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Zen Shooter01
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/11/05...ates/index.html

And they might discontinue these cruises?
Musashi Forever
I did some research on this a month or so ago. Piracy has been on the rise for the last decade or so all over the world. Somalia is particularly notorious for it.
Grinder
It's a country ridden of civil war and without a powerful government (or any government for a long time). Combined with the good location of the country it's no surprise that it became a piracy-hotbed.
Arethusa
Piracy's been alive and well in the last century. Still happens quite a bit in South East Asia.

As we can all see, piracy is completely awesome.
Kagetenshi
It has hardly been alive and well. Why, look at the very natural disasters we've seen in the past two years—proof that the population of pirates is dangerously low!

~J
Arethusa
http://www.venganza.org/piratesarecool4.jpg
FlakJacket
QUOTE (Grinder)
It's a country ridden of civil war and without a powerful government (or any government for a long time).

In the south of the country maybe. Somaliland, what used to be British Somaliland, is a pretty stable and mostly democratic country that's attempting to reassert its independence. It's just a shame they can't get anyone to officially recognise them since that would help them immensely.
Solstice
*waits for someone to find a reason to blame the US*
Arethusa
QUOTE (Solstice @ Nov 5 2005, 04:24 PM)
*waits for someone to find a reason to blame the US*

Some of you don't have the balls. Some of you are cowards. Some of you are cowards without balls.

Not like my me, though. And not like my bro Solstice here, either. Man has the balls to be a witless troll. Has the balls to speak from his truthiness filled gut without thinking first like you America hating liberal elite.

Proud member of the Colbert Nation. With balls.
PBTHHHHT
QUOTE (Zen Shooter01)
And they might discontinue these cruises?

If people get hurt on these cruises, they have no one to blame but themselves. I know not to go anywhere close to that coast, heck, they've held hostage a few UN relief ships and such too. A cruise ship is just prime pickings.

Now a different sort of cruise might be in order. One where the passengers are given heavy rifles and such and they get to do something similar to skeet shooting off a boat, but let's replace skeet with small boats filled with armed men. Yeah... That's a different type of cruise... biggrin.gif
Zen Shooter01
What the hell did you think I meant?

Sign me up, and put me down for sixty pounds of "luggage"! cool.gif
Aku
i'd go on that cruise, assuming immunity from anything that may happen... i really need to releive some stress...e ven though i havent fired anything more than a .22 rifle...
PBTHHHHT
Lol. Well, I missed your subtle hint about wanting to join the cruise. Anyway, yeah I can see some fun with this. Practice with high powered rifles, automatic weapons, oh and if you really want some fun practice... using a mortar or grenade launcher. Yeah, you probably won't hit a fast boat, but it'll be fun. Kinda like golf or something. Very frustrating, but if you get that hole in one, man, you'll have stories to tell your buddies for a long time, especially if you capture it on video.
ShadowDragon8685
Heheh. Yeah, put me down for about a half-ton of 'carry-on.' We can set the mortars up on the forcastle or the top of the ship, and fire from the middle. And we should also bring RPG launchers of their own.

Nothing pirates hate more than being confronted with superior firepower. smile.gif
Kagetenshi
Hunting pirates is no fun. Give me a suburban office park any day.

~J
caramel frappuccino
What's with all the disrepect towards pirates? question.gif Those posers in that article are clearly amateurs who are not schooled in the life of the open seas. Real pirates would've taken that ship and its fat, juicy, upper class passengers for all they're worth.
FlakJacket
Well I wouldn't call them amateurs so much as underequipped, although they could also be amateurs on top of that. Simply a case of knowing that their craft weren't capable of true ocean going capability and calling it quits rather than possibly getting drowned over it. Now that would be embarrassing. smile.gif
toturi
Maybe Club Med could come with a packaged hunting tour. Relief stress through hunting... pirates.

The basic cruise package cost US$1000 and provides a free complementary RPG-7 with 3 rockets. Call now to avoid disappointment.
FrostyNSO
Companies operating Oil Tankers have been hiring PMC's for quite some time now...
FlakJacket
It's a good thing that Somaliland and Puntland in the north are pretty much stable compared to Mogadishu and the south otherwise the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden would be much hairier, making traversing the Suez canal much more problematic. Of course by the 2060's that whole place is anarchy so it's no wonder the larger corporations have their own warships.
TheNarrator
QUOTE (CNN.com)
"The captain tried to run one of the boats over, but they were small boats, about 25 feet long," he told CNNRadio affiliate CKNW in Vancouver.


The captain tried to ram one of the pirate boats? Damn.

