Shiver me timbers!
April 11th 2009 06:09
American navy ships and Somali pirates seem to be engaged in a Mexican standoff near the coast of Africa. I'm not an expert in the art of thwarting pirates, but a couple of points seem pretty obvious here:
* Cargo ships in that part of the world should hire armed guards to go with them on their voyages. These ships carry tens of millions of dollars worth of cargo. Surely they could afford a few thousand dollars for some armed guards. From what I hear, having any type of weapons on board raises their insurance rates. However, that is something that could be addressed with the insurance companies. I don't see how leaving the ships unarmed and vulnerable should make them more insurable.
* Companies should stop paying the ransoms. The pirates only do this because it pays off. If they know that companies won't meet their ransom demands, I believe they'll stop. Every time a company pays them, however, it only encourages the pirates to continue seizing ships.
The pirates who seized the American ship seem to gotten more than they bargained for. I'm hoping that the company doesn't meet their demands. If the pirates know that American ships won't kowtow to their threats, I suspect that they'll avoid hijacking American vessels in the future.
* Cargo ships in that part of the world should hire armed guards to go with them on their voyages. These ships carry tens of millions of dollars worth of cargo. Surely they could afford a few thousand dollars for some armed guards. From what I hear, having any type of weapons on board raises their insurance rates. However, that is something that could be addressed with the insurance companies. I don't see how leaving the ships unarmed and vulnerable should make them more insurable.
* Companies should stop paying the ransoms. The pirates only do this because it pays off. If they know that companies won't meet their ransom demands, I believe they'll stop. Every time a company pays them, however, it only encourages the pirates to continue seizing ships.
The pirates who seized the American ship seem to gotten more than they bargained for. I'm hoping that the company doesn't meet their demands. If the pirates know that American ships won't kowtow to their threats, I suspect that they'll avoid hijacking American vessels in the future.
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