This was a brilliant, edge-of-the-seat film that should have won Best Picture. Tom Hanks and fellow actors were amazing, direction was top-notch and the movie is said to be fairly faithful to the real incident of the piracy hijacking of the Maersk Alabama in 2009 when the U.S. Navy and a SEAL team came to the rescue.

My question: why was a huge container ship navigating in known pirate waters off the coast of Somalia unarmed? A couple of handguns or rifles would have been more than adequate to deter the attack.

Perhaps a merchant mariner has some insight.

This is a must-see movie!

We enjoyed it as well. There's a lot of uproar from the crew because of the inaccuracy of the story, but a good movie still.

To answer the question, I believe the international maritime orginization warns companies not to bring guns aboard or security. They say it could cause the pirates to just be more aggressive.

Also there are legal liability risks for the company with foreign countries if they end up using weapons. It's all about money for the cargo companies.... taking the risk is more cost effective.

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- The Federalist #46 -

In my opinion, if a ship is attacked and they could have used weapons but were not allowed by company policy, perhaps the company executives should take their places.

USAF is quite correct and the question of arms and security was well covered at the time in newspapers and TV.

Since then, more ships have acquired security services and some firearms.

From a ship owner's point of view, the ransoms were usually less than risking a multi-million dollar ship and cargo.

However, in the movie, what I found perhaps amusing was how accurate the pirates were with their machine gun in strafing the bridge while their boat was bouncing feet out of the water trying to negotiate the wake of the ship and the regular sea swells.

What the crew stressed was that Phillips sailed too close to Somalia, as mentioned in the film, when he didn't have to.

We got it from NetFlix yesterday and it will be the the main feature around here tonight. Can't wait to see it.

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Real men love cats!

This flies in the face of logic. It's like saying that an unarmed citizen has a better chance of survival than an armed one. If pirates knew that maritime ships were armed it seems to me they would be less susceptible to attack. Liability be damned.

We saw it 3 weeks ago using Itunes. Amazing how you can rent it while it was still in some theaters. I would rather watch it at home for a third of the cost and not deal with the public. There's always somebody who wants to make your movie experience less than it could be.

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That's just somebody talkin.

The countries where the ships dock to load and unload have total bans on guns. If a ship docks in some African country's port and they are searched (and they always are) by local tribesmen...er, authorities they all go to prison for 20 years if any guns are on board.

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No life story has happy end.

Thanks for the reviews as I've been wanting to see the movie. My take on weapons was the problems with going to ports in foreign countries that restrict gun possession. I ran into such problems when sailing my sailboat to Canada and their gun laws.

There are people who would agree with this logic too. Not all people are logical.

Certainly.

When the mugger steps out with a knife, give him your watch and wallet. Your stuff is not worth getting hurt over.

When the pirates show up, pull the ship over and let them do what they want. STUFF is not worth getting hurt or killed for.

And when the hijacker puts a razor blade to the stewardess' throat, by all means, let them have the airplane. We don't want anyone to get hurt.



Oops. Wait a minute. That last one didn't work out too well.

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I always take precautions

50 cals mounted on port and starboard side, bow and stern. Until then the pirates will just keep coming knowing the ships are unarmed. Wait, that sounds too logical. Other countries will think that's way too dangerous. The only way to fight fire is with fire. No pun intended.

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It's Alive !!

This only applies for undeclared weapons. Plenty of ships run with security, and they have to declare and register the weapons on a manifest, and the weapons are then stored in the port authority armory/ safe until the ship leaves port, at which time the port authority returns the weapons when the ship reaches the edge of the port authority's jurisdiction.

Places in the past we went with armed escorts: Somalia. Vietnam. Philippines. Mexico. Venezuela. Panama. Israel. Never an issue. And never heard one time of a bribe being demanded or paid to a port authority.
When it comes to a private vessel, like those folks sailing their small sloop around Africa, the rules are similar, but there is more likelihood of shenanigans.

ANY vessel at sea beyond 16 miles is in international waters, and is considered sovereign. In US waters, state waters rules dictate; so when a Russian tycoon comes to port, they declare weapons at 16 miles, and at 3 miles they confirm, and are either met at that mark and escorted, or given guidance where to proceed to meet with port authorities. If they are flying a national flag and registry, they are considered sovereign so long as they do not land at port. meaning, if you see a very large yacht anchored a half mile away from everyone and they only send in helos and shoreboats, then there are folks on board with things declared who will not be going ashore. We used to have several crew members who were always onboard, and never stepped off the ship. We'd try to bring them back something good; spiced monkey on a stick, local seafood or soups, candies, etc.

As to the cargo ships in question; in general their insurance policies were much more expensive to include armed security. They preferred water cannons and drop ropes to foul props, cargo netting, stuff like that. With the advent of advanced piracy, many (Most) of the vessels running the Gulf of Aidan are now armed. As to the thought that just a few rifles or handguns would be enough to deter pirates........ I used to operate a small, gray and black boat with enough 'anti-agression' equipment to make a mad hornet turn tail and fly the other way. And we STILL avoided pirate dhows in every way we could. The modern pirates are far better equipped than any we saw in the late 1980's. RPG is the can-opener of choice. The dhows can run 20, 30knots in some cases. They run aside a ship, throw hooks, hit them with a PKM and throw hand grenades to clear their entry path.