That captain? Totally hardcore. biggrin.gif

But yeah, they could probably just start bringing a few well-armed security guys along on the cruise route. One guy up on the mast was a SAW would probably have ruined the pirates' day.
FlakJacket
Nah, way too illegal. The amount of different territorial waters and ports, never mind the flagged country's laws, they go through would be too much of a pain in the arse. All you'd really need are something like some good sporting rifles with half decent scopes plus the greater elevation. And maybe a few shotguns just in case they get too close for comfort - just cover them by chucking a clay pigeon trap on the stern and say it's a guest activity. smile.gif
Solstice
QUOTE (FlakJacket)
Nah, way too illegal. The amount of different territorial waters and ports, never mind the flagged country's laws, they go through would be too much of a pain in the arse. All you'd really need are something like some good sporting rifles with half decent scopes plus the greater elevation. And maybe a few shotguns just in case they get too close for comfort - just cover them by chucking a clay pigeon trap on the stern and say it's a guest activity. smile.gif

I thought that in international waters there essentially was no laws other than self defense which is why these pirate attacks are becoming so prevalent. I also though that the rise of all these new "nautical security' aka merc groups was due to this absense of law on the open sea.

I may be wrong that's just my current understanding of it.

If someone has more substantial information please share it's very interesting.
FlakJacket
In international waters it's complicated. I was refering for things like port stops and when you have to travel through other country's national waters. Plus you'd have to have someone on board that was legally allowed to own fully automatic firearms in the country whose flag you're flying, which all generally adds to to more expense and headaches.
Snow_Fox
guys, one term to discribe who someone might respond to these :Q-Ships.(and I mean the 1914-18 type, not Star Fleet Battles)

Worse piracy was off of indonesia but the fleets there got really chewed up by the tsunami in 2004 and the navy's in the region are starting to co-operate in anti-pirate patrols. This will make the coast of africa more popular.
ShadowDragon8685
Shotguns and a clay pideon trap sound good to me.

As does a guy up on the mast with an M60. (Ring-mounted gyro-stabalized, anyone?)
ascendance
QUOTE (FlakJacket)
Plus you'd have to have someone on board that was legally allowed to own fully automatic firearms in the country whose flag you're flying, which all generally adds to to more expense and headaches.

I'm sure it's really hard to become certified to carry fully automatic firearms in Liberia biggrin.gif
Musashi Forever
QUOTE (ascendance)
QUOTE (FlakJacket @ Nov 6 2005, 08:17 PM)
Plus you'd have to have someone on board that was legally allowed to own fully automatic firearms in the country whose flag you're flying, which all generally adds to to more expense and headaches.

I'm sure it's really hard to become certified to carry fully automatic firearms in Liberia biggrin.gif

C'mon it's Liberia...nobody gives a shit do they? wink.gif
Grinder
Recently i read an article about Nigeria and it's growing rebel forces. It was mentioned that a whole super-tanker disappeared a while back and was never ever found again.
ShadowDragon8685
QUOTE (Grinder)
Recently i read an article about Nigeria and it's growing rebel forces. It was mentioned that a whole super-tanker disappeared a while back and was never ever found again.

How the hell do you lose a super-tanker? It's a floating object the size of rhode island! (Okay, maybe not quite, but they are goddamned mammoth. The largest mobile objects in or on the ocean, bar none!

How do you sink one? You'd need more ordanance than most rebel groups even have access to. And even if you sank it, someone would notice whee. It's not exactly easy to hide the fact that you just sunk one of the biggest freighters in the world.
blakkie
QUOTE (ShadowDragon8685 @ Nov 8 2005, 04:47 PM)
QUOTE (Grinder @ Nov 8 2005, 10:16 AM)
Recently i read an article about Nigeria and it's growing rebel forces. It was mentioned that a whole super-tanker disappeared a while back and was never ever found again.

How the hell do you lose a super-tanker? It's a floating object the size of rhode island! (Okay, maybe not quite, but they are goddamned mammoth. The largest mobile objects in or on the ocean, bar none!

How do you sink one? You'd need more ordanance than most rebel groups even have access to. And even if you sank it, someone would notice whee. It's not exactly easy to hide the fact that you just sunk one of the biggest freighters in the world.

You've never seen David Copperfield at work? smile.gif Besides size isn't an issue when it's covered by paperwork.

A friend of mine works for an Australian oil & gas company that, among other things, exports tankers of LNG (liquified natural gas). When he was working in that department he figured out how he could make an entire shipment of LNG "disappear". All that he needed to steal several million dollars worth of product was to find a [criminal] buyer (and i assume have the ship's officers onside, he didn't get into specifics). It would have been a long time before anyone noticed. Definately long enough for him to quietly resign and have his getaway trail fade away into the dust.

When he brought this to the attention of a superior the guy first said, "No, we covered that off." But given more details he realized how in fact the system was vulnerable. wobble.gif

P.S. I assume that particular problem at that compnay has been fixed since this was at least 2 years back.
Arethusa
There have been sightings of a tanker being used as a base of operations for launching smaller raiding parties to attack ships off the coast of Somalia/around the horn area. May not be the same one, but they can most certainly be stolen and repurposed. There is absolutely no sense in just sinking one.
SL James
Well, short of war. Then it's very sensical. Just ask Iran.
Arethusa
If you can capture it, in most cases, you might as well, because, hey, free tanker.
Kagetenshi
QUOTE (ShadowDragon8685)
How the hell do you lose a super-tanker? It's a floating object the size of rhode island! (Okay, maybe not quite, but they are goddamned mammoth. The largest mobile objects in or on the ocean, bar none!

