There is a story where the Captain of a United States Navy Aegis cruiser was under orders to not fire at pirates even though he could. So he decided to push his Destroyer to max speed and run donuts around the pirates until the wake of his ship capsized them. Then being under orders to not engage the pirates, he left them in the water.
Water canons are a good idea, but armed merchants have been a thing since ships have sailed the sea. Countries that prohibit it run the risk of losing trade and being accused of sponsoring pirates. It sounds like ship owners are paying attention.
It's as political as it is economical, if a nation don't want merchants to defend themselves says a lot about said nation's relationship with other countries. Because even if you trade with an ally, you will never know if they are double crossing you by giving away your ship's location to a enemy country.
Is that why we've been executing people for piracy for centuries and we have more pirates than ever? Piracy is caused by poverty as long as there are starving people watching boats full of money sail past there will always be new pirates.
@@Balrog4242 because we stop killing pirates that why there more, you're clueless how this game is play out, when peoples play stupid game and doesn't die they keep repeating the same shit over and over again, repeat offender stop when they Die.
That argument can be used against anything that you do not like. Can you always be sure that the boat contains pirates? I would say no and therefore it is better to use a mostly harmless defense to avoid harming innocent people.
@@Balrog4242 There has never been less poverty in the world than there is now. Piracy is literally a matter of opportunism, and the answer is to take away the opportunity. If all pirates end up being fish food in short order, no one will choose to be a pirate for any reason.
"This container ship has millions of dollars in cargo, but the REAL reason we're going after it is to seize a handful of guns from the security team!" - No Pirate Ever
Aside from the various laws, these are the weakest arguments against being armed I have ever heard. "One guy threatened to retaliate against a salior....when ever they can possibly get their hands on one". NOPE. making it CLEAR that piracy will cost you your life, and they will stop.
The video misses a major way armed guards work on vessels. Often times the armed guards are contractors and will meet the vessels at sea and leave before they make port.
Well, the issue is that most pirates are from places where life is cheap. They are risking their lives regardless- whether it is due to being caught or shot by security, due to weather, heaving boat drowned with water canons, or gang activity on land or just starvation. But yeah, his points are weak.
@@syriuszb8611 turning someone's buddy into a pink mist is a universal language. It worked in iraq and Afghanistan, and life was pretty cheap there as well.
the sailor is a civilian. He may not have the training or the willpower to kill even in self defense. Arming them might sound like a direct solution, but it's not actually a risk you can take as a company.
You're only thinking of your own ship and crew. Dead pirates stop killing people. Live pirates will stop being pirates if not many come home. Most of the ideas look really expensive and guns are cheap.
Being unarmed no fire arms etc. pardon the pun but being able to repel with water cannons they already have to clear the bildge may not be stupid legally. I don't know. Would it save on insurance? Is it practical though? Follow the money that can show many things. He throws in some other suggestions lol. Macgyver would have had kittens. There may be some merit to this madness. Makes for a clean ship, which is a deal in itself. That stuff is there anyway. YMMV. I assume a few firearms like a normal vessel just not a SWAT Team with a Thor cannon.
@@ChobinoftheFunk They are free to get just about any weapon they want. Also it is the PMCs who buy them and they can get their hands on military grade weapons and have networks of offshore depots.
WTF is this? You argue that armed shipmen would be killed on the spot, as if even armed they can never defend themselves. Then you cite a case where pirates were killed, and they made hollow threats in response. Those are terrible and nonsensical opening arguments.
This is a BS video ... not truthful in the most generous sense of the word. Merchant vessels often hire armed security teams to transverse that part of the globe. You face guns with guns .. Not guns vs water baloons and kazoos from your 9 yr old's birthday party.
Also went on about guns being bad, then basically half the video is about insanely complicated and expensive "non lethal" means of defending a ship. If you think the pirates would kill you for shooting at them what do you think they'd do if you trash their boat with a net gun and other attacks. Just seems like an endorsement by the anti pirate industry to sell stupid self defense options.
We engaged at 400 yards. As soon as a weapon was visible, we fired a warning shot. If they continued, one aimed for the motor, another aimed for anyone holding an RPG or DShK, RPD or another heavy machine gun. If they didn't have those, but had just AK's they usually backed off. If they had heavy weapons, they woukd risk it and bring out 3 to,4 boats and try to surround you. Then you took out the engines, and the heavy-duty guys as quick as possible. Once they got within 200, it was the 7.62 guns and if they got within 100 or attempted boarding, it was our 5.56 guns and shotguns. One man per sector and then once a sector was cleared, we fell back to the next sector that was under the most immediate threat. We made boarding super difficult. There were water hoses going, plus we placed giant fenders on the decks and in front of the doors. In addition, the rails amd floors were covered with petroleum jelly. We also had giant tubs of capsaicin attached to the firehose. It started as a mist and sprayed the pepper spray down until the tubs were empty and then the water levels increased. It covered the outside of the yacht with a bunch of the capsaicin dust water that they would have to climb through. Once the water pressure increased, the stream blew past where the capsaicin was, so it didn't get washed away. If the yacht had a compressor on board, and most did, we had an attachment for that and it contained broken glass particles. Finely ground broken glass filled with broken glass dust that woukd make you itch and rub the broken glass pellets further into your skin. Plus we had shotgun shells that shot burning magnesium and aluminum powder. Essentially Dragon's Breath rounds, but more reliable and they stayed burning. We woukd also hang the fenders over the side and fill them halfway with water. When they were swinging and moving with a yacht doing 12 knots and making wild turns, they became pretty good at knocking people about. They could be cut off pretty easy, but by the time you were dealing with that, somebody was engaging you with a rifle or shotgun.
@@KatalciThey usually only accept veterans or people who has at least 2 years experience in their national armed force. One group I known of is called Arcademi, which is a mercenary/private security force used by US govt, and they had application form on their site. Not sure if they changed their names now though.
Not wanting to have weapons to defend yourself because you could become a target is the dumbest of dumb things I’ve ever heard. That’s called being a voluntary victim…. And stupid!
@@sunriseboy4837 What?!? I'm an American, and American's think of Australians as completely tough-as-nails and totally badass. Like, Mad Max is actually a documentary. Sort of the same way we view Canadians, but with fewer wolverines and polar bears, and far more venomous critters.
@@mournblade1066 Yeah, well, I've been born and bred here. Aussies aren't nearly as 'tough as you'd like to think. Australia is one of the leading woke countries on the planet. We now have the various state police dept's telling us what is, and isn't mis or dis-information. And people are being pursued vigorously because of it.
“Pirates can always get their hands on bigger weapons”. So what? I’m a retired SEAL who did armed maritime security when I retired. The ship’s crew doesn’t carry guns, and the ship (and the shipping company) doesn’t have guns. The armed security detail brings their own on board, and keeps them. For pirates to steal them they must come alongside, hook a ladder, climb it (2 active duty SEALs just died doing this in the Gulf of Aden) board the ship and take it, all against armed men that are stable, elevated, and shooting at them the whole time. NO VESSEL WITH ARMED SECURITY ABOARD HAS EVER BEEN TAKEN. Although some have been shot at (even with RPG’s). The advantage of having trained men shooting from a stable, elevated position can’t be overstated. Very few ports don’t allow guns. Most in the area require that they be downloaded and accounted for when in port(to ensure the ship’s not gun-running). The only real reason shipping companies don’t want armed security aboard is the ongoing costs. Armed security doesn’t come cheap. We’d get on in Egypt, sail the Indian Ocean with the vessel, then get off again in Egypt and fly home.
Interesting info, but how many security officers were on board at the same time? I would guess 4, that works in shifts and concentrates on having most awake around dusk and dawn. I do understand it is a risky job that warrants high pay, but why not get ex-military/anti-cartel police from low-cost countries instead? Former asian soviet blocs and latinos would surely accept that job at a real discount. They could arm some boats with westerners and some with others, making it a lottery for the pirates. Or mixing the two groups to get both benefits.
@@LeporidaeanDream You are correct on most counts. The standard detail is 4 men. Originally Trident hired only ex-SEALs, and they were very effective in killing Somali pirates. Now ships can hire a team of individuals from developing countries much cheaper, and the pirates won’t even approach when they see an armed man on the bridge wing. Also, the industry has become saturated, as all industries do. I spent a few days on a barge at sea while our vessel was in port getting planned maintenance done. The port in question was the cheapest for getting the cylinders wiped down (manually. Guys literally climbing into the engines to wipe them down) and they didn’t want security in port. I never knew there were so many security companies, with guys from so many countries, doing that work. Most of them were doing it for far less than I was.
NO VESSEL WITH ARMED SECURITY ABOARD HAS EVER BEEN TAKEN. That statement makes the message of this whole video a joke. But I guess all those non-lethal methods are developed to give authorities a good feeling about harming the poor poor pirates who as we know are the real victims.
