There’s an old idea being kicked around lately as a way to beef up our combat presence on the high seas quickly by the issuance of letters of marque (pronounced mark) to private parties to take prizes (i.e. ships of hostile nations).
First, it’s in the constitution, as explained by the US Naval Institute. Here
Second, and I want to be very clear about this, those taking to the world’s oceans with letters of marque are not “pirates” (as some headlines scream) but private contractors or what was called at the time “privateers” and totally legit, at least to the nation issuing the letters of marque.
Third, there are couple of intriguing applications for this practice that’s as old as the nation itself.
Privateers could be assigned to intercept drug smugglers.
Another would be to use set them loose against China. Not to fight their warships should hostilities ever breakout, but to go after China’s commercial fleet as a means to cripple their means of funding their warfighting abilities. Here
I can see it now consortiums buying super yachts, rigging them out with military drones and hiring soldiers of fortune to crew these vessels as they scour the seas of China’s giant container ships.
Not everyone is keen on the idea, however. Here and Here
h/t Sandboxx
Some Russians offered ‘cruises’ 15 years ago where they would sail in pirate areas, bait the pirates, and then the passengers could shoot at them. Why not? Whether it’s the bounty hunter types or wealthy people with too much time and money, if it’s for good then why not?
“combat presents”?
A nuther Gen Z editor or “I can tell you depend on Grammerly”
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Fixed – Claudia
Thx – I wasn’t sure if it was the article or someone else.
Nothin personal of course!!
I constantly find that spell check obliterates prefectly spelled words.
I just sent a text to someone and Trying to find came out “Trunhafurf”!!
Where the F that comes from is a total mystery!!
@Harry – It’s called AU = “Artificial Unintelligence”…they used a “neural link” and tapped into joe bidepends’ brain.
That’s all me and I’ll make note not to do it again.
I was thinking if they were going to draw up letters of marque on drug dealers that I would rather intercept the cash shipments being moved out of this country rather than the drug shipments coming in. I doubt those smuggler submersibles have much market value other than maybe as an oddity and I know the authorities aren’t going to let you keep and sell the drugs.
We already do this. PMCs such as Blackwater. There are already private contractors on merchant ships in areas where pirating occurs (Africa).
Arrrrrrrrr 🏴☠️
I have a South African buddy that runs a security detail on a ship that sails in the gulf. He has snipers with Barret 50 cal and other guys on mini-gun and MRK-19’s. There are some serious shippers in the gulf.
All ships on the high seas should carry, at the minimum, 50 caliber machine guns and 5 inch artillery shells and guns. 20mm, too.
I woudn’t be a purser on a ship without the minimums.
And 12 gauges, M4s, 1911s, and cricket bats.
Rats on the courts will block it.
no doubt you see comments going around about martial law and all people of color will be abducted and disappeared I guess that’s a new word allday long, due process due process.Half of them probably don’t know what that means I’m all ready tired of it, always with a bit of old reliable whitey be waciss.just go home.
I like the approach the French (believe it or not) took a decade or more ago. They sailed an aging cargo ship through a pirate infested area. Sure enough a group of North African pirates boarded the vessel only to discover a well-armed group of French Special Forces aboard. I really wish there had been body cameras. The brief video would be very entertaining as the pirates haven’t been seen since.