Saturday, April 10, 2010

2010 and We're Still Fighting Pirates

The pirates swarmed aboard from a motorboat in the early morning hours, first spraying the ship with AK-47 bullets and then propping against the side of the ship a ladder that looked to Capt. Phillips like something they had bought at Home Depot. The crew members fought back as best they could with knives and high-pressure fire hoses, and managed to capsize the pirates' boat, but not before the brigands had control of the Maersk Alabama—largely because they had guns and Capt. Phillips and his men did not.

Ship owners have been reluctant to let crews arm themselves against their pirate attackers, for insurance and legal-liability reasons. Capt. Phillips's own account leaves little doubt that, if there had a couple of M-16s or Winchester pumps onboard, he probably would not have been taken hostage and the Navy Seals could have stayed home.

Read the rest of Arthur Herman's review of the latest in pirate books here.

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