@@erikswanson6687 Thx so much for your answer! Can't get more expensive than ex-seals, and easy money on their part. Too bad they didn't let you get to land. Perhaps they were jealous of your luck with women All things will change though, and drones will invade both pirates and tankers if not already in action. May the somali coast be fruitful again and strangers punished for dumping toxins there and killing livelihoods, so these tragedies end. Brace for the likely hard changes if you are in US brother and keep the heart strong and in touch with God. Your heritage seems scandinavian, blessings from Norway!
Any vessel can carry weapons on board internationally. I got 1:58 in and heard so much crap I wrote this before signing off. Sincerely yours - A sailor.
Yes, while in international waters. But all ships come to ports, the whole purpose of cargo ships is to load and unload, not just sail around with cargo!
@@scvcebc Why the nasty sarcasm? Did you even do a fact check before you posted? JFI I am a retired Blue Water Skipper. There are other reasons why some ships do not carry arms and there are protocols for ships carrying arms when they come into port. Sheesh!
@@kevinu.k.7042amazing how far some people will take pretzel logic to argue that being armed is worse than not being armed; even when you know damn well you’re going into harms way. Seems people have taken the Uber eats mentality a little too far. Outsourcing security is now and has always been a bad idea as a general concept. But deciding to rely on third party security in the gulf of Aiden seems beyond crazy. The sea is big and boats are slow. It seems insane to me that companies like Maersk haven’t at a minimum got security crews that just ride back and forth with vessels in dangerous waters, or bought a few CWIS units from a navy to run anti-piracy defense. Imagine a pirate boat wandering into a CWIS😂.
That describes almost every country in the world, and the reason they do it is otherwise people sail boats full of soldiers into their country and take it over.
@@Balrog4242 Ok, here is the thing if they were going to sail troops into your nation having a law against them sailing troops into your nation is not going to stop them. Oh look it is a gun free zone sign! Damn the criminal says thwarted again! turns around and leaves.....LOL
Quick question: What's to stop the pirates, armed with guns and RPGs, from just shooting the water guns and noisemakers? Seems like a pretty obvious flaw.
targeting at sea? have you ever been on a rough sea with 2-4 meter waves, sailed a speedboat or a smaller yacht at 20+ knots? Do you know that it jumps so much that aiming is impossible, You can hit a ship that is 200 meters long. but you certainly won't hit the key point you're aiming for, And the water cannon fills your boat or yacht in 3 minutes so much that it starts to sink Besides, firing an RPG at a ship attracts unwanted attention The warships of the USA, UK, France, Russia, China, India patrolling there may not have the desire to hunt every pirate boat, but if an RPG appears, then it becomes a very desirable target and since these navies use large cruisers that have helicopters, pirates want to be unannounced until the last second
The truth is the water hoses just tell the pirates that you've seen them and they no longer have surprise. In theory this means you've radioed for help and your ship is flagged as possibly taken over, the coast guard is on the way if they're nearby, and the pirates still have to fight you (which really means making it through a long series of reinforced doors). So they leave 90 percent of the time to find somebody who is still asleep ;)
Hasn't been done yet so doesn't seem that easy of an assignment to do. Not everything is a John wick movie where people can hit head shots on a speeding water boat on a moving target 🙄
Not a pin point accurate weapon, they may have only one warhead, so it's just for showing off, and trying to hit a small moving target, on the waves, on a speeding boat, speeding through the waves and the ships wake... is a little difficult. Like getting a bullseye at darts while on the back of a bucking bull from across the arena.
"I warn you, rapscallions, I shall give you a sound thrashing by causing you discomfort with loud noises and getting water into your eyes. Salty water. Yes, siree!"
@@alexk3088 I could picture the crew looking down at the pirates trying to board them....your mother was a hampster and your father smelt of elderberries now go away or I shall taunt you for a second time.
Immediately contradicted self: 1. Pirates don't want to confront an armed force on ship so will avoid contact. 2. Not good idea to have armed force because people will want to steal these weapons. Which is it? This underscores the absolute nonsense that is typical of poorly executed content. Just blather on about some subject without really thinking about what you are actually saying. . . Bla Blah Bla Blah. . . .
So you'd order a nuclear strike on the entire Somali coast? If plundering a ship at the risk of death is a worthy consideration to the people living there, I doubt that starting an arms race between merchants and pirates and sinking a few ships will really change the pirates' risk assessments.
@@Hlkpf THAT may be a bit extreme... but what's the first real conflict the US Marines got into? We were paying something line 1/3 of the new country's GDP to pirates for "safe" passage. Groups of people can provide value in exchange for trade, or leave everyone else alone! "From the halls of Montezuma, to the...
@@16ft2in While I get that there might be cases in which an assault can be successful in dealing with a threat actor (ignoring whether or not it was just or appropriate, taxation is not categorically immoral), these situations are not comparable, imho. Just to be clear: I assume you are talking about the Battle of Nassau and that by "pirates" you mean "Englishmen". Regardless of being a European who doesn't know much about American history and being pretty much clueless in geology, I'm confident enough to say that the freighters don't belong to Somali colonies (I would go as far as to claim that Somalia doesn't have any colonies). If they did and they wanted to become independent, the Battle of Nassau wouldn't be a good reference - from what I can tell, it played no provable role in Americas independence. Then, American trading goods where taxed in England (legally). Afaics, the Somali pirates aren't asking for a toll but boarding ships at random and without notice. Also, I suspect they are not only taking the toll + reminder charges. There might be a method for determining the the amount they are taking but you'll have to explain a little more if you want to me to take that idea seriously. The "pirate problem" was "solved" five years after both the Battle of Nassau and the Battle of Saratoga. While it was a military victory, it's still not comparable. There was a war. Britain was neither cornered nor did it fear for it's life. Britain wasn't debating whether or not they wanted to arm their ships - the war was already on! "War" is pretty much something that won't go down well in this situation. "And then there was the glorious war of Somalia against the Rest of the World, in which rich conglomerates hired highly-trained mercenaries to slaughter a starving people while it was struggling to survive" is not something I want my kids to be taught at school, you know?
thats what I was thinking... lmao imagine every cargo vessel with a 20 man crew manning 3 dual 30 mm cannons ... lol "why do you have guns ?" "incase a pirate shoots an RPG at us."
not having weapons maybe the dumbest idea ever... it is SO hard to board a larger vessel looking up and you are shooting down at people.. even if your outnumbered 5 to 1... weapons are BY far the best way.
So? The point of this video is showing you that it's common for ships to go to places where it's illegal to carry guns on the ship, so these are options they have for keeping pirates away and not get thrown in prison
@@andrewthompson5728 sadly someone could cry about the environment and possible * harm to the ecosystem... Plus there's that thing called the Geneva convention... I think hot water would be easier to pass than acid lol
Good idea... easy money, if you can find clients. However the corpos are too cheap to pay... and pretty soon you end up turning pirate yourself just to pay the bills :D
@@toml-oq1vw Congrats you are now the target of the closest nation's navy, Coast guard and the US navy. If you don't have a flag, you are considered a pirate and well nobody is going to object.
this whole vid is just stupid. "they have sonar, radar, rocket launchers, machine guns, rifles and EVEN MOLOTOV COCKTAILS" like a bottle with gasoline and a rug is the most astounding thing on that list
I suppose it's obvious that the pirates would not want to retaliate for all these non-lethal measures against them. They just laugh it off, smile with those pearly whites and become fishermen.
Same goes for all the would-be pirates once you kill just one single pirate. It automatically deters every other man from that point in time on. Piracy was solved when the English shot down a Viking. All other reports of piracy thereafter are just fake news.
Many Somali pirates are just unemployed fishermen looking for an easy opportunity. International commercial companies have over-fished the waters off east Africa leaving locals desperate to make a living. As long as they are detected in advance, it doesn't take much to deter them. Like home burglars, they look for the easiest targets.
So the only thing that prevents a merchant ship from getting weapons is the prohibition of foreign countries from entering their harbor with weapons. I think the only option should be to hire and escort an additional warship
One fix would be to tell those countries that ships will no longer bring them goods, watch them change their mind quickly Everyone deserves the right to defend themselves.
@@stultuses not gonna happen. If any company decides not to ship there because of that reason there's a hundred others that will gladly replace them. Funny you talk about rights, what about those countries right to make their own laws and rules? Those people have the right to self governance. You must be American. Always talking about YOUR rights and what YOU but you never want to stop and think about other people's rights or what others want. Most people on this planet don't want guns in their communities or in their country. Learn to respect their rights before talking before talking about "rights" because it this makes you look ignorant
Or just you know not tell them you have them especially if those bigger cargo ships you can't tell me you can't find somewhere to hide them that they wouldn't find
Oh I understand now. So I should replace my remote control fire hoses with remote control cannons. The cannons are concealed below deck in a hidden compartment. They can be deployed by removing the deck plate on top and they'll pop out. Controls are located inside the crew quarters or safe room if a ship has one. Thank you for letting me know. I'll get to work on that.
