Dramatic Footage Captures A Deadly Firefight Between American Mercenaries And Somali Pirates

Daily Mail ^ | 4-22-2017 | Rod Ardehali

[blam]

•Somali pirates tried to hijack a cargo ship attacking the vessel in speedboats
•Private security contractors hired to protect the cargo began shooting at them
•The guards saw off the pirates firing dozens of rounds from sub-machine guns
•Dramatic footage captures the furious gunfight between the two boats
•Attack thought to have happened in 2012 but reemerged after hijacking in March

Dramatic footage of a private security team engaging in a fire fight with Somali pirates trying to hijack a cargo ship has emerged online.

A speedboat can be seen hurtling towards the vessel as a private security contractor wielding a sub-machine gun begins to take aim.

One guard begins by firing warning shots around the boat which can be seen landing just feet away from the speedboat.

After firing dozens of rounds at the speedboat which crashes into the ship's hull, one contractor can be heard shouting: 'Where they at, what's their position?'

As one speedboat careers off in retreat security can be heard calling: 'Second skip coming in.'

A second boat races towards the starboard of the ship.

Security guards fire dozens more rounds at the vessel which eventually retreats.

(snip)
(Click to the site to see the video)

[Mears]

It was under Obama,but under Maritime Laws,not US laws.

Many ports won’t allow armed ships in——and that makes a bit of sense.

Maritime Laws are complicated.

.

[Jim W N]

Oh. Well I’m told these rules have since changed. Is that true to your knowledge?

[Dagnabitt]

Are incendiary rounds available for .50 cal? Seems like that might be a good way to turn the pirate boats into floating meat buckets.

[vannrox]

This is old news. This video can be easily found on You-Tube by copy & paste the title of the guardian article int the You-Tube search bar.

That being said, it’s a pretty good video.

[DIRTYSECRET]

And the mother ship?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Those aren’t “sub machine guns”. A sub machine gun fires a pistol caliber. I wouldn’t fire warning shots.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Like very much.

[Uncle Sam 911]

I love a happy ending.

[Blood of Tyrants]

To give the gunner an idea about where the bullets are going.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Many countries will not allow ships with arms on board in port. Many times the mercenaries are flown from one ship to another by helicopter and stay on until they are out of the danger zone.

[Bogie]

Or, to light up the gasoline.

[Lurker]

I’m in.

L

[Organic Panic]

Because of white guilt and PC 5 or 10 Somalis on a rubber raft can take over a freighter or oil tanker. Imagine what the millions of them are going to do in Europe and the USA.

[samtheman]

Many countries will not allow ships with arms on board in port. Many times the mercenaries are flown from one ship to another by helicopter and stay on until they are out of the danger zone.

---

That’s the way to do it.

[arrogantsob]

Islamic terrorists. Think Barbary Pirates.

[arrogantsob]

Professional are more efficient and dependable.

[Billthedrill]

Part of the reason is international law, part was that maritime insurance didn't used to cover armed vessels in the same way it covered nominally unarmed ones. That changed beginning about 2012 - there are now "exception" policies for specific areas of the world, and this is one of them.

That said, if it were my sorry butt on the line it certainly wouldn't be with an M-16 with iron sights and 30-round magazines. Range is extremely deceptive at sea, with no frame of reference to help the eye scale. What looks like you could reach out and touch the other fellow turns out to be 2000 yards. The length of your own ship might be up to 400 yards if it's one of the larger container ships. That isn't a typo, and it isn't small arms range from a rolling platform. Maybe if you're a SEAL. I'm not.

I know this from experience. My first commissioned billet in the Navy was gunnery officer and I was later an instructor in that field at FLETRAGRU San Diego. The Navy has all sorts of expensive alternatives that spit enough lead to make walking on the deck hazardous from spent shell casings. The merchant fleet isn't going to go that way, both from expense and lack of a crew trained in the field. But a couple of these guys port and starboard:

...provide a very nice standoff capability for even a modest sized cargo ship. Yep, the venerable Ma Deuce. My personal view is that if you have to go to small arms, they're too close. Just my $0.02.

[freedumb2003]

You want to stop piracy?

Just get the Canadian Border Patrol involved and tell them all the boats involved have more than 1 litre of booze per person and are headed for Canada!

[Chainmail]

No substitute for an M2, .50 caliber Heavy Barrel machine gun. Shoots flat, Armor Piercing Incendiery Tracers, kills effectively out to a mile.

Why use paint chippers with the same range as the enemy weapons?

[Chainmail]

Great minds think alike - we both posted the same excellent solution.