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Santiago

Beach Fanatic
May 29, 2005
635
91
seagrove beach
Maritime Law is pretty strict on what, if any, weapons are allowed on merchant ships. It's not much. That much I do know. I'm sure they would arm themselves to the teeth if they were allowed...

I'll bet whatever the penalty for breaking maritime law is, it's not as bad as having your ship taken over by pirates.
 

shellak

Beach Fanatic
Jan 21, 2008
309
162
these ships can hire a security force, based on what i just heard on the news. i've been scratching my head wondering why we keep paying off these pirates. we give them no incentive to stop doing what they are doing. i like the israeli approach - do not negotiate with terrorists. if you keep rewarding them for bad behavior (just like kids), it just reinforces that behavior. i completely understand the concern for the individuals on these ships and can't say i would feel this way if it was one of my family members. but from a common sense standpoint, it makes no sense to give them what they want everytime.
 
Maritime Law is pretty strict on what, if any, weapons are allowed on merchant ships. It's not much. That much I do know. I'm sure they would arm themselves to the teeth if they were allowed...
An expert on CNN said that a shipping company is free to decide what they want to do regarding protection. They are allowed to train crew members to use weapons, they can hire security personnel, or they can do nothing. That's what Maersk decided to do. The only defense the vessel had was firehoses. They kept the pirates at bay for hours, but it wasn't enough.

Apparently the deck of the Maersk America was fairly low which made it possible for the pirates to climb on board.
 
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