Tell me you're a liberal with zero combat experience without telling me you're a liberal with no combat experience. Moat pirates have AK-74 or older 47's. Whereas the yacht security companies use, M-4's, DD-18's, H&K 416, SCAR-H, FN FAL, MSG-90, and Remington 700's. I worked yacht security and we carried a scoped SCAR-H plus a Remington 700 for long distance work, then an M-4 and the other 2 guys had an FN FAL and a DD-18. We also had Benelli M4 shotguns and Glock 17's. We boarded in international waters with our weapons locked up. Then we got them out in hostile areas. We were trained to take out a target the moment we saw weapons. Once they transition to a safe area, we left and either got aboard our mother ship, or got on another yacht that was transitioning the other way,. We had contracts for us to port in Djibouti as long as our weapons were stored in a lockbox. We also hardened the ship, made sure the crew was put through drills, had proper armor, knew where to go in case of a firefight and if any ifmthem wanted to stay and help run firehouse, we worked with them as well and surprisingly, most of them did. We also went over weapons with them in case we went down and they needed to defend themselves. Pays very well, but yachts aren't really targeted near Somalia. Near Nigeria and the Singapore Strait is where yachts are most targeted. We saw a lot of action there.
no its not, he didnt mentioned the main reason why we dont have weapon on board. Main factor is being closed on vessel for 3 months and more. It is seriously psychological stress, imagine that you have multiple nations on vessel and a guy annoyed you due to cultural differences and that dude is carring a gun with himself.
@@RiczardGW It is still stupid. Don't use lethal firearm to stop pirates and the pirates will board you. Ever notice that Russian ships never get boarded by pirates? For the Russian crew to mess around and use lethal force.
@@11B30Inf i'm a navigator grauated with engineer degree with OOW diploma, i live on board for 6-7 months per year, have you ever been on board, or you are just delusional? russians never obliged to any laws and they live in their own group. There are designated places to hide if pirates ever embark. I wont reveal details but there is no reason to carry a gun
@@RiczardGW They've just been quietly hiring PMCs and pretending they aren't lately. Weapons are often transferred for holding to "armory ships" in international waters to prevent issues at port, then picked up again for the voyage in high-threat environments.
A lot of the comments below have a common theme of using guns preferably over some of the nonlethal methods. (Filling a pirate boat with water is possibly lethal, not to mention replacing the boat. High voltage barbed wire also presents a deadly problem.) I wonder what many of the naysayers would do if they were to actually board these cargo ships and tackle the problem. I really do. I don't have the answers. It is that so many think that being armed is the best and in some cases, the only.method. People like to kill other people (both sides btw). It's sadly a human trait.
Lots of interesting, creative ideas. I still think piracy would suffer greatly if, in addition to these tactics, a last-stand _involving firearms_ , could be included. This mentality that reputable vessels that might be targets are forcibly disarmed by governments/port authorities, is providing _job security_ for pirates.
A large mirror can be used as a shield and will reflect the beam back to the sender. I think the water defenses are the best. All the defenses rely on detecting the pirates before they get close enough to board, though.
Hi WATOP new video and new editing new script, I love it It is really interesting that improving the protection of the ship will give an incentive to increase the pirates' weapons
A merchant marine officer explained to me that shipping companies can hired armed security but that's an expense they don't want. These security companies have arrangements (usually surety bonds aka bribes) that allow them to take guns into any port.
The obvious and simple explanation is just this: most ships aren't attacked by pirates. Arming the crew costs money. Hiring crew members with good gun skills costs money. The math probably works out that arming and employing the appropriate crew isn't worth it to attempt to save the few ships that do encounter pirates, especially since some ships will fail to defend themselves anyway. Obviously, this incentivizes more pirates, so the balance will swing back and some ships will arm again. This will disincentivize pirates, and some ships will disarm again to save money. The economics of arming vs not probably switch back and forth. I'm sure there are other reasons and concerns, but this seems like the most likely primary motivation.
Use megawatt microwave cannons for and aft. Microwave cannons can cook brains in 20 seconds from 500 yards. Oh yeah, try it out and give a whirl. haha! For real.
Personally been in this situation. Any ship travelling at 16kts or above is unlikely to even be targeted. MV Boularibank 2009 fended off an attack by dropping huge baulks of timber over the bow making the Pirate skiffs take avoiding action until the ship got up to speed. Any action taken that is designed to physically hurt a Pirate will likely result in being targeted by gun fire and RPG, as was the case in my experience.
They stopped defending themselves because of public outcry from those who will never sail on one of those commercial boats, claiming that its better to give a bully (or pirate) what they want instead of resisting and making the bully (or pirate) angry and frustrated because its an acceptable excuse for them to escalate violence. So just cower and run away. Blame the cupcakes.
@@dubbbs Actually your wrong im Canadian, true north strong and free. But since you started the stereotype game, let me have a turn. 100% chance you vote left. You think Venezuela and Cuba collapsed mainly from American embargo's. And probably think socialism actually works,,it just "hasn't been implemented properly" 🤣 Have a good 2024👍👍
As a sailor 50 years ago, we had automatic rifles on board, 200 of them, ammo as well as 200 pistols, they were in the weapon safe behind the bridge, it was the first mate who controlled this room , as well as the master (captain) of course. It had been a tradition that merchant ships were armed since.... well, forever. I do remember once, in France, where the authorities ordered the safe room opened, and then they counted all the firearms as well as the ammo, and then put a tape seal on the door, that was not to be opened while in port. Never ever were there irregularities with these weapons, out side Lagos, the laughable nigerian pirates came at around 4 o'clock. The watch warned, we rushed to the bridge, armed with a rifle and pistol, and 40 rounds. We knew where we should be posted. And when they came over the railing, we all fired at once. Some screaming, and then the next contingent tried their luck, we got them alll, a couple on deck was just thrown overboard, and the steward had tre fingers from one of them , that had gripped the porthole besides his counter where he made food.
There are new capabilities, at least in theory, that were not considered. Anyone following the war in Ukraine will have noticed how effective cheap FPV drones are, both for reconnaissance and attack.
A bit of friendly critique that I was recently made aware of that might be beneficial to this channel: When making your obligatory "like, subscribe, etc." plea, try to shove it into the episode after enough time and content has gone by that a person can truly decide if they've enjoyed what they've experienced. I heard it explained that when asking for likes and such at the very beginning of an episode, many folks are turned off by this request because they literally have no gauge on whether or not they like the video, yet. However, asking for likes about midway through or later (at the earliest, after your first chapter) acts as a friendly reminder that these things exist. As an example, I don't know if I'll end up liking this video, yet, because I'm not even a minute in. I also don't know if I'll think to like the video before it's over and I've moved onto the next video in my list. I find myself actually prompted into liking a video when creators ask after I've had enough time to have a solid decision that I actually enjoy the content I'm watching. I also often end up liking a video during the very end if the creator gives the audience some time to be able to react, which you guys do a good job of giving us the duration of the end card screen to do so.
I wonder if the military or private ships could use decoy ships masquerading as a merchant vessel but are armed to the teeth. Hugging shore lines to attract the cockroaches
@@camp002 Its legally questionable to use them in time of war; because of how they screw with cruiser rules. Pirates don't follow cruiser rules and are international criminals so there is no issue legally with tricking them.
@ 8:52 I don't think that razor wire is very effective to deter them from boarding if there is a window underneath it. Merchant ships and tankers can't have weapons. Oh why not install "cannon shaped devices" that use compressed air to shoot various projectiles at the pirates, if they are far enough away from the ship there's a high probability of the projectile not being lethal
This video trying to explain how guns aren’t needed and what has replaced them just kept sounding more and more like politicians trying to build a case for EVs.
Yes the problem is the "license" to have guns and where do you get them onboard etc. There was a company if i remembered correctly that had a large ship with guns onboard on international waters so their security teams got it from there. But well yes it's expensive.
Takes a lot longer to sink a boat with small arms than with water. Once a ship starts to take on water the pirates have to stop shooting or risk sinking.
I honestly like the old layout. You lost me when Steve kept getting on and talking in a weird voice but this one seems to be going back toward the OG path. I’m liking this better
Well, enemies of the ten percent of mankind that was bringing the other ninety percent over in chains, anyway. And don't kid yourself the American colonists were also 90 percent 'indentured servants' from the prisons of London. But if, you know, you slipped your chain and stole a boat or god forbid some money or freed more people, then yeah they called you all kinds of names :D
@@Balrog4242 How does this reply even have anything to do with my post? And it doesn't even really make a lot of sense. Many people who came to the colonies were indentured servants (outlawed by the 13th Amendment along with chattel slavery) but not 90% by any means, no. Your "statistics" are distorted and exaggerated. With very few exceptions, pirates were brutal, violent, and despicably cruel. Indeed, the enemies of all mankind.
My experience with cops has only been good. But I happen to rather side with victims because I don't commit crimes. Instead I work and pay my taxes. It is cheaper and more predictable for me to pay the police than to allow criminals to take whatever they may wish to take. Try it, you'll see.
And here I'd thought all along that all weapons were forbidden on cargo ships to encourage and enable those poor pirates to feed their families and achieve some sort of self help reparations, kinda like how our big cities' crime policies work vis-a-vis what little retail can continue operating there.
