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Yachts and guns

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2017 1:54 pm
by D5CAV
I'm not much of a boat person. I have friends who have yachts, and those friends are gun people, so their yachts usually have some form of stainless steel or chrome plated long gun on board.

I'll ask them next time I see them, but this news item got me wondering: https://www.yahoo.com/news/philippine-i ... 49219.html

So German guy is on a yacht with his girlfriend. He sails near Somalia, not something I'd do unless I had a couple of .50 BMGs on my boat, and gets captured by Somali pirates. He and his girlfriend are held hostage for 2 months and freed after paying some large sum in ransom.

He continues his sailing trip. This time he gets captured by Muslim pirates off the Philippines. His GF gets killed and he gets captured. I guess his bank account was already depleted by his 2 months vacation in Somalia, so he didn't have the money to pay to save his head (so to speak).

If I have a registered MG in Florida, and set sail on my boat, what jurisdiction does ATF have once I sail out of the Florida Keys? As long as I don't dock in NYC, I'm in international waters.

So, if I have some death wish to go sail past Somalia, who cares if I happen to have a couple of M2HBs in a locker ready to stick on tripods on my bow and stern?

I'm thinking I could buy a lot of MGs and ammo vs. paying out a $600,000 ransom.

Re: Yachts and guns

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:58 pm
by Denis
I believe that most flag states treat vessels flying their flag as extensions of their national territory, regardless of where they happen to be. For example, if you were to commit a murder in international waters while aboard your US-flagged vessel, US law would probably apply to the investigation and to any charges.

By analogy, I suspect that BATFE would purport to continue to have jurisdiction over your MG once you pass the Florida Keys.

On the other hand, sailing pirate-infested waters without protection (at a minimum both the right hardware and kidnap insurance) is foolhardy, as those late Germans found out.

Re: Yachts and guns

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2017 5:44 pm
by randy
This thread brings back my longing for an MV Guncounter cruise....

A point of contention I have with FIL is that during their round-the-world cruise a few years ago, he mentioned how seriously the cruise line took piracy. They had (unarmed) lookouts and some sort of sonic annoyance device ready to go when they went through various infested straits in the Indonesia area.

My contention is that since they weren't mounting Ma-Dueces or miniguns, they were not really serious about it, just window dressing to keep the marks on board quiet.

Re: Yachts and guns

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:46 pm
by BDK
A) Cruise ships are pretty mum about security but ships masters have "interesting" laws about being armed.

Re: Yachts and guns

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 2:27 am
by McClarkus
Sorry to hear of his demise but I had to wonder whey he went back out for round #2.......

Re: Yachts and guns

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 4:21 am
by Jered
Carronades aren't considered "firearms" are they?

...and grapeshot is devastatingly effective.

Re: Yachts and guns

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 4:29 am
by Aaron
Now days your average cruise ship has a half dozen or so no shit trigger pullers and a dozen so other crew members with firearms training and appropriate hardware to match. At least that's what I was told when a an ex-mil friend pitched a job to me. As has been said, they keep that very much on the down low.

Re: Yachts and guns

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 2:19 pm
by Termite
BDK wrote:A) Cruise ships are pretty mum about security .......
I suspect it's much like the Big Mouse's security in Florida.

Re: Yachts and guns

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 8:55 pm
by Steamforger
I would think, with his preference for sailing around Somalia, that he would have access to MGs on the cheap.

Re: Yachts and guns

Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 12:04 am
by Malthorn
Who was standing watch in the pirate infested waters? Him or his girlfriend.