NavList:

I thought this interesting, until the obvious question popped into my mind:  How did pirates know if a vessel had guards on it?   If I were a pirate and knew some ships might have guards on them, then I would logically be reluctant to attack any ship for fear it was guarded  (I assume the ships don't fly "warning, this ship is protected by armed guards" banners).

Perhaps the answer is in the subtlety of the phrase "successfully attacked by pirates"   Pirates tried, pirates were driven off.

I also wonder what the Military Channel would have to say about the Italian Marines.  

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From: Gary LaPook <garylapook@pacbell.net>
To: luabel@ymail.com
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2014 12:03 PM
Subject: [NavList] Re: Off-topic: Recommendation for "Captain Phillips"

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There is a 2013 documentary untitled The Shadow Military on today on the Military Channel. On my satellite it is channel 287 and is on today in California at noon and was also on yesterday when I saw it. Part of it covers private security guards on ships near Somalia and makes the statement that it proves that arming ships prevents pirate attacks because NO SHIP with such guards on board has been successfully attacked by pirates.


gl

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From: Jeremy C <jcaoy---.com>
To: garylapook---.net
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 5:42 AM
Subject: [NavList] Re: Off-topic: Recommendation for "Captain Phillips"

---

There is finally starting to be a work around for carrying weapons on merchant ships. It is still expensive, but it is feasible.

Option 1) Most countries let you declare security team weapons. That usually means a rigorous inspection (count every round kind of thing), application for a permit along with the declaration, and either locking the weapons up in a sealed room for the port stay, or transportation of the weapons to a secure area in the port by the local police.

Option 2) for countries not willing to let you enter with weapons is to meet up with a floating armory that is run by the security companies where you can drop off your weapons "pod" and enter the port as normal.

If you can't do that, in the past you had to dispose of the weapons over the side. The problem now, is that new international regulations prohibit the discharge of metal overboard, so even if you "deep six" your guns at sea, you are still breaking the law.

When I was off the coast of Somalia a few months ago, we did a combination of the above options depending on where we were going.

Jeremy
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