Great video! Just a couple of extra things: the 'water cannons' are really there for putting out fires on the ship, but they really are all you need even though your greedy company only wants to spring for 6 sailors vs 50 pirates because... if you see them, they generally call off the attack. So most ships just leave the hoses and lights on when they go thru pirate waters even tho it's illegal. The reason pirates only want a ninja style victory is Somalia isn't your problem, as chances are your insurance company makes you go around it anyway. But in the caribbean you have the cartels and in the rest of the world you have the triads. They want a clean boat that hasn't sounded an alarm, and maybe a bunch of crew to keep as slaves. If you've seen them it's already too late for any of that, and even if they're small timers like Somalis or Indonesians they just want to steal the money in the safe for bribing port authorities so they want to be on and off fast without a fight. Israel and Russia are rumored to secretly pack guns and so the small timers do avoid them but the key word there is 'secret' guns because no port in the civilized world allows boats full of armed foreigners to just sail on in, or they get taken over real quick. And before anybody thinks secretly packing is a good idea, keep in mind the legal term for that is 'smuggling guns across international borders'. ...also back in the day when merchants did pack heat they robbed each other ALL the time :D
Oh and one more thing... keep in mind there are oil tankers out there with almost no crew. That's tens of millions of dollars just waiting for somebody to pull up a bunch of other boats and suck it out. But ONLY if nobody sounds the alarm.
The argument if the saliors had weapons they would just most likely be killed for the weapons is really ridiculous. Its kinda hard to take a weapon from someone that knows how to use it and will most definitely kill you back.
Fill a little boat with enough water, it will sink. You ain't going to outbail a water cannon with a bucket. So not a bad strategy, with the main benefit as water cannons being seen as less than weapons. A water cannon though will knock you back, or in this case, knock you overboard... and if aimed at you while you treding water, and kept on you, could no question about it drown you.
Pirates always have had a restriction on their weapons, that being ones that will not annihilate the vessel and cargo they wish to gain control of. Otherwise they could use torpedoes and the like. The key weapon of pirates throughout history was the terror they could instill in the crews of merchant ships, such that those crews would surrender rather than fight back and face brutal treatment if captured.
Maybe? Think before you write. If you're trading with South Africa, how do you expect them to protect a VAST ocean? Ever heard of somali pirates? Even if they don't trade with Somalia, the pirates can still raid the ships passing BY
@@Minkses How do i expect for the surrounding area of a country to enforce its own law? o gee i wonder Also, then don't pass by!~ "Think before write"? Never!!
Some countries like Malaysia have spent a lot of money on anti piracy efforts and stopped a LOT of pirates. However. They get almost nothing back for this money it's pretty much just gone, they put a lot of small time Indonesians in prison but there are instantly more because pirates are created by poverty, and when they make the mistake of arresting triads it gets... complicated.
Almost the entirety of South Africa's navy is dedicated to fighting pirates. We DO protect our waters, and EVERYONE ELSE'S WATERS TOO. Even armed corvettes, frigates, gunships, and aircraft are not enough to protect every single one of the MILLIONS of ships that pass through our country, and ALL SURROUNDING COUNTRIES, every year. Pirates do not care about whether the zone has laws, or military. They sparsely care if you're armed. They live dangerous lives, where risk is just another factor to getting through their day, and they're looking for the cheapest way to do it. It's almost impossible to get from East to West of the world without passing through South Africa. There's a good reason why the Portugeuse, the Dutch, and the British established ports in South Africa, over the course of hundreds of years. Because the resupply is necessary to get from there to Asia. You can't just "don't pass by!" your way through life. THINK before you write. Or maybe learn a little more about history, and geography!
Stupid is as stupid does.... If the pirates had a reason NOT to go near these ships ( Like a fully armed and ready to offensively attack aggressors or pirates ) They would not do it. But an unarmed ship..... Stupid is as Stupid does....
Non lethal weapons only discourages pirates to attack that particular ship. Lethal weapons discourage them from pursuing a piracy career altogether, which is a much more desirable outcome.
So im supposed to stand there and shoot a water canon at pirates while they are shooting Aks and rpgs at me? Yea no thanks. All these less than lethal deterrents while those pirates are trying to kill the crew!i would quit that shipping company... also, nothing is really illegal in international waters 😉.
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There is a story where the Captain of a United States Navy Aegis cruiser was under orders to not fire at pirates even though he could. So he decided to push his Destroyer to max speed and run donuts around the pirates until the wake of his ship capsized them. Then being under orders to not engage the pirates, he left them in the water.
Gigachad Popeye.
What a Chad lol 🤣
if it's an Aegis ship he could have just switch the radar from 'search and track' to 'microwave'
Probably because pirates present absolutely no threat whatsoever to an Aegis cruiser.
@@Shadowburn2- They might not threaten the cruiser, but they do threaten other ships in the area.
Well… maybe not anymore… but the point still stands.
Imagine being told Molotov cocktails are illegal as the pirate who is illegally trying to steal your stuff is boarding your ship
They're *technically* illegal.
now they know why 2A infringement is such an issue.
Water canons are a good idea, but armed merchants have been a thing since ships have sailed the sea. Countries that prohibit it run the risk of losing trade and being accused of sponsoring pirates. It sounds like ship owners are paying attention.
It's as political as it is economical, if a nation don't want merchants to defend themselves says a lot about said nation's relationship with other countries.
Because even if you trade with an ally, you will never know if they are double crossing you by giving away your ship's location to a enemy country.
Death is the best disincentive for piracy.
Is that why we've been executing people for piracy for centuries and we have more pirates than ever? Piracy is caused by poverty as long as there are starving people watching boats full of money sail past there will always be new pirates.
@@Balrog4242 because we stop killing pirates that why there more, you're clueless how this game is play out, when peoples play stupid game and doesn't die they keep repeating the same shit over and over again, repeat offender stop when they Die.
That argument can be used against anything that you do not like.
Can you always be sure that the boat contains pirates?
I would say no and therefore it is better to use a mostly harmless defense to avoid harming innocent people.
If you're in the middle of some place and a boat keeps coming towards you they are not harmless
@@Balrog4242 There has never been less poverty in the world than there is now. Piracy is literally a matter of opportunism, and the answer is to take away the opportunity. If all pirates end up being fish food in short order, no one will choose to be a pirate for any reason.
"This container ship has millions of dollars in cargo, but the REAL reason we're going after it is to seize a handful of guns from the security team!" - No Pirate Ever
Agree. Complete nonsense
Right. The guns are just the sprinkles on top
These countries are flooded with guns.
They can buy them for the price of a chicken.
😂
I agree. I call total BS on WATOP's reasoning... or lack thereof.
They should pass a law against pirates possessing firearms. That would certainly solve the problem.
😅
While they're at it, maybe they should just make piracy ilegal. That should prevent all piracy, right? 😂
When you buy a gun, you should have to sign a contract that says "I'm not a pirate." That way pirates can't buy guns!
To Quote Captain Jack Sparrow "Pirate"
😂😂😂
Aside from the various laws, these are the weakest arguments against being armed I have ever heard.
"One guy threatened to retaliate against a salior....when ever they can possibly get their hands on one".
NOPE. making it CLEAR that piracy will cost you your life, and they will stop.
The video misses a major way armed guards work on vessels. Often times the armed guards are contractors and will meet the vessels at sea and leave before they make port.
@@elix901 It does not miss that, it's stated at the end of the video.
Well, the issue is that most pirates are from places where life is cheap. They are risking their lives regardless- whether it is due to being caught or shot by security, due to weather, heaving boat drowned with water canons, or gang activity on land or just starvation. But yeah, his points are weak.
@@syriuszb8611 turning someone's buddy into a pink mist is a universal language. It worked in iraq and Afghanistan, and life was pretty cheap there as well.
the sailor is a civilian. He may not have the training or the willpower to kill even in self defense. Arming them might sound like a direct solution, but it's not actually a risk you can take as a company.
You're only thinking of your own ship and crew.
Dead pirates stop killing people.
Live pirates will stop being pirates if not many come home.
Most of the ideas look really expensive and guns are cheap.
Being afraid to carry weapons "because you're afraid someone's gonna steal your weapons" is stupid.
Not stupid. A real thing.
@@brootham9979 Who said that stupidity is not real?
Being unarmed no fire arms etc. pardon the pun but being able to repel with water cannons they already have to clear the bildge may not be stupid legally. I don't know. Would it save on insurance? Is it practical though? Follow the money that can show many things. He throws in some other suggestions lol. Macgyver would have had kittens. There may be some merit to this madness. Makes for a clean ship, which is a deal in itself. That stuff is there anyway. YMMV. I assume a few firearms like a normal vessel just not a SWAT Team with a Thor cannon.
@@brootham9979 Yep a real thing that's stupid.
@@zlatanclovecic1944 if people tried and failed for that reason then its real
if you think pirates can get better weapons than MAERSK shipping lines you're HIGH
If pirates are really so poor, where do they get money to buy the guns you think they CAN buy?
