The Pirates of the Yellow Sea were in action again this week and the ROK Coast Guard decided to use warning shots to disperse them:
Two Chinese fishing boats, which were seized while illegally fishing in South Korean waters in the West Sea, arrive in the port of Incheon, west of Seoul, on Nov. 2, 2016. South Korea’s Coast Guard fired warning shots with an M60 machine gun to capture the vessels earlier in the day. No Chinese fishermen were injured and nothing was damaged. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s Coast Guard said Wednesday it has launched an investigation into two Chinese fishing vessels that were captured with the help of a large gun after the fishing boats illegally operated in the country’s exclusive economic zone earlier this week.
The boats were brought into the western port city of Incheon Wednesday afternoon. They were captured a day earlier in the Yellow Sea after the Coast Guard fired a M60 machine gun in warning.
The authorities said the gun was used to fight off some 30 other fishing boats nearby that interfered in the Coast Guard’s attempt to seize the two vessels, with some even threatening to collide with the patrol boats. No Chinese fishermen were injured and nothing was damaged in the process, according to the authorities.
The decision to use the weapon was made to safeguard the officers who had already boarded the Chinese vessels, and would have been cut off if other Chinese vessels succeeded in ramming the patrol boats that took part in the seizure operations, the Coast Guard said.
The Chinese boats had iron bars installed around the hulls and the gates to the steering house were closed to avoid entry, the authorities said.
The Coast Guard said it will interrogate the two captains and some 20 other crew members from the vessels to find out the details of the illegal fishing. It will also look into their relation with the other boats that got away. [Yonhap]
I think it’s a question of scale. When I first joined the Navy, and weighed in at a whopping 130lbs, I was assigned to the M60