21 Americans taken hostage by Somali Pirates

[Thudz]

You can't hit shit boat to boat with a rifle or shotgun on the open sea.

there are three dead pirates that might disagree.

the gulf of Aiden is not where they film Deadliest Catch. most shipping lanes are seemingly pretty calm waters with the ships being far larger and more stable.

while i don't know the mechanics of the insurance used, i think it has to be you don't want the crew armed because of what they might do to each other or the ship themselves. it appears current crews are not as tied to the captain as we are familiar, hence all the foreign nationals as crew members.

it is an unfortunate fact that US rules are counter productive to having US flagged ships. not only ships but US owned and ran ports.

i am surprised the shipping lines and insurance companies have not gotten together and found a way to vet the crew and arm them properly in pirate infested waters. it would seem to me it would have to be cheaper than the $43,000 3day protection.

That's a credit to our Navy SEALs and their Sniper teams. Those shots are only possible by the most highly trained. I'll stand by my statement.