t get into the new automatic shotgun until a little over 40 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ebtj1jR7c
Bullets and grenades do the job quite well, and they don't leave the pirates around to try again later.
I read somewhere that simple Concertina barbed wire deployed around the ship was pretty effective.
Judging from the age and inexperience of the the pirates it seems likely that the actual perps are just kids being sent out there by warlords/mob bosses who are running the operations and taking in the finances from a secure land base or possibly a mother ship.
Those are the people we need to wipe out.
My guess is it would be cheaper and less of a hassle for ship owners and captains to simply avoid the area by going around the Horn of Africa. Or buying more insurance.
Not very macho, but probably more economical than hiring full-time security details with helos and forward operating bases.
Security contractors seem to be the most cost effective way to deal with the problem. But it appears the owners, insurers, maritime organizations and unions don’t want the added bother and expense. Their solution is to fight pirates on our dime with our resources.
So screw ‘em. Let them just put down pirate ransoms as a cost of doing business and let’s move on.
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