having been a dock guard on land at this exact scene (exeleon plant for distrigas) i can tell you that the hub-bub around the lng tanker is all smoke and mirrors. a terrorist attack on the lng tanker would not be as devastating as they would have you believe. this liquid is cooled to -400 f and will not explode. if it were attacked and blown up by explosives there would a fair amountof shrapnel so the guys in the coast guard boats, and the land guard at the dock would have a bad day, but the worst case scenario is a rather large fire on the water.
@Stingers: Uhhhh, most gases, when made into liquid, HAVE to be kept cold, otherwise they revert back to their gaseous state, and/or when released from the tank, achieve that cold. Think about opening a CO2 tank, which is usually liquid CO2, and how cold that is.
@Titus_Andronicus: Uhhh, correct me if I am wrong, while yes, the gas itself might not explode, when it reaches the proper Fuel-Air Ratio, which it would if a tank was breached, then it in essence is a huge FAE, and is VERY devestating.
I think the idea is the smaller boats have more maneuverability to scoot around and keep the Tanker from running into things near the harbor etc, not just to ward off pirates, right? I don't know though, I am currently in a landlocked state.
@switchblade saints: A boat that small could NEVER keep something that big from running into things. Usually, when near the harbor, the Captain must relinquish control to a "pilot" who brings the ship into port. This guy usually has at least 10+ years experience docking ships in his harbor, so he knows his way. They also have the turbo tugs, which are usually slightly larger than the boat shown, but can stop one of these tankers from going forward.
@switchblade saints: That boat is a 25 foot "Defender" class USCG utility boat that was designed as a direct response to the 9/11 attacks and the need of the USCG to provide better security in ports. That boat has the ability to mount M60 or M240 machine guns in both the bow or stern and are capable of speeds in excess of 45 knots. See [en.wikipedia.org] for details on it.
The way these LNG tankers are brought into Boston Harbor since 9/11, they create two layers of security around the tanker. The outer ring consists of a combination of various USCG, USCG Auxiliary, Boston Police, etc. boats. The inner ring consists typically of two or more Defenders. From what I understand the outer ring is meant to keep everybody away from the tanker as it traverses the harbor. They'll shoo anybody in the path of the tanker away and make sure nobody gets too close in back or alongside the tanker. If a boat ignores the outer security ring and makes an effort to encroach on the tanker for any reason whatsoever the Defenders have the authority to shoot them out of the water.
Why ask NATO for protection, no one is afraid of them. Ask the people in the protection business, The Mob, then pity the fool pirates who take the next ship, because they will be dead. And so will their brother. And so will his dog. And so will his dogs mother. And so will... (you get the picture).
Seems to me a precision strike to the bridge could end this quite quick, and send a message to other pirates. Blowing the shit out of the bridge shouldn't hurt the oil too much.
I still don't get why these ships don't carry heavily armed security. Seems like one deck mounted AAA gun would pretty much take these Mad Max style pirates out of action. Jeeze, Seems like just a couple of guys with 50 cals on the bridge wings could do the job of keeping these asses away from the shipping.
The big shipping concerns have already been asking for NATO support so that they can have armed escorts. The problem is that it's tough to get NATO to give a helping hand for this sort of thing, and at the same time, giving the coast a much wider berth significantly increases shipping time, fuel and supplies, thus raising the prices of whatever it is they're shipping.
As for going in to kill Somali pirates...it's easier to pay 3 million, than to risk several more million on valuable cargo, and of course, the very valuable ship.
@akashhhhh: From what I understand, the Pirates plan to invest the ransom in Madoff Investment Corp, buy an apartment on NY's Upper East Side, and spend more time with their families, the opera, and fundraising for the ASPCA.
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Like this?
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Or like this
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Isn't it awfully inefficient to cool the massive amount of liquid they carry to such a low temp?
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that is a great shot though.
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The way these LNG tankers are brought into Boston Harbor since 9/11, they create two layers of security around the tanker. The outer ring consists of a combination of various USCG, USCG Auxiliary, Boston Police, etc. boats. The inner ring consists typically of two or more Defenders. From what I understand the outer ring is meant to keep everybody away from the tanker as it traverses the harbor. They'll shoo anybody in the path of the tanker away and make sure nobody gets too close in back or alongside the tanker. If a boat ignores the outer security ring and makes an effort to encroach on the tanker for any reason whatsoever the Defenders have the authority to shoot them out of the water.
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Most things in here don't react too well to bullets.
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As for going in to kill Somali pirates...it's easier to pay 3 million, than to risk several more million on valuable cargo, and of course, the very valuable ship.
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