I have been following the story about the American captain that is being currently held hostage by four pirates in a life boat. The US seems unwilling to use force against them, which really annoys me. Anyway, I think there is an easy way for the US special forces to take down the pirates in this particular case. They should assemble a team of Navy SEALs with scuba gear and one of their stealthy boats. After nightfall, they have the boat quietly motor to within a few hundred yards of the life-boat. Then, the SEALs slip into the water and swim to the life-boat. They probably have night vision devices that they can use in the water(they certainly should). The team positions themselves around the boat just under the water. At a planned signal, they all pop up around the boat and shoot the pirates. Problem solved.
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From what I have heard about SWAT rescue night shootings I wouldn't give the captured captain much of a chance of survival.
the sea is pretty hard on people. I'm pretty sure the easiest way to solve this one will be to just wait until the pirates are starving and thirsty and willing to surrender for a drink.
Eddie Rickenbacker wrote in his autobiography of his 24 day stint in a rubber boat during WWII and it sounds really not-fun.
Sand, most SWAT shoot-outs are in houses or buildings with multiple rooms and furniture, which complicates things. The pirates are in a small open boat. It would be very quick.
The US seems to be taking hrench's approach. But at last report, another team of pirates are bringing another highjacked ship, with hostages, to try to pick up the guys in the life-boat. Things could get really dicey if we wait until they arrive. The longer we let the pirates do as they please, the worse the situation will get for us.
Personally, if I was the hostage in that situation, I would prefer the SOF tried a rescue than leave me adrift with the pirates. A rescue attempt might get the hostage killed, but doing nothing might too. I'd rather die in a rescue attempt than die without one.
IMHO - What you suggest may work in the movies - in real life not so fast… The lifeboat is covered and the portholes closed. They are several hundred miles offshore - not exactly calm waters. So surround and shoot is not a viable option. What do you shoot at?
These pirates are a pretty fatalistic bunch and life in this region of Africa is cheap. A better Special Forces option may be to send a minisub or ROV to quietly hole the boat at night forcing the pirates into the water. At that point SEAL divers can use their superior swimming ability and airtanks to retrieve the captain and capture the pirates with no shots fired.
I saw pictures of a small open boat with five men in it in the news reports. I assumed that was the four pirates and the captain. However, it appears that that may have been just the pirates during an attack. I haven't found any info about what the lifeboat really looks like. I don't even know if it's an inflatable. If you have a link please post it. If it is covered as you say, then it might not be possible.
I also thought about sinking the boat, but the pirates will then cling to the captain even more desperately, which could make things even trickier. If the boat is covered, the captain might be trapped and drown, esecially if he is tied up. Still, it's an interesting option.
I know my suggestion sounds pretty Hollywood, and I don't know if it can work. But we have guys like the SEALs who train to do stuff like this. Maybe not exactly this, but close. I'd like to give them a shot. There are no guarantees no matter what we do. I just don't think that we should handle pirates in such an impotent fashion. It sends a bad message.
Well, the Navy took out the pirates with snipers. It wasn't the way I suggested, but it worked and I'm very happy.
your idea seems to overcomplicate things, all they really need to do is get the pirates off the small boat, then they cannot fight back from the water, a flash-bang grenade, or a similar device with longer range should do it, or even a fuel-air bomb, everyone would be burned, including the hostage, but not badly assuming they jump overboard fairly quickly. And if the hostage's life is the main concern, waiting them out is stupid, because the hostage is sure to suffer, and pobably starve or dehydrate before any of the pirates.