Pirates fire upon German Containership

[Andrew McAlpine]

Pirates shot bullet holes into a German-owned box ship

[Morten]

In my eyes, there is only one really effective solution to this problem and that is air support! The pirates have ventured so far out into the Indian Ocean that it is impossible to control them using navy vessels alone! What we need is for the large naval powers to deploy aircraft carriers with lots of big scary fighter aircrafts! I'm sure being buzzed by a Hornet could make even the most adamant pirates think twice before continuing an attack! If that doesn't work, I'm sure a couple of 20 mm rounds across the bow will be able to do the trick!

8 or 10 carriers should be able to cover most of the affected area with less than half an hour reaction time!

[maripaul]

Dream on!  You have no idea of the cost in money and manpower to deploy an aircraft carrier.  How many aircraft carriers does Denmark have?

[Morten]

That is a silly question - We have none, absolutely zero - and so what? This isn't a danish problem any more than it is a british, french, russian, american, indian or chinese problem - all countries with carriers. Carriers that basically just roam the globe with no intent or purpose. The money are spent whether they serve a purpose or not.

The problem is political more than it is logistical! The carriers are there and they are more than capable of carrying out this task. But using aircraft to spook the pirates is a big escalation and would involve a real mandate from the UN and the involved countries. And concentrating your most potent weapons in one place has always been seen as a precursor of war - and no country is really interested in going to war with Somalia as there is nothing to gain (and no well defined enemy).

But I think as this escalates even further - and it will - these people are only getting more desperate, we'll be seeing the escalation I am "dreaming" about!