There should be more of this

[fenderbelly]

Armed Spanish trawler repels pirate attack — EU Business News - EUbusiness.com (http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/somalia-shipping.3h3)

[Bob38S]

Agreed, however, I think they should find guards who can shoot a little better than these blokes. :roll:

"A statement by EU-NAVFOR said one of the skiffs "fired a rocket-propelled grenade that exploded on the deck of the fishing vessel," but that "private security armed guards" fired back "over the heads of the pirate skiff" and the attackers fled."

The message this sends is that " you [the pirates] need better/more firepower", obviously the rules of engagement need to be revised if this problem is to be resolved.

[fenderbelly]

Agreed, however, I think they should find guards who can shoot a little better than these blokes. :roll:

"A statement by EU-NAVFOR said one of the skiffs "fired a rocket-propelled grenade that exploded on the deck of the fishing vessel," but that "private security armed guards" fired back "over the heads of the pirate skiff" and the attackers fled."

The message this sends is that " you [the pirates] need better/more firepower", obviously the rules of engagement need to be revised if this problem is to be resolved.

I'd say it was PR. Somebody fires a RPG at you and you have a gun, you're not going to fire over their heads intentionally.

You'll tell the world you did, though <!-- google_ad_section_end --><!--IBF.ATTACHMENT_3117520-->

[Groggy]

My warning shot would be over the head of the shortest guy.

[Daddles]

I'd say it was PR. Somebody fires a RPG at you and you have a gun, you're not going to fire over their heads intentionally.

You'll tell the world you did, though <!-- google_ad_section_end --><!--IBF.ATTACHMENT_3117520-->

I'd say it's unlikely to be PR, it's more likely they were acting under orders - show the pirates you are armed and willing to use the kit before starting a blood fight. It should also be noted that it worked (this time) - although the pirates were willing to use their RPG, they weren't willing to fight and so bloodshed on both sides was avoided. I think you'll find that if the pirates had persisted, the story would have included a pile of corpses (from both sides) and photos of a mangled pirate vessel.

Violence rarely if ever solves anything. In this case, the only way you'll stop the pirates is for the Somali government to do its job on land, something it seems unwilling to do at the moment. At sea, if you go in with all guns blazing, next time, the pirates won't back off, they'll come out more heavily armed with more intent to start with. While they're willing to attack soft targets (ones that aren't defended) and will run when faced with armed opposition, you're delaying the onset of regular bloodshed. The time thus saved can be used to engineer a solution on shore ... this what diplomats are there for. If nothing else, you're saving a few lives (and I'm not referring to the pirates).

Richard