@@UpcomingJedi exactly
MAERSK has two barriers to better weapons: Legal channels and willingness to spend the money. Corporations are cheapskates, my friend.
@@UpcomingJedi Who says they *buy* them?
@@ChobinoftheFunk They are free to get just about any weapon they want. Also it is the PMCs who buy them and they can get their hands on military grade weapons and have networks of offshore depots.
There is so much wrong with this story that I don't know where to begin ...
WTF is this? You argue that armed shipmen would be killed on the spot, as if even armed they can never defend themselves. Then you cite a case where pirates were killed, and they made hollow threats in response. Those are terrible and nonsensical opening arguments.
Seems like multi country bureaucracy is the sole reason they aren't armed, and your reaching logically to pad a video.
This is a BS video ... not truthful in the most generous sense of the word. Merchant vessels often hire armed security teams to transverse that part of the globe. You face guns with guns .. Not guns vs water baloons and kazoos from your 9 yr old's birthday party.
Typical crew are not trained with weapons and some of them probably shouldn’t be trusted with weapons. So there’s that.
Also went on about guns being bad, then basically half the video is about insanely complicated and expensive "non lethal" means of defending a ship. If you think the pirates would kill you for shooting at them what do you think they'd do if you trash their boat with a net gun and other attacks. Just seems like an endorsement by the anti pirate industry to sell stupid self defense options.
This is one of the lamest CZcams channels I've ever come across - and that's saying something!
My father always told me that pirates are the worst thing that can happen to a merchant ship
Fire?
Sink?
Bridge?
Depends on the pirates. Indonesians just want your cigarettes, your whiskey and your cash.
The snoze berries taste like snoze berries
The best way to stop pirates is to not allow them to repeat piracy.
and guns, big big guns
certain death via armed escort vessels takes much of the incentive away
Then Iran starts paying them for draining our resources.
At 1,000 yards, you get a warning to steer away. At 500 yards, you get sent to Davy Jones locker. Take no prisoners. Sharks lives matter too.
Why is it that these people don't have enough to make it on there own western society is the worst way to live all for the all horrible dollar
We engaged at 400 yards. As soon as a weapon was visible, we fired a warning shot. If they continued, one aimed for the motor, another aimed for anyone holding an RPG or DShK, RPD or another heavy machine gun. If they didn't have those, but had just AK's they usually backed off. If they had heavy weapons, they woukd risk it and bring out 3 to,4 boats and try to surround you. Then you took out the engines, and the heavy-duty guys as quick as possible. Once they got within 200, it was the 7.62 guns and if they got within 100 or attempted boarding, it was our 5.56 guns and shotguns. One man per sector and then once a sector was cleared, we fell back to the next sector that was under the most immediate threat. We made boarding super difficult. There were water hoses going, plus we placed giant fenders on the decks and in front of the doors. In addition, the rails amd floors were covered with petroleum jelly. We also had giant tubs of capsaicin attached to the firehose. It started as a mist and sprayed the pepper spray down until the tubs were empty and then the water levels increased. It covered the outside of the yacht with a bunch of the capsaicin dust water that they would have to climb through. Once the water pressure increased, the stream blew past where the capsaicin was, so it didn't get washed away. If the yacht had a compressor on board, and most did, we had an attachment for that and it contained broken glass particles. Finely ground broken glass filled with broken glass dust that woukd make you itch and rub the broken glass pellets further into your skin. Plus we had shotgun shells that shot burning magnesium and aluminum powder. Essentially Dragon's Breath rounds, but more reliable and they stayed burning. We woukd also hang the fenders over the side and fill them halfway with water. When they were swinging and moving with a yacht doing 12 knots and making wild turns, they became pretty good at knocking people about. They could be cut off pretty easy, but by the time you were dealing with that, somebody was engaging you with a rifle or shotgun.
@@clifbradley That's awesome. How did you get that job? I'd love to do the same thing.
@@KatalciThey usually only accept veterans or people who has at least 2 years experience in their national armed force. One group I known of is called Arcademi, which is a mercenary/private security force used by US govt, and they had application form on their site. Not sure if they changed their names now though.
@@rezzyredskinwhat?
Not wanting to have weapons to defend yourself because you could become a target is the dumbest of dumb things I’ve ever heard. That’s called being a voluntary victim…. And stupid!
Sounds very 'Australian' to me. Sadly, my fellow countrymen worship victims.
@@sunriseboy4837 What?!? I'm an American, and American's think of Australians as completely tough-as-nails and totally badass. Like, Mad Max is actually a documentary. Sort of the same way we view Canadians, but with fewer wolverines and polar bears, and far more venomous critters.
@@mournblade1066 Yeah, well, I've been born and bred here.
Aussies aren't nearly as 'tough as you'd like to think.
Australia is one of the leading woke countries on the planet.
We now have the various state police dept's telling us what is, and isn't mis or dis-information.
And people are being pursued vigorously because of it.
@@sunriseboy4837 It's almost as if there's a race on to become the most wokeness-victimized country.
Is your country also a victim of "Woke"?
@@sunriseboy4837 Don't destroy my preconceived notion of the Great Southern Land! (Next someone is going to do the same to the Great White North!)
“Pirates can always get their hands on bigger weapons”. So what?
I’m a retired SEAL who did armed maritime security when I retired.
The ship’s crew doesn’t carry guns, and the ship (and the shipping company) doesn’t have guns. The armed security detail brings their own on board, and keeps them. For pirates to steal them they must come alongside, hook a ladder, climb it (2 active duty SEALs just died doing this in the Gulf of Aden) board the ship and take it, all against armed men that are stable, elevated, and shooting at them the whole time.
NO VESSEL WITH ARMED SECURITY ABOARD HAS EVER BEEN TAKEN. Although some have been shot at (even with RPG’s). The advantage of having trained men shooting from a stable, elevated position can’t be overstated.
Very few ports don’t allow guns. Most in the area require that they be downloaded and accounted for when in port(to ensure the ship’s not gun-running).
The only real reason shipping companies don’t want armed security aboard is the ongoing costs. Armed security doesn’t come cheap.
We’d get on in Egypt, sail the Indian Ocean with the vessel, then get off again in Egypt and fly home.
Thank you for your service!
Interesting info, but how many security officers were on board at the same time? I would guess 4, that works in shifts and concentrates on having most awake around dusk and dawn. I do understand it is a risky job that warrants high pay, but why not get ex-military/anti-cartel police from low-cost countries instead? Former asian soviet blocs and latinos would surely accept that job at a real discount. They could arm some boats with westerners and some with others, making it a lottery for the pirates. Or mixing the two groups to get both benefits.
@@LeporidaeanDream You are correct on most counts. The standard detail is 4 men. Originally Trident hired only ex-SEALs, and they were very effective in killing Somali pirates. Now ships can hire a team of individuals from developing countries much cheaper, and the pirates won’t even approach when they see an armed man on the bridge wing.
Also, the industry has become saturated, as all industries do. I spent a few days on a barge at sea while our vessel was in port getting planned maintenance done. The port in question was the cheapest for getting the cylinders wiped down (manually. Guys literally climbing into the engines to wipe them down) and they didn’t want security in port. I never knew there were so many security companies, with guys from so many countries, doing that work. Most of them were doing it for far less than I was.
NO VESSEL WITH ARMED SECURITY ABOARD HAS EVER BEEN TAKEN. That statement makes the message of this whole video a joke. But I guess all those non-lethal methods are developed to give authorities a good feeling about harming the poor poor pirates who as we know are the real victims.
@@erikswanson6687 Thx so much for your answer! Can't get more expensive than ex-seals, and easy money on their part. Too bad they didn't let you get to land. Perhaps they were jealous of your luck with women All things will change though, and drones will invade both pirates and tankers if not already in action.
May the somali coast be fruitful again and strangers punished for dumping toxins there and killing livelihoods, so these tragedies end. Brace for the likely hard changes if you are in US brother and keep the heart strong and in touch with God. Your heritage seems scandinavian, blessings from Norway!
Any vessel can carry weapons on board internationally.
I got 1:58 in and heard so much crap I wrote this before signing off. Sincerely yours - A sailor.
Yes, while in international waters. But all ships come to ports, the whole purpose of cargo ships is to load and unload, not just sail around with cargo!
@@scvcebc Why the nasty sarcasm?
Did you even do a fact check before you posted?
JFI I am a retired Blue Water Skipper.
There are other reasons why some ships do not carry arms and there are protocols for ships carrying arms when they come into port.
Sheesh!
@@kevinu.k.7042amazing how far some people will take pretzel logic to argue that being armed is worse than not being armed; even when you know damn well you’re going into harms way. Seems people have taken the Uber eats mentality a little too far. Outsourcing security is now and has always been a bad idea as a general concept. But deciding to rely on third party security in the gulf of Aiden seems beyond crazy. The sea is big and boats are slow. It seems insane to me that companies like Maersk haven’t at a minimum got security crews that just ride back and forth with vessels in dangerous waters, or bought a few CWIS units from a navy to run anti-piracy defense. Imagine a pirate boat wandering into a CWIS😂.
