Joe,

I also note that all the pirates mentioned in the report were men.
Does that mean that we should hate and punish all men in the world?
Including you? No, we should distinguish between good men and bad
men, just as we do between good Muslims and bad Muslims.

Lee Huddleston

On 19 Apr 2005 08:56:54 -0700, wrote:


Hmmm... the natives have been restless!

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast
by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic,
Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service
of Inmarsat-C from April 4 to April 16th.
---------------------------------------------------------

4-04-05 at 0130 LT SW of Sembilan Is., Malacca Straits.

A boat chased a container ship underway on stbd beam and
came close to port quarter. Alarm was raised and crew
mustered. 45 mins later boat abandoned chase.

4-05-05 at 1615 LT Singapore straits.

Seven small boats surrounded a tanker underway. Persons in
one boat attempted to board at stern during heavy rain and
poor visibility. Crew activated fire hoses and ship increased speed.
Boarding was averted.

4-05-05 at 1625 LT Gulf of Oman.

I noticed that a lot of the pirates were repelled with fire hoses. I wonder if
that use is incorporated into the design. A deluge cannon could be a great
defensive weapon, especially if deployed from a good height.

--
Chuck Cox - SynchroSystems
, , www.synchro.com
(my email address is politician-proof, just remove the PORK)

Chuck... To the best of my knowledge it appears that the "main line
of defense" is the vessel's fire hoses. I know that the container
ship that I "hang out" on... the crew would have to use the convent-
ional system of hoses that are positioned through out the ship.

It would seem that at least one water canon type configuration mounted
at the aft section of the poop deck would be a slick safety addition.

While under way... I have heard a lot of attempted boardings occur
from the rear because this is often a void spot for the ship's radar
and an easy access point due to low entry heights.

Best regards

Bill

M/V Polynesia July 2004
" " Sept 2004
" " June 2005