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FFS if they are pirates shoot the buggers. Have we lost our balls in this land of ours....\rant over

Another shot in the foot by Dave, methinks.

Over the last couple of years the government has sought a "low cost" solution to the counter-piracy problem & thinks it achieved a "private finance initiative" by permitting UK-flagged merchantmen to carry contracted armed civilians. Supply & demand ensures high wages, so it's a "win-win, right?". Wrong.

Trained rank Royal Marines are understandably leaving in their droves, to take-up the lucrative, short-term wages on offer. Likewise, this rush includes trained ranks from the Army, including the Paras. The high wages paid by the shipping companies to protect their assets is passed onto the consumer.

Erm, anyone noticed the cost of petrol/diesel recently & the knock-on effect at the supermarket?

The counter-piracy job itself is actually rather straightforward - make the armed presence known, maybe fire the odd warning shot in compliance with the ROE if a dodgy bum-boat approaches & the pirate drifts-off elsewhere to seek a softer target.

There are now people enquiring how quickly they can join the Marines, complete training, then leave to take-up this precariously high-paid wage. The outflow of trained ranks is critical, retention bonuses beckon.

What could possibly go wrong?

Maybe the tactical & financial solution was simply to keep a warship on station & place serving Royal Marines counter-piracy teams on UK shipping transiting the hot spots after-all, rather than haemorrhage trained ranks faster than they can be replaced, at even greater cost.

It's a passing fad, I remember when I left the big bucks was in diamond mines. I got lined up a job doing protection of one in Angola or some such shithole, it was my old fella (another ex bootneck) who sorted the job out. I was just about to sign the dotted line when the missus reminded me money wasn't everything and I was leaving the Corps so we could spend some time together. As it happens the mine I was going to protect got done over by the bad guys and the protection team all got killed bar one who was having a shit in a portaloo at the time of the attack and wiseley dedided to stay in it.
How many ex booties are still doing CP work in Iraq? Word is the somalias arn't the only pirates operating off the Gulf of Aden.

If any shipping companies have some nonce they'll employ ex Ghurkas, they'll be cheaper, wont drip and can do the dhobi as well.

Originally Posted by johne

FFS if they are pirates shoot the buggers. Have we lost our balls in this land of ours....\rant over

Here we go again. Other than in contact, we can't shoot the buggers. That would be murder even if we were at war with them, and we're not. We never did shoot the buggers out of hand or hang them for that matter 'back in the day'. They were brought to trial, some of them to London and balls or no balls had nothing to do with it. Getting 21st century pirates to trial is proving more difficult. No, whatever provenance is claimed for videos on youtube, the Russians are not topping (suspected) pirates in cold blood.

Do you have a solution for a solution that is reasonable, legal and workable or do your ideas all revolve around SS Einsatzgruppen fantasies?

NS, Admiral Hudson as the then head of EUNAVFOR had a plan in place to put protection teams from EUNAVFOR on merchantmen but for one reason or another it appears it wasn't taken up. Perhaps, like the convoy 'solution' embarking/disembarking the teams requires a lot of changes of course, loitering, speeding up required to rendezvous, which costs money and may miss your Suez slot going north.

Originally Posted by Seadog

Admiral Hudson as the then head of EUNAVFOR had a plan in place to put protection teams from EUNAVFOR on merchantmen but for one reason or another it appears it wasn't taken up. Perhaps, like the convoy 'solution' embarking/disembarking the teams requires a lot of changes of course, loitering, speeding up required to rendezvous, which costs money and may miss your Suez slot going north.

Fair one, a remarkably similar 'solution' to the Straits of Hormuz convoys during the Iran/Iraq conflict seemed to work. The distances & areas are much larger of course. Sufficient military manpower (har-de-har) & helicopters could certainly be a cheaper option for the consumer than the current state of play.

At present, from a political perspective, the "good news" is that if things go pear-shaped the "Nothing to do with us, guv" response applies. Responsibility? Not me, mate.

"At present, from a political perspective, the "good news" is that if things go pear-shaped the "Nothing to do with us, guv" response applies. Responsibility? Not me, mate."

And was ever thus.
Whilst on Armilla in '87 we weren't allowed to say the word "convoy" as it probably would have made HMG financially responsible if things went way of the pair. We were told to say that we were "escorting". Our deployment mess t-shirt offered HMS Broadsword 'Escort Services' ...





I wonder what the Insurance companies view on reduced premiums when having Royal embarked for protection.

Originally Posted by flymo

And was ever thus.
Whilst on Armilla in '87 we weren't allowed to say the word "convoy" as it probably would have made HMG financially responsible if things went way of the pair. We were told to say that we were "escorting". Our deployment mess t-shirt offered HMS Broadsword 'Escort Services' ...

Looking as skin as you did and offering what you did, did any of the local men take you up ( the stern tube) on your offer? You couple of rent boys you.

Back to the official protection team plan, I also seem to recall that there was also resistance from some Flag States, some of which have since changed their tune.