I made it 45 seconds.
@@scvcebc what is your source on that making weapons impractical?
Countries that don’t allow weapons shouldn’t get shit then
I know, right
Here here
That describes almost every country in the world, and the reason they do it is otherwise people sail boats full of soldiers into their country and take it over.
😂
@@Balrog4242 Ok, here is the thing if they were going to sail troops into your nation having a law against them sailing troops into your nation is not going to stop them. Oh look it is a gun free zone sign! Damn the criminal says thwarted again! turns around and leaves.....LOL
Quick question: What's to stop the pirates, armed with guns and RPGs, from just shooting the water guns and noisemakers? Seems like a pretty obvious flaw.
targeting at sea?
have you ever been on a rough sea with 2-4 meter waves, sailed a speedboat or a smaller yacht at 20+ knots?
Do you know that it jumps so much that aiming is impossible,
You can hit a ship that is 200 meters long. but you certainly won't hit the key point you're aiming for,
And the water cannon fills your boat or yacht in 3 minutes so much that it starts to sink
Besides, firing an RPG at a ship attracts unwanted attention
The warships of the USA, UK, France, Russia, China, India patrolling there may not have the desire to hunt every pirate boat, but if an RPG appears, then it becomes a very desirable target
and since these navies use large cruisers that have helicopters, pirates want to be unannounced until the last second
The truth is the water hoses just tell the pirates that you've seen them and they no longer have surprise. In theory this means you've radioed for help and your ship is flagged as possibly taken over, the coast guard is on the way if they're nearby, and the pirates still have to fight you (which really means making it through a long series of reinforced doors). So they leave 90 percent of the time to find somebody who is still asleep ;)
@@tihomirrasperic Drones and gimbals for a few thousand dollars yeah I could do it.
Hasn't been done yet so doesn't seem that easy of an assignment to do. Not everything is a John wick movie where people can hit head shots on a speeding water boat on a moving target 🙄
Not a pin point accurate weapon, they may have only one warhead, so it's just for showing off, and trying to hit a small moving target, on the waves, on a speeding boat, speeding through the waves and the ships wake... is a little difficult. Like getting a bullseye at darts while on the back of a bucking bull from across the arena.
"I warn you, rapscallions, I shall give you a sound thrashing by causing you discomfort with loud noises and getting water into your eyes. Salty water. Yes, siree!"
non lethat tech is not a joke...
It's like a Monty python skit
@user-McGiver it is compared to an armed crew. Armed crews also prevent the company men from being assholes. Maybe that's the part they don't like.
@@haskelswain1842 yes, like a Monty Python skit, but reversed. At least Monty Python had the right idea about defending against fruit.
@@alexk3088 I could picture the crew looking down at the pirates trying to board them....your mother was a hampster and your father smelt of elderberries now go away or I shall taunt you for a second time.
Why do people love protecting criminals
We all have a soft spot for pirates! Aaarghh
Because the politicians protecting them are also criminals
Criminals cover criminals
Self delusion.
@synewparadigm so true they think the world is puppy and kitten
Immediately contradicted self: 1. Pirates don't want to confront an armed force on ship so will avoid contact. 2. Not good idea to have armed force because people will want to steal these weapons. Which is it? This underscores the absolute nonsense that is typical of poorly executed content. Just blather on about some subject without really thinking about what you are actually saying. . . Bla Blah Bla Blah. . . .
"Sea bandits will always come out on top..." Not if they're dead!
So you'd order a nuclear strike on the entire Somali coast?
If plundering a ship at the risk of death is a worthy consideration to the people living there, I doubt that starting an arms race between merchants and pirates and sinking a few ships will really change the pirates' risk assessments.
actually dead bodies float
@@2836ndk I think "chum" would describe the result
@@Hlkpf THAT may be a bit extreme... but what's the first real conflict the US Marines got into? We were paying something line 1/3 of the new country's GDP to pirates for "safe" passage. Groups of people can provide value in exchange for trade, or leave everyone else alone! "From the halls of Montezuma, to the...
@@16ft2in While I get that there might be cases in which an assault can be successful in dealing with a threat actor (ignoring whether or not it was just or appropriate, taxation is not categorically immoral), these situations are not comparable, imho.
Just to be clear: I assume you are talking about the Battle of Nassau and that by "pirates" you mean "Englishmen".
Regardless of being a European who doesn't know much about American history and being pretty much clueless in geology, I'm confident enough to say that the freighters don't belong to Somali colonies (I would go as far as to claim that Somalia doesn't have any colonies). If they did and they wanted to become independent, the Battle of Nassau wouldn't be a good reference - from what I can tell, it played no provable role in Americas independence.
Then, American trading goods where taxed in England (legally). Afaics, the Somali pirates aren't asking for a toll but boarding ships at random and without notice. Also, I suspect they are not only taking the toll + reminder charges. There might be a method for determining the the amount they are taking but you'll have to explain a little more if you want to me to take that idea seriously.
The "pirate problem" was "solved" five years after both the Battle of Nassau and the Battle of Saratoga. While it was a military victory, it's still not comparable. There was a war. Britain was neither cornered nor did it fear for it's life. Britain wasn't debating whether or not they wanted to arm their ships - the war was already on!
"War" is pretty much something that won't go down well in this situation. "And then there was the glorious war of Somalia against the Rest of the World, in which rich conglomerates hired highly-trained mercenaries to slaughter a starving people while it was struggling to survive" is not something I want my kids to be taught at school, you know?
There was a time that all ships had cannons.
thats what I was thinking... lmao imagine every cargo vessel with a 20 man crew manning 3 dual 30 mm cannons ... lol "why do you have guns ?" "incase a pirate shoots an RPG at us."
Lies! Everyone knows pirates could always get more and bigger cannons!
You'll find even a small coast guard ship has one gun on it... that fires on full auto and punches volleyball sized holes in boats.
They are commercial shippers not armadas.
@@ViceCoin I'm just saying bring back the good ole days of privateers and armed cargo vessels. They all use to have rows of cannons on board
not having weapons maybe the dumbest idea ever... it is SO hard to board a larger vessel looking up and you are shooting down at people.. even if your outnumbered 5 to 1... weapons are BY far the best way.
And what if countries do not allow you to enter their ports with weapons?
It's not about a stupid idea, but the factors that affect EVERYTHING
You are stupid my guy
So? The point of this video is showing you that it's common for ships to go to places where it's illegal to carry guns on the ship, so these are options they have for keeping pirates away and not get thrown in prison
Imagine not watching the video.
That was a whole load of Bullshit.
If they won't use real weapons, then use giant pots of boiling oils .
hmm what if they ran the water for the water guns through boilers ? heheheeh ;)
Hydrofluoric acid sends a more permanent message.
@@andrewthompson5728 sadly someone could cry about the environment and possible * harm to the ecosystem... Plus there's that thing called the Geneva convention... I think hot water would be easier to pass than acid lol
No, wont work. The pirates are already black.
Straight out of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'!
The logic of the ship owners is complete nonsense. Arm them, train them or hire them, but put these pirates out of business
Maybe its time to bring back "marines" to guard vessels from boarders.
Gonna start an offshore business, high speed weapons fleet and weapons rental business in international waters
Good idea... easy money, if you can find clients. However the corpos are too cheap to pay... and pretty soon you end up turning pirate yourself just to pay the bills :D
@@Balrog4242 piracy pays and no taxes😆
@@toml-oq1vw Congrats you are now the target of the closest nation's navy, Coast guard and the US navy. If you don't have a flag, you are considered a pirate and well nobody is going to object.
The mentality presented in this video is the reason why we live in the 2nd Golden Age of Piracy.☠
this whole vid is just stupid. "they have sonar, radar, rocket launchers, machine guns, rifles and EVEN MOLOTOV COCKTAILS" like a bottle with gasoline and a rug is the most astounding thing on that list
"Look At Me. I'm The Captain Now."
So original. Gj.
@@Semirotta 🤣
I suppose it's obvious that the pirates would not want to retaliate for all these non-lethal measures against them. They just laugh it off, smile with those pearly whites and become fishermen.
Foreign commercial fishing has over fished the waters off Africa, that is why these people have turned to piracy.
Same goes for all the would-be pirates once you kill just one single pirate.
It automatically deters every other man from that point in time on.
Piracy was solved when the English shot down a Viking.
All other reports of piracy thereafter are just fake news.
Really?? Using non lethal laser to deter pirates. What a joke. 😂
Many Somali pirates are just unemployed fishermen looking for an easy opportunity. International commercial companies have over-fished the waters off east Africa leaving locals desperate to make a living. As long as they are detected in advance, it doesn't take much to deter them. Like home burglars, they look for the easiest targets.
So the only thing that prevents a merchant ship from getting weapons is the prohibition of foreign countries from entering their harbor with weapons.
I think the only option should be to hire and escort an additional warship
Btw a very good video script
One fix would be to tell those countries that ships will no longer bring them goods, watch them change their mind quickly
Everyone deserves the right to defend themselves.
