Paul Jay's Ponderings

1. Get some bait boats. Second hand commercial freighters/tankers should do.
2. Staff them with merchant marine type folks for normal operations.
3. Have the boats declare some juicy cargo on a stopover in a country like Egypt or Morocco, or in any mideastern country if going the other way. Stay in port long enough for word to travel, etc. Do actual trade and commerce, so it blends in with normal shipping.
   
4. Register it under a smaller/newer NATO country. (Or some third world country if you can get them to agree to it.)
   
5. Somewhere on the ship, deploy a security team of SEALs/SAS/etc. Basically any NATO special ops team who could counter an attack without blinking.
6. Equip the security team with 50 cals and light arms sufficient for the job.
7. Somewhere in 50mi radius, have a follow up Navy ship or two. It should have armed Seahawk or Cobra helicopters ready to deploy on call.
8. Sail bait ship close enough to Somali waters.
   
9. Other tactics and procedures for maritime operation "rope-a-dope" TBD...

It should be obvious enough, and a quick way to end the problem. Also I'd suggest to moderate the resistance at first (so it's not overwhelming) such that the pirates call for their backup to take the "prize". That way there's more of their boats coming at the bait when the helicopter gunships arrive. Once the Somali pirates are in the trap, the special ops team can deploy from the freighter at full proficiency.

A smart admiral should get on this and bring it before Pentagon staffers and NATO consul so this problem can be nipped in the bud. The U.S. Navy looks kind of silly if it's patrolling the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, yet allowing this kind of pirating shit to happen nearby.

Labels: africa, commercial shipping, pirates, problem