Near-north Ontario, French River | Pofarmer has it right from what Ive read. The pirates approach the ship with multiple small boats. As one boat closes in to board the others fire small arms toward the ship to 'cover' the boarding. Now keep in mind I suspect that very few merchant mariners have any military training, or if they do they are not 'current". Its going to take an awful brave soul to start aiming a water cannon, or dropping pigs, or whatever from an exposed deck towards multiple small boats that are peppering the general area with small arms fire. Throw in the odd RPG and its no wonder that ships crew take refuge in the ships interior. Once the crew is off the deck the boarding isnt such a big deal. I'd wager the biggest danger to the pirates while boarding come from the risk of being sucked under the rear of the ship as they approach, or falling from the ship while boarding. I 'm actually suprised that some sort of 'convoy' system hasnt been set up. Group 15 -20 cargo's together , give them 2 helo equiped escorts ( that have authority( and the will) to protect the cargos) and the threat is greatly minimized. I read somewhere that there are +30,000 transits of that area by ships every year. Escorts cant be everywhere at once, but if you increase the density of the ships ( convoy's) then the task of protecting them becomes much easier. |
Ships at sea
