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Africa: Horn
Pirate attack repelled off the coast of Somalia
2005-04-12
Pirates armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons have recently attacked a vessel registered at the Murmansk Shipping Line. The Tim Buck ship flying a Cypriot flag was on its way from Jeddah port in Saudi Arabia to the Tanzanian port of Dar el-Salam. A telegram which the Tim Buck sailors radioed to the Murmansk Shipping Line administration says that the pirates set a starboard rescue boat on fire but failed to penetrate inside the ship. The crew acted in strict compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) in the emergency situation. The fire was localized. None of the sailors was hurt. The ship continues its voyage to the port of destination.
Posted by:Dan Darling

#9  Shipping Income:>Solution,

Volume, make up losses thru increased Volume.


Posted by: Financial Advisor   2005-04-12 10:19:10 PM  

#8  Rock: If your ship is looted, you can't make much money.
Hard Place: If countries won't let your armed ship enter their port, you can't make much money.
Posted by: Jackal   2005-04-12 9:40:35 PM  

#7  Dead crewmembers are much more convient.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom   2005-04-12 9:22:37 PM  

#6  Shipping owners won't arm crews for anti-piracy operations. Part of the problem is that a merchant ship, once it uses weapons (even for self defense), is then considered a combatant, with all the baggage that entails.

One could deploy armed security forces aboard ships, but then one runs into the problem when a ship equipped with such a force enters territorial waters of a nation that objects. Most, if not nearly all owners don't want that kind of headache.
Posted by: Pappy   2005-04-12 9:20:26 PM  

#5  They may want to start equipping merchies with something a bit more formidable than firehoses.
Posted by: Mike   2005-04-12 1:14:47 PM  

#4  [Sniff! Sniff!] Yellowbeard!
Posted by: Fred   2005-04-12 1:03:39 PM  

#3  John "Kill em All" (terroists that is) Kerry on steroids after conversion to islam or zztopism?
Posted by: Tkat   2005-04-12 1:03:05 PM  

#2  Yellowbeard?
Posted by: mojo   2005-04-12 12:48:17 PM  

#1  That is one hell of a pic! Arrr! On a serious note, the pirates are starting to use more heavy weapons, other than knives and other light things. Ship's crewmembers are going to be reluctant to man firehoses to repel boarders, which seemed to be the usual SOP.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2005-04-12 11:13:09 AM  

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