It has been my opinion for the last 10 years or so that we should deploy small drones on all seagoing cargo ships of the rat-infested regions, and the drones can be operated by remote, from a military base. A boat makes a run at the ship: The captain notifies the drone operation division. There is a trained crew member/ security member who deploys the drone. The drone flies out, scans said approaching vessel from the sun. If no weapons are seen, and it is a non threat, the drone returns to ship and lands. It is refueled, and stored.
If the drone operator sees weapons being deployed????? He simply locks on and sends it to the bottom. The drone returns to the ship, to be re-armed and refueled, and stored.

Problem solved.

Company policy dictates no weapons

As a side note according to actual crew members of the Maersk Alabama Captain Phillips put them in that position by taking a short cut through those waters to save time and money for the company.

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Retired Career Security Guard

There you go. A great idea. After all a drone is much faster than a navy ship. I nominate you for the job.

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It's Alive !!

U.S. Merchant Mariner, Ships Master since 1974.
Shipping companies would rather pay the ransom to pirates than have the ship seized for a phony charge of importing firearms and ammunition.

Many nations do not allow firearms to enter their countries, and ships will be held if Customs/Immigration searches and discovers arms. Example: you cannot enter Mexico with a firearm or ammo on your ship. Period.
Granted, some countries will allow declaration upon entering, and the authorities will secure. This has become much more rare than say, twenty years ago. Also, laws are subject to change without notice, and I haven't heard of any becoming more gun friendly.

I've explained this in previous threads, and I know...it's stupid, it makes no sense, it endangers the lives of the crew, but it is their law, and it varies from nation to nation. And you won't get any help from the U.S. Consulate.
Intn'l treaty ought to resolve, but hasn't.
Some individuals may be issued permits (by specific nations)as security on board, such as delivering trawlers to Colombia and Ecuador. But it is difficult. Mexico refuses to allow me to bring a weapon into a Mexican port.

I'd be willing to bet that some Masters and officers (and even ordinaries and cooks) will carry in their personal kit.

I do not know of any company which endorses the possession of firearms on board their ships. And I've been on a lot of different ones in the last ten years.

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Halfway and one more step

So -- no more shooting skeet off the Lido deck?

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I always take precautions

Have any of you read Wilbur Smith's excellent novel about modern Somali pirates and the sequel? "Those in Peril"?

I really wish the developed nations would kick some tail in these backwater countries. Do we need their oil or whatever enough not to become the dictators of terms under which we'll buy from them, or even allow travel to their ratholes?

Laws have changed ever since the event of laws. It's time to re-address today's events and act accordingly.

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It's Alive !!

I don't know but some retired navy seals as armed guards gets my votes.
Let the MA DUCE ROCK N ROLL.

Seems that American merchant ships of yore were armed to try and ward off pirates.

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- Change it back -

I. Would. GLADLY!

'Look; up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. It just fired a miniature hellfire missile at us.....'

It would be very simple to do. I feel that cruise liners should have them as well. They can be very easily secured. The response time would be so fast, no one would be able to hack their guidance and commandeer them.... it would be over before it started. The ship's captain would never have control of the unit. No person on board would be able to 'Have a bad day' and go ballistic with it. The only job would be launch and retrieval; refuel and re-arm. The drones would be very affordable when compared to a staffed response crew, and there would be much less of an intimidation factor for passengers and crew on a vessel. (When you do a ride along on a merchant ship, the crew is not really used to seeing armed folks. I was never armed, just a transportee. I was used to armed security, so to me?? No big deal. But on a ship with many language and cultural barriers....... the one thing which crosses all languages and borders is a guy with a flak jacket and armed with grenades and a rifle. In many of the countries the merchant crew were from????? They have come to recognize that as a sure sign of trouble and oppression. They were very leery, and never wanted to be around the security guards for days on end. By week 1, they would calm down. But talk about a tense week.......

Real, solid security from piracy is there at our fingertips, we simply have not justified adopting it. Though..... I LOVE the idea of dual 50's on the gunnels. 40 feet off the water???? You'd rain hell down pretty hard with that setup. But I would rather smoke them at 3/4 mile out via a little white airplane......

I heard the reasons for the no-armed ships years ago - don't agree with it, but understand the companies positions. I wonder if they could have those portable boats that would be off loaded in international waters - be armed with a security team, be picked up and dropped off

I would think it would have to be a major incident of bloodshed or seizing of ships to possibly cause countries to provide escort ships.

I think that is an excellent idea. Have a smaller armed support vessel that is comparable to the boats that are used by the pirates. The difference being that the support boat would be armed to the gills. It would be launched at the sight of pirates or when the mother ship left international waters to enter a port. It would hang around until the ship left the foreign port and then get picked up and loaded back on the mother ship. This way, no guns or rockets or RPG's would be in the foreign port so no harm no foul.