@@stultuses not gonna happen.
If any company decides not to ship there because of that reason there's a hundred others that will gladly replace them.
Funny you talk about rights, what about those countries right to make their own laws and rules? Those people have the right to self governance.
You must be American. Always talking about YOUR rights and what YOU but you never want to stop and think about other people's rights or what others want.
Most people on this planet don't want guns in their communities or in their country. Learn to respect their rights before talking before talking about "rights" because it this makes you look ignorant
@@TargetFinder72 wanna see the other dude's response......lol
Or just you know not tell them you have them especially if those bigger cargo ships you can't tell me you can't find somewhere to hide them that they wouldn't find
Oh I understand now. So I should replace my remote control fire hoses with remote control cannons. The cannons are concealed below deck in a hidden compartment. They can be deployed by removing the deck plate on top and they'll pop out. Controls are located inside the crew quarters or safe room if a ship has one. Thank you for letting me know. I'll get to work on that.
Line the railings with old upright pianos, let the pirates get along side then give them the gift of music.
Tell me you're a liberal with zero combat experience without telling me you're a liberal with no combat experience. Moat pirates have AK-74 or older 47's. Whereas the yacht security companies use, M-4's, DD-18's, H&K 416, SCAR-H, FN FAL, MSG-90, and Remington 700's. I worked yacht security and we carried a scoped SCAR-H plus a Remington 700 for long distance work, then an M-4 and the other 2 guys had an FN FAL and a DD-18. We also had Benelli M4 shotguns and Glock 17's. We boarded in international waters with our weapons locked up. Then we got them out in hostile areas. We were trained to take out a target the moment we saw weapons. Once they transition to a safe area, we left and either got aboard our mother ship, or got on another yacht that was transitioning the other way,. We had contracts for us to port in Djibouti as long as our weapons were stored in a lockbox. We also hardened the ship, made sure the crew was put through drills, had proper armor, knew where to go in case of a firefight and if any ifmthem wanted to stay and help run firehouse, we worked with them as well and surprisingly, most of them did. We also went over weapons with them in case we went down and they needed to defend themselves. Pays very well, but yachts aren't really targeted near Somalia. Near Nigeria and the Singapore Strait is where yachts are most targeted. We saw a lot of action there.
I would take my chances and fight back with any gun I would have
Sure you would. That's why you never leave the cellar.
The sun is laser enough to keep you inside.
Stop using lethal firearms against pirates is just plain stupid.
no its not, he didnt mentioned the main reason why we dont have weapon on board. Main factor is being closed on vessel for 3 months and more. It is seriously psychological stress, imagine that you have multiple nations on vessel and a guy annoyed you due to cultural differences and that dude is carring a gun with himself.
@@RiczardGW It is still stupid. Don't use lethal firearm to stop pirates and the pirates will board you. Ever notice that Russian ships never get boarded by pirates? For the Russian crew to mess around and use lethal force.
@@11B30Inf i'm a navigator grauated with engineer degree with OOW diploma, i live on board for 6-7 months per year, have you ever been on board, or you are just delusional? russians never obliged to any laws and they live in their own group. There are designated places to hide if pirates ever embark. I wont reveal details but there is no reason to carry a gun
@@RiczardGW They've just been quietly hiring PMCs and pretending they aren't lately. Weapons are often transferred for holding to "armory ships" in international waters to prevent issues at port, then picked up again for the voyage in high-threat environments.
A lot of the comments below have a common theme of using guns preferably over some of the nonlethal methods. (Filling a pirate boat with water is possibly lethal, not to mention replacing the boat. High voltage barbed wire also presents a deadly problem.) I wonder what many of the naysayers would do if they were to actually board these cargo ships and tackle the problem. I really do. I don't have the answers. It is that so many think that being armed is the best and in some cases, the only.method. People like to kill other people (both sides btw). It's sadly a human trait.
Lots of interesting, creative ideas. I still think piracy would suffer greatly if, in addition to these tactics, a last-stand _involving firearms_ , could be included. This mentality that reputable vessels that might be targets are forcibly disarmed by governments/port authorities, is providing _job security_ for pirates.
I ponder if said governments get kickbacks from these decisions.
A lot of what I’ve seen is ships will hire contractors that meet them at sea and will leave before the vessel makes port.
The laser is interesting - good if it's strong enough to blind them.
A large mirror can be used as a shield and will reflect the beam back to the sender. I think the water defenses are the best. All the defenses rely on detecting the pirates before they get close enough to board, though.
Hi WATOP new video and new editing new script, I love it
It is really interesting that improving the protection of the ship will give an incentive to increase the pirates' weapons
I agree let all sailors be safe
A merchant marine officer explained to me that shipping companies can hired armed security but that's an expense they don't want. These security companies have arrangements (usually surety bonds aka bribes) that allow them to take guns into any port.
The obvious and simple explanation is just this: most ships aren't attacked by pirates. Arming the crew costs money. Hiring crew members with good gun skills costs money. The math probably works out that arming and employing the appropriate crew isn't worth it to attempt to save the few ships that do encounter pirates, especially since some ships will fail to defend themselves anyway.
Obviously, this incentivizes more pirates, so the balance will swing back and some ships will arm again. This will disincentivize pirates, and some ships will disarm again to save money. The economics of arming vs not probably switch back and forth.
I'm sure there are other reasons and concerns, but this seems like the most likely primary motivation.
Use megawatt microwave cannons for and aft.
Microwave cannons can cook brains in 20 seconds from 500 yards.
Oh yeah, try it out and give a whirl. haha! For real.
Its not Singapore Straits. It is Malacca Straits. There is no such ting as Singapore Straits.
Personally been in this situation. Any ship travelling at 16kts or above is unlikely to even be targeted. MV Boularibank 2009 fended off an attack by dropping huge baulks of timber over the bow making the Pirate skiffs take avoiding action until the ship got up to speed. Any action taken that is designed to physically hurt a Pirate will likely result in being targeted by gun fire and RPG, as was the case in my experience.
They stopped defending themselves because of public outcry from those who will never sail on one of those commercial boats, claiming that its better to give a bully (or pirate) what they want instead of resisting and making the bully (or pirate) angry and frustrated because its an acceptable excuse for them to escalate violence. So just cower and run away. Blame the cupcakes.
Stop delivering cargo to countries which don’t allow weapons on ships. Problem solved.
Multinational corporations would never put up with their loss of revenue. No way.
@@crankychris2 Well there is the loss of their cargo to consider.
Id still rather have guns on board. I don't agree
100% chance of commenter being American
@@dubbbs Actually your wrong im Canadian, true north strong and free. But since you started the stereotype game, let me have a turn.
100% chance you vote left. You think Venezuela and Cuba collapsed mainly from American embargo's. And probably think socialism actually works,,it just "hasn't been implemented properly" 🤣 Have a good 2024👍👍
While using Home Alone tactics against pirates seems to work fairly well, I feel there would be more justice in the more traditional solutions.
As a sailor 50 years ago, we had automatic rifles on board, 200 of them, ammo as well as 200 pistols, they were in the weapon safe behind the bridge, it was the first mate who controlled this room , as well as the master (captain) of course. It had been a tradition that merchant ships were armed since.... well, forever. I do remember once, in France, where the authorities ordered the safe room opened, and then they counted all the firearms as well as the ammo, and then put a tape seal on the door, that was not to be opened while in port.
Never ever were there irregularities with these weapons, out side Lagos, the laughable nigerian pirates came at around 4 o'clock. The watch warned, we rushed to the bridge, armed with a rifle and pistol, and 40 rounds. We knew where we should be posted. And when they came over the railing, we all fired at once. Some screaming, and then the next contingent tried their luck, we got them alll, a couple on deck was just thrown overboard, and the steward had tre fingers from one of them , that had gripped the porthole besides his counter where he made food.
4:27😂😂😂 pirates are living the dream can rob you, and laws don't apply to them only law Abiding people
Thanks for the video, continue with this format, I really liked it
There are new capabilities, at least in theory, that were not considered. Anyone following the war in Ukraine will have noticed how effective cheap FPV drones are, both for reconnaissance and attack.
After a warrior Navy Seal showed us how well guns work to save the day, a silly threat from a pirate scared us all?
"They want to steal weapons from a trained armed crew????" That must've been the most ridiculous NON reason anyone has come up with.
A bit of friendly critique that I was recently made aware of that might be beneficial to this channel: When making your obligatory "like, subscribe, etc." plea, try to shove it into the episode after enough time and content has gone by that a person can truly decide if they've enjoyed what they've experienced. I heard it explained that when asking for likes and such at the very beginning of an episode, many folks are turned off by this request because they literally have no gauge on whether or not they like the video, yet. However, asking for likes about midway through or later (at the earliest, after your first chapter) acts as a friendly reminder that these things exist.
As an example, I don't know if I'll end up liking this video, yet, because I'm not even a minute in. I also don't know if I'll think to like the video before it's over and I've moved onto the next video in my list. I find myself actually prompted into liking a video when creators ask after I've had enough time to have a solid decision that I actually enjoy the content I'm watching. I also often end up liking a video during the very end if the creator gives the audience some time to be able to react, which you guys do a good job of giving us the duration of the end card screen to do so.
