Pirates not of the Caribbean
 

Well if the are real pirates, they will want missing limbs and eye patches anyway....

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5e2_1333668975

Excellent. That's the way to do it!!! But why 'warning shots'? Just waste them! :ok:

Awful lot of warning shots lol, don't think they knew what hit them.

Bet this happens far more often than is reported (or filmed and uploaded). Pity the RN is so hide bound by the Human rights of the pirates...or rather the so called "innocent fishermen"

Looks loads more fun than getting blown up by IEDs in Afghanistan. And at least they are directly protecting corporate assets abroad.

Just a shame they didnt have Javelin to play with.

I am sure there is potential there for an Ipad game of "sink the skinny".

Nicely done......

Could be a new cruise ship offering for mil and ex-mil, just sit in the sun on your deck chair with a beer and an M16.....

The steward comes every now and then..... "top up your drink sir?... more ammo sir?", "yes thank-you, two mags and another beer, just put it on my tab"!

At sea I'd prefer something 7.62 rather than 5.56 until they get close, but that might scare the pirates away.

cheers,

-John:ok:

I think the weapon/s of choice need/s to have some power. GPMG backed up by .50 cal. Why let them get close when you can hit them hard at > 1000 metres?

Can one see the whites of their eyes at 1000yds? If not then where's the fun?

Question
 

Is that a real attack? :hmm:

Lots of questions :O

I think the splashes in the water from the outgoing pretty much confirm its a real one. :E

Why else would you be there in the middle of the ocean without any fishing equipment but an AK47, and heading straight for a cargo ship?

Hi Vin
Don't get me wrong and I am simply asking questions but splashes in the water indicate live ammunition. The boat that approached that tanker contained how many people?

what boarding equipment can we see?

what weapons did the so called bad guys have?

Where did that small craft come from?

Why would they keep closing on the tanker when they were under fire and not fighting back?

We hear conversation on the bridge, can we hear any 'May day' call?

Could that be a radio controlled exercise?

I would be 'slightly' miffed with that security guard firing at that craft so close to the side of that tanker for a thousand and one reasons.

If it were then would the controllers of those craft wear the uniform of a commanding officer :ouch: (humour, not a question)

A BBC show featuring Ross Kemp showed the method used by hijackers to board ships, they basically use a length of bamboo, so it would be extremely easy to hide it in a boat.

Mutt

I wonder what the ship handling would be. Maintain course and let the pirate manoeuvre or down the throat? Down the throat and a quick helm over onto the opposite side to kick him with the stern. I know the pirate could probably dodge the bow and execute a quick 180 under the stern but it would be sporty.

I think the security guys went easy on them!

A warning shot could have been delivered at a much larger range but this would have a) allowed the bad guys to get their own weapons ready if not already and 2) shown the bad guys that the ship was armed and to just forget it and move on to the next ship.

Warning shots here clearly moved quickly into lethal shots and that's fine. It's justifiable under one's right to self-defence. I'd like to think I'd have given them a few mags of rapid fire before they bounced off the hull though!

The security guys seemed pretty in control and relatively well practised. Well done them, I'm sure the Captain was chuffed. :ok:

Please folks do NOT think I am saying this is NOT a real attack, I am simply curious as to whether it might be an exercise as everything is just so weird.

The boat keeps heading toward the tanker even though it is under a determined attack from the on-board security staff. It collides with the tanker and some gallah still keeps shooting at the thing but at NO TIME does anyone on that tanker suggest they actually hit any of the occupants???

I have listened to that tape several times and I confess that my hearing is not very good but unlike others, I cannot hear a single crew person suggest they are receiving any incoming fire, let alone any specific reference to an AK47?

We can hear someone first authorising 'weapons free' and then warning fire, but at no time do I hear anyone broadcasting any message for assistance.

Pontious you are without doubt a highly experienced RAF officer but... :):):) Quick helm hard over and kick him with the stern! ;);) We are talking very large tanker with the manoeuvrability of a hovercraft in gale force winds. :ok:

Once we start citing Ross Kemp as an authority on Somali pirates then I fear we are living in la la land.

This may well be a real attack..... but I confess to being more than a trifle suspicious and please note I am NOT saying it is DEFINITELY a well executed exercise although no votes for the guard that kept shooting at that skiff when it was alongside.

glojo, it looked more like a bulk carrier than a tanker. the first few seconds show the fore deck but no evidence of piping just steel coamings and what look like king posts and even a forklift.

Hi Pontious,
Thank you for taking my comments regarding your ship handling suggestions in the spirit they were meant and I most certainly do not disagree with your observations. There is just too little footage to make a positive identification, but they are still not greyhounds of the sea that can flick out their stern to give the skiff a quick punt!

Looking at the wake it looks like they are maintaining a straight course but again it is not clear but listening to the tape time and again it just sounds like an exercise. Right at the beginning The English speaking person in charge saying, 'I'll give you a weapons free when we are ready!' At no stage do we ever hear any reference to any type of incoming attack... The skiff maintains a course and hits the merchant ship, no cries of elation, no cries of 'That'll teach the muffa's to mess with us' type euphoria... From start to finish it is all one way traffic and the 'attacking' boats do not weave, do not turn about the INSTANT that first shot was fired at them.

Did you see any type of movement from that boat, anyone diving over the side? Any deviation of course when they were being fired at from a distance?

Why attack such a huge ship in daylight?

I think I have had my say and will wait for some clever forum member to shoot me down with a nice reference that will show the dead bodies but the bottom line to me is the fact that merchant ships are capable of defending themselves... Respect and well done.

Intuitively one might expect the attackers to weave. A steady course when being engaged from a moving target is no more likely to be hit. At the end, when the rib is astern and being engaged it can be seen to break away to port.

The guys in the rib are not wearing any dayglo safety vests. There is a dayglo object portside aft; can't make it out but it appears both outboard of the cockpit and too large for an individual in a life jacket.

My comment about the ship manouevre was not a suggestion that the ship should have made such a manoeuvre but a question as to whether it could have made such a manouevre.

Most of the ships they've hit weren't defended. And most of them are just armed yobs. not that clever.