Pirate Mercs

[Boston]

Well that was an interesting phone call. Some x military friends of mine are pulling together a biz plan where they escort ships through the gulf of Aden. They are looking for a boat that must

1) 100~135'
2) 35 knots + capable
3) preferably of military or coast guard design
4) steel hull
5) diesel engines 2
6) cheap
7) blue water capable
8) 6 berths
9) used
10) these guys are willing to refurbish an abandoned or derelict hull if the price is right


Mark what else is available in Homer. That article ( from the random pictures thread ) mentioned several other boats that were just sitting waiting for an offer.

Anyone staring at something in there harbor that fits the bill and is just waiting for rescue. An old coast guard vessel or a fast fisherman that could be refitted to military use.

thanks in advance folks
B

[Crag Cay]

http://auksjon.no/BoatView.aspx?BID=58

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Hey Crag,

those beasties look the business, one of those, a few mercenaries and they ll be laughing.

J

[PAR]

A small outboard powered pirate craft could easily out maneuver one of those. The torpedoes would be useless against most any of their craft and it would be absurdly costly to maintain a small fleet of these, to patrol the waters off the horn, let alone find someone to pay for it or a government to endorse it.

[Luckless]

Where are you planning to base this out of? How will you deal with the legal aspects of the weapons? And how do you keep yourself from being targeted by the multinational naval task force operating in the area?

What is the largest weapon you plan to employ? Where do you plan to train and practice? What do you plan to use for training targets? Expert marksmen suck on a bouncing boat at sea.

No government to endorse it. Maersk, rather than send lone ships through the gauntlet will hire a well outfitted boat to escort a fleet of five or six at a time. True, torpedoes are not the weapon of choice - this is; http://www.dillonaero.com/
Turn your volume off, then imagine being a pirate pokin' you head out here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HESgDMVziiY&feature=fvw What you see is every seventh projectile and that is NOT in Iraq but only a demo. Sorry, it took me a while to respond - I was enjoying some cool videos of taliban and pirates - these guys are great!

Of course, you want something that can reach out much farther (In semi-auto. Like you said, no need for great accuracy). This is a 50. Cal Barrett. I could have one tomorrow if I wanted to spend 6 grand (plus accessories).

[Kay9]

Who is going to risk thier captains licenses running a vessel of this nature?

K9

Risk their captain's license in what way? I will (tho the boat would have to be bigger and more comfortable). No risk to license- the governments would love to have some of the heat taken off them. There is nothing illegal or immoral about this.
Boston, there's nothing here like that, BTW.

[Kay9]

Wow Mark. You might want to reread the CFRs.

Your captain of a vessel flying a US flag that shoots and kills a Somali in international waters, and you think the US government is going to be happy???

The best outcome here is a loss of your licenses. The worst is a prison in some 3rd world country.

I wouldnt touch this job with a 10 foot pole.

K9

The Government is aware of these business plans. It will happen. Ending up dead or in some third-world prison (dead, or worse) is the risk factor. This is exactly what Blackwater, et. al., do. We are not talking about shooting an innocent. The reason Boston mentions using the ex-military boat is that when the pirates see this, they will go away. The reason I would do this is not for some morbid pleasure in killing but because 1.) The money - Wages will be 1/3 million kinda tax-free for half a year on patrol (that's a guess, but what I would require or the shipping company can get somebody else with black sunglasses and MAC, http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg22-e.htm 2.) It is the right thing to do.

[Boston]

Actually these guys are dying to get rolling. They all have long and successful military histories and they are well aware of the legalities of being a private defense contractor. Two of them have experience as PDC and if anyone could end up crewing a boat its these guys. The were just asking about buying or crewing and wanted to see what was available for how much.

you nailed it Mark
PDC earn between $600 and $1200 a day depending on a lot of things
generally 90 days on and 30 days off payed
bonuses for successful engagements and high risk missions

B

[Typhoon]

Personally, I'd just buy an old Huey or similar, mount a 20mm cannon or two on it and leave and refuel off the ships being escorted. Great range via being with the ship, hard to hit and damage with small arms fire and instant response to threats. Finish one escort, pick up your fuel tank and move to the next ship.
This would also allow the justification of self defence.

Regards, Andrew.

[Luckless]

Why would you use a 20mm? Fairly major over kill, and far more costly on the ammunition. (Not to mention heavier and harder to handle.)

12.7mm/.50cals in a dual or quad setup would be far more effective, or even a 7.62mm. Small boat to small boat engagements tend to prefer more shots down range in a spread pattern to increase hit chances. Plus the weapons are smaller, lighter, and cheaper to acquire.

In theory you could even rig up a hex-7.62mm fore and aft, or fore dual quads. If you put enough lead down range to make the water between the pirates and the target look like it is boiling, then chances are they'll think twice and return home.

[Boston]

ya the electric Gatling gun has been discussed. I think its a buck or two a round and 6000 rounds a minute so its a kinda pricey way to sink a bunch of Skinny's.

Yes, you could lob 20mm at 'em but I agree with the smaller stuff. The only idea I don't like at all is the helo. I believe it would be too unreliable in landing in adverse weather/night and too susceptable to fire. I love the rain of the gatling in .30 cal. Of course, something that can reliably outreach an RPG (What 400 meters?), so anything like .223, etc. is worthless. With night vision, arming crew with even FNARs


(or any semi .30 cal) would be great but the shippers are reluctant for some reason. Unless I was trying to be super-accurate, I think I'd take it over any bolt for this. The rate of fire is just too convincing and I can pretty much pie plate this gun at 500 m rapid fire (2 rds. per sec.) yet reach out to a thousand if need be. Still, there's nothing like "making the water look like it is boiling" of a gatling. With tracers at night, they'll turn around and leave.
The presence of a well-kempt ex-military escort vessel will dissuade them at all times.