How do you sink one? You'd need more ordanance than most rebel groups even have access to. And even if you sank it, someone would notice whee. It's not exactly easy to hide the fact that you just sunk one of the biggest freighters in the world.

They do just randomly sink now and then.

(Ok, so they discovered that it isn't actually random but the result of freak gargantuan waves in the middle of the ocean, but since they haven't figured out what makes the waves it's still pretty random)

~J
ShadowDragon8685
If you capture a supertanker, won't people notice? It's not an easy thing to hide, and it's a mega-hard thing to support.

And then you're a gigantic target that might as well have "U.S. Navy, Come Get Me!" painted on the hull in giant neon letters.
PBTHHHHT
there was a story a few years ago about a group south american pirates who took over a ship and then the ship happened to end up in China. The pirates were free to go and the ship 'disappeared'.

You'd be surprised what can 'disappear' in the world. The US Navy needs to know where the ship is before they can do something. Today, it might be better since the big ships (recently built and ones that are upgraded) have constant satellite uplink with the company. So they're easier to track, but many pirates these days are there to steal from the ship's safe and whatever merchandise they can carry... if they're not out for hostages.

Plus, read up on news report in regards to the Somalia area, several UN relief ships have been held, the crew held captive.
ShadowDragon8685
Yeah, those Somalis. They're crazy. "We're going to come in and help everyone." "No you're not. You're going to foolishly come into my territory. Everything in my territory becomes mine; your food, your medicines, your ship, and you."

We need to drop a stack of missiles on the fuckers and say "No, they're our people. Fuck you."
Arethusa
Truly, I am simply astonished that you are not in charge of this nation's foreign policy.
Siege
The man's got a point.

If the rule of the playground is the size of the stick, bring the biggest one and make sure everyone else knows it.

On a tangent - how, the frag, do you miss a cruise ship with an RPG?

-Siege
Kagetenshi
It isn't about the size of your stick, it's how well you use it.

~J
Siege
QUOTE (Kagetenshi)
It isn't about the size of your stick, it's how well you use it.

~J

To a connoisseur, perhaps.

Brute force, however, is a universal language.

-Siege
caramel frappuccino
Most women claim to be in disagreement with you.
Arethusa
No, he does not have a point. To think that bombing Somalia would accomplish anything but more starvation, lawlessness, and death is absolutely fucking insane.

Anyway, they did not miss. The RPG hit and lodged in a cabin. The crew thought it hadn't exploded, but they found it did detonate on impact when demolitions teams went to remove it in port. It's just an RPG, after all, not a cruise missile.
blakkie
QUOTE (Siege @ Nov 8 2005, 08:03 PM)
On a tangent - how, the frag, do you miss a cruise ship with an RPG?

A tangent back to the topic (sliding away from the derailing about how easy/hard it is to locate, positively ID, and then hit a human in a warzone)? smile.gif

They hit the ship, twice. The one that hit the rear of the ship sounded like it might have hit the hull, and it suposity did little damage (a cruise ship has Naval Armor? wink.gif ) The second one that hit didn't detonate. I don't know much about RPGs, but if they strike at too oblique an angle is there a chance they don't go off?
Fortune
QUOTE (Siege)
On a tangent - how, the frag, do you miss a cruise ship with an RPG?

Did they miss?

Reports from the passengers down here has it that the RPG hit the ship, slicing through into one of the passenger cabins. Oddly enough, the couple inside the cabin was not hurt.
Kagetenshi
QUOTE (Siege)
Brute force, however, is a universal language.

A pity there's no way to say "stop" in it.

~J
Siege
Mindless violence? No. Clearly developed violence with the express purpose to remind the local dogs who not to bite? It'll never pass PR, but it will deliver the point.

I am reminded about the USMC sniper on guard at the US embassy in...I want to say Somalia. Local rabble would walk by, strutting and waving guns. One bright sod took it in his head to point his weapon at the embassy. The sniper took him out.

After that, the local rabble made a point to hold their weapons up, unloaded as they passed the embassy.

As for the RPG - ah. The last news article I read said the round had missed.

-Siege
Siege
QUOTE (Kagetenshi)
QUOTE (Siege @ Nov 8 2005, 09:09 PM)
Brute force, however, is a universal language.

A pity there's no way to say "stop" in it.

~J

Oh, there is.

Usually when there's nobody left to hold a weapon.

I didn't say it was a great long-term solution, but it's easier than trying to teach the locals a lesson in a new language and not get shot.

-Siege
Kagetenshi
Any problem can be solved through judicious use of sufficient violence. To solve a problem like this with mass force you don't "deliver a point", you nuke and pave. Anything less but similarly coarse will do nothing good.

~J
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