Did anyone else see all the bottles (Molitav cocktails) when he said, "as a last resort," and think, "Get them drunk on rum?" 🤣
The worst is the ones that pretend to be struggling people at sea. Because the people who really are in life or death situations will get ignored now
I wonder if the military or private ships could use decoy ships masquerading as a merchant vessel but are armed to the teeth. Hugging shore lines to attract the cockroaches
There called q-ships there legality is questionable
@camp002 Pirates legality is also questionable 🤷♂️
@@camp002 Is this a war or not
@@camp002 Its legally questionable to use them in time of war; because of how they screw with cruiser rules. Pirates don't follow cruiser rules and are international criminals so there is no issue legally with tricking them.
@ 8:52 I don't think that razor wire is very effective to deter them from boarding if there is a window underneath it.
Merchant ships and tankers can't have weapons. Oh why not install "cannon shaped devices" that use compressed air to shoot
various projectiles at the pirates, if they are far enough away from the ship there's a high probability of the projectile not being
lethal
“Pirates threatened to retaliate because some of their guys got killed so the good guys cant have weapons now”
This video trying to explain how guns aren’t needed and what has replaced them just kept sounding more and more like politicians trying to build a case for EVs.
Nothing is better than firepower.
I mean I first thought no guns is crazy, but this other tech they have seems like it would be effective as well.
Yes the problem is the "license" to have guns and where do you get them onboard etc.
There was a company if i remembered correctly that had a large ship with guns onboard on international waters so their security teams got it from there. But well yes it's expensive.
Takes a lot longer to sink a boat with small arms than with water. Once a ship starts to take on water the pirates have to stop shooting or risk sinking.
Most people don't realize they can sink a small boat with a water gun faster so they think it's inferior.
So pirates can get their hands on 16 inch shells.
Seriously. The arguments in this video against using guns for self defense against pirates are utterly nonsensical.
I honestly like the old layout. You lost me when Steve kept getting on and talking in a weird voice but this one seems to be going back toward the OG path. I’m liking this better
"The only way to discourage piracy is the use of deadly force" - Sun Tzu
Most ships still use guns. 😅😅😅
Back in the Golden Age of Pirates, pirates were known as "the enemies of all mankind." They are. But then so are the Chinese and cops.
Well, enemies of the ten percent of mankind that was bringing the other ninety percent over in chains, anyway. And don't kid yourself the American colonists were also 90 percent 'indentured servants' from the prisons of London. But if, you know, you slipped your chain and stole a boat or god forbid some money or freed more people, then yeah they called you all kinds of names :D
@@Balrog4242 How does this reply even have anything to do with my post? And it doesn't even really make a lot of sense. Many people who came to the colonies were indentured servants (outlawed by the 13th Amendment along with chattel slavery) but not 90% by any means, no. Your "statistics" are distorted and exaggerated. With very few exceptions, pirates were brutal, violent, and despicably cruel. Indeed, the enemies of all mankind.
My experience with cops has only been good. But I happen to rather side with victims because I don't commit crimes. Instead I work and pay my taxes. It is cheaper and more predictable for me to pay the police than to allow criminals to take whatever they may wish to take. Try it, you'll see.
Something is wrong with your coffee machine, that looks like tea mate😂
Good Morning!
Good day
And here I'd thought all along that all weapons were forbidden on cargo ships to encourage and enable those poor pirates to feed their families and achieve some sort of self help reparations, kinda like how our big cities' crime policies work vis-a-vis what little retail can continue operating there.
I like the barbed wire, and electric fence idea. Unless the pirates fly into the ship, they're not getting past such fence.
Sorry but major lolz to the South Park episode where Cartman runs a gang of pirates…one of my favs!
Great video! Just a couple of extra things: the 'water cannons' are really there for putting out fires on the ship, but they really are all you need even though your greedy company only wants to spring for 6 sailors vs 50 pirates because... if you see them, they generally call off the attack. So most ships just leave the hoses and lights on when they go thru pirate waters even tho it's illegal. The reason pirates only want a ninja style victory is Somalia isn't your problem, as chances are your insurance company makes you go around it anyway. But in the caribbean you have the cartels and in the rest of the world you have the triads. They want a clean boat that hasn't sounded an alarm, and maybe a bunch of crew to keep as slaves. If you've seen them it's already too late for any of that, and even if they're small timers like Somalis or Indonesians they just want to steal the money in the safe for bribing port authorities so they want to be on and off fast without a fight. Israel and Russia are rumored to secretly pack guns and so the small timers do avoid them but the key word there is 'secret' guns because no port in the civilized world allows boats full of armed foreigners to just sail on in, or they get taken over real quick. And before anybody thinks secretly packing is a good idea, keep in mind the legal term for that is 'smuggling guns across international borders'. ...also back in the day when merchants did pack heat they robbed each other ALL the time :D
Oh and one more thing... keep in mind there are oil tankers out there with almost no crew. That's tens of millions of dollars just waiting for somebody to pull up a bunch of other boats and suck it out. But ONLY if nobody sounds the alarm.
The argument if the saliors had weapons they would just most likely be killed for the weapons is really ridiculous. Its kinda hard to take a weapon from someone that knows how to use it and will most definitely kill you back.
Fill a little boat with enough water, it will sink. You ain't going to outbail a water cannon with a bucket. So not a bad strategy, with the main benefit as water cannons being seen as less than weapons. A water cannon though will knock you back, or in this case, knock you overboard... and if aimed at you while you treding water, and kept on you, could no question about it drown you.
Drones and rc torpedoes would work just fine.
Lasers are the future in this game.
Ships should definitely caring weapons !!
Weapons. Now.
I like (not) how the narrator is YELLING the whole time.
Pirates always have had a restriction on their weapons, that being ones that will not annihilate the vessel and cargo they wish to gain control of. Otherwise they could use torpedoes and the like. The key weapon of pirates throughout history was the terror they could instill in the crews of merchant ships, such that those crews would surrender rather than fight back and face brutal treatment if captured.
MAYBE? stop trading with these countries that allow such large no law zones
But what is some lives spent to gain profit for companies...
Maybe? Think before you write. If you're trading with South Africa, how do you expect them to protect a VAST ocean? Ever heard of somali pirates? Even if they don't trade with Somalia, the pirates can still raid the ships passing BY
@@Minkses
How do i expect for the surrounding area of a country to enforce its own law? o gee i wonder
Also, then don't pass by!~
"Think before write"?
Never!!
Some countries like Malaysia have spent a lot of money on anti piracy efforts and stopped a LOT of pirates. However. They get almost nothing back for this money it's pretty much just gone, they put a lot of small time Indonesians in prison but there are instantly more because pirates are created by poverty, and when they make the mistake of arresting triads it gets... complicated.
Almost the entirety of South Africa's navy is dedicated to fighting pirates.
We DO protect our waters, and EVERYONE ELSE'S WATERS TOO. Even armed corvettes, frigates, gunships, and aircraft are not enough to protect every single one of the MILLIONS of ships that pass through our country, and ALL SURROUNDING COUNTRIES, every year.
Pirates do not care about whether the zone has laws, or military. They sparsely care if you're armed. They live dangerous lives, where risk is just another factor to getting through their day, and they're looking for the cheapest way to do it.
It's almost impossible to get from East to West of the world without passing through South Africa. There's a good reason why the Portugeuse, the Dutch, and the British established ports in South Africa, over the course of hundreds of years. Because the resupply is necessary to get from there to Asia. You can't just "don't pass by!" your way through life.
THINK before you write. Or maybe learn a little more about history, and geography!
Ships are not wanting to use leather force because it will upset the pirates? The world is so upside down!
Remote control drones would be very useful in combating pirates. The variety of weapons they can deploy is endless.
Hi. I have extensive experience with shipboard anti-piracy tactics in various forms. I have some questions regarding your research. Please reach out.
The 12 minute mark explains a weapon that we are accusing Russians of using against Americans causing the “Havana syndrome”.
Wow you're right.
wrong
Actually thats Lrads & Americans use iron their own civilians for crown control.
not really, microwave weapons are well known and do not cause the "havana syndrome"
Stupid is as stupid does.... If the pirates had a reason NOT to go near these ships ( Like a fully armed and ready to offensively attack aggressors or pirates ) They would not do it.
But an unarmed ship.....
Stupid is as Stupid does....
Non lethal weapons only discourages pirates to attack that particular ship. Lethal weapons discourage them from pursuing a piracy career altogether, which is a much more desirable outcome.
So, essentially a big water pistol?
So im supposed to stand there and shoot a water canon at pirates while they are shooting Aks and rpgs at me? Yea no thanks. All these less than lethal deterrents while those pirates are trying to kill the crew!i would quit that shipping company... also, nothing is really illegal in international waters 😉.
You should have blurred out the faces of these scholars, astronauts, doctors and engineers.