Sink a few of these scumbags and the word would get out. Unfortunately, the UN would probably make us sign a treaty forbidding the sinking of these poor foreign fisherman with AK 47's.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Well I TRIED to watch it but I had to turn it off before it got half way through. I saw enough to know that it was an excellent movie per Director and cast etc but the problem is that I watch movies to be entertained. I was feeling a lot of things but entertainment wasn't one of them. Anger. Hatred. Resentment. Frustration.

I'm not a confrontational person by nature but if I ever get a shot at the pirate they called "Skinny" I'd have to go for it. And I thought it strange that any of them would be called Skinny and not all of them. I didn't see any that looked like he weighed 100 lbs.

I'm going to fix myself a BLT and watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Maybe I'll be cooled off enough when it is over to get to sleep without grinding my teeth.

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Real men love cats!

I will not watch this movie.

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Freedom isn't free.

My wife and I watched it a few weeks ago. I had high expectations with that cast. We were both severely disappointed. In fact, I turned it off for the last 10 minutes out of boredom and haven't "found" the time to finish it. It dragged on, was frustrating in the apathy and lack of fight from the characters and just never really became worth watching. In fact, the frustration in the level "being a helpless victim" sheeple mentality of the crew was demoralizing. A few Boy Scouts with .22s could have handled it. Now I have a DVD to make into a flashy fishing lure.

Teddy Roosevelt, Walk softly and carry a big stick...Or tear down this wall! seems to me MOO..That if you act weak you will be treated like a weakling...Just like in school, if you don't stand up to bully's they will bully you as long as you let them....Fight you don't necessarily have to win, the fact you will fight usually works....Wolf's love sheep, hate Rotts, Airedales and Pits...Wonder why?????...."Tear down this wall" Made sense then makes sense now......Pit Bulls or sheepel....WHICH WILL IT BE (not word for word but I'll bet it is understood)

You should have stuck with CP. At the end the "cavalry" arrive in the form of the US Navy, of which I'm proud to have served with, and a crack SEAL team that sent 3 of the 4 bad guys to hell. The fourth is now in an Indiana prison for 33 years getting familiar with Bubba and friends (on the taxpayer dime unfortunately).

What I take away from the story of the Maersk Alabama is that the international standard is:"The individual is NOT the first responder. Wait for the authorities. Do NOT defend yourself."

I don't like that.

We might be the only nation whose Constitution states our right (as individuals) to bear arms in defense of our own lives and property.

Most governments don't like that concept. They want to be the only "guys with guns".

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Halfway and one more step

And probably still living better that he did in Somolia

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Retired Career Security Guard

A couple quotes from one of my favorite authors, Edward Abbey:

"The rifle and handgun are 'equalizers' -- the weapon of a democracy. Tanks and bombers represent dictatorship."

"A man's duty? To be ready -- with rifle or rood -- to defend his home when the showdown comes."

A radio talk show host in Baltimore had Capt. Phillips on the radio for an interview. He was the host's bother's friend. Phillips said the company who owned the ship did not allow any weapons outside of side arms on board but most other companies do allow weapons.

Sadly,that bunch of traitors in Washington is working tirelessly to force our compliance as well.
f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

That was my wife's comment. Decent movie, but ran ovey long. Hanks is over rated I think.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

I have never seen Tom hanks in a movie that I didn't like.

The only exception was the sitcom he did in the 80s where he was in drag

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Retired Career Security Guard

You didn't like Bosom Buddies with Peter Scalari?

You know what's really sad? I didn't even have to Google that, I remember the show.

Anyway, I think Hanks is a good actor, just not great. Most people will think I'm wrong, but I can live with that.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

I might have if I ever watched it but it just didn't hold my interest

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Retired Career Security Guard

My recommendation is to skip the first 90% and fast farward to the final 15 minutes and watch how this Navy SEALs dispatch the situation. It'll lift your spirits!

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- Change it back -

It's the FEEL GOOD STORY OF THE YEAR!

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Can open, worms everywhere.

My father in law was a container ship captain, employed by American President Lines. According to him it was against company policy for him to carry the little top break .38 double action 3rd model S&W. He had carried it since the Vietnam days and only used it twice, once to shoot a Vietnamese Pilot that had taken him into an ambush staged from shore on either side of a narrow channel while he was delivering ammo near Saigon and the other when his ship was accidently given full ahead while docked in Japan which led to it tearing loose from its mooring and crashing into a very large breakwater, when the Japanese authorities came aboard to take him into custody he pulled the little pistol and told them they were on American territory and he was going nowhere without proper embassy staff. You had to give Jack alot of credit for spicing up his stories but the Japanese accident created an international stink and was in the papers. As far as the pistols he kept them in his private safe in his room, one was a standard model the other a little nickle plated lemon squeezer with mother of pearl grips, it had been his Mother's pistol.

Bring back the Q ships used by the British or the armed surface raiders used by the Germans during WWII. Course that would politically incorrect. Frank

Maybe we should issue letters of mark as in the olden days...

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Retired Marine Gunny