Cyprus-Forum.com

[Nikitas]

Pirates in fishing boats from Somalia capture about a ship per day these days.

These pirates operate in seas patrolled by ships from many NATO countries, the US 5th Fleet, in an area surveyed by satellites, AWACS and lord know what else.

Yesterday it was the relatively unsophisticated Indian Navy that made the first contact and engagement with the pirates, sinking one of their mother ships, basically a trawler.

Is it possible that all this super expensive, and supposedly super sophisticated gear, the defence contractors are selling us is not as effective as they say?

How on earth can simple African fishermen outwit all those radars and weapons that are accurate enough to "put a missile through a window" etc?

Perhaps military might is a matter of effective advertising more than actual effectiveness in the field? Perhaps the pirates have not read the advertising and Jane's reviews and therefore they are not impressed. There is a lesson in there somewhere.

[psycho]

The reason the patrolling ships from NATO countries and the US 5th Fleet do not attack the pirates, is because if they did there would be a worldwide investigation as to why the poor Somalia pirates were shot. Whereas the Indian navy just don't give a shit.

[Get Real!]

Perhaps their sophisticated radar systems are designed to pick up expected sophisticated enemy ships but when the enemy is a fishing boat it’s ignored…

[psycho]

Perhaps their sophisticated radar systems are designed to pick up expected sophisticated enemy ships but when the enemy is a fishing boat it’s ignored…

That explains why the Indians sank the trawler

[Get Real!]

Perhaps their sophisticated radar systems are designed to pick up expected sophisticated enemy ships but when the enemy is a fishing boat it’s ignored…

That explains why the Indians sank the trawler

Yeah, it's the only thing besides a few dinghies they could pick up...

[psycho]

Perhaps their sophisticated radar systems are designed to pick up expected sophisticated enemy ships but when the enemy is a fishing boat it’s ignored…

That explains why the Indians sank the trawler

Yeah, it's the only thing besides a few dinghies they could pick up...

I heard the Somali pirates first tried to take the Indian naval ship, then they realised it was worthless so they let it go

[Get Real!]

Perhaps their sophisticated radar systems are designed to pick up expected sophisticated enemy ships but when the enemy is a fishing boat it’s ignored…

That explains why the Indians sank the trawler

Yeah, it's the only thing besides a few dinghies they could pick up...

I heard the Somali pirates first tried to take the Indian naval ship, then they realised it was worthless so they let it go

I heard when they both realized they had the same technology they decided to merge and form a bigger mother ship they called the “Enterprise”.... Pretty lame eh?

[psycho]

Perhaps their sophisticated radar systems are designed to pick up expected sophisticated enemy ships but when the enemy is a fishing boat it’s ignored…

That explains why the Indians sank the trawler

Yeah, it's the only thing besides a few dinghies they could pick up...

I heard the Somali pirates first tried to take the Indian naval ship, then they realised it was worthless so they let it go

I heard when they both realized they had the same technology they decided to merge and form a bigger mother ship they called the “Enterprise”.... Pretty lame eh?

GR you're wrong, they've called it the "Dark Royal"

[Jerry]

I don't wish to condone what these pirates do but apparently they are mainly Somali fishermen who have lost their livelihood through over fishing by richer nations. Poor Saudis, having to cough up to get their tanker back - my heart bleeds for them!

[Tim Drayton]

Pirates in fishing boats from Somalia capture about a ship per day these days.

These pirates operate in seas patrolled by ships from many NATO countries, the US 5th Fleet, in an area surveyed by satellites, AWACS and lord know what else.

Yesterday it was the relatively unsophisticated Indian Navy that made the first contact and engagement with the pirates, sinking one of their mother ships, basically a trawler.

Is it possible that all this super expensive, and supposedly super sophisticated gear, the defence contractors are selling us is not as effective as they say?

How on earth can simple African fishermen outwit all those radars and weapons that are accurate enough to "put a missile through a window" etc?

Perhaps military might is a matter of effective advertising more than actual effectiveness in the field? Perhaps the pirates have not read the advertising and Jane's reviews and therefore they are not impressed. There is a lesson in there somewhere.

There is a weekly current affairs programme on the British Forces radio service which anybody living in Limassol is able to tune into. One of the commentators on this week's programme stated that he had it on good authority from people within the shipping business that these were always partly inside jobs - the pirates are working in collaboration with at least one crew member in every case. This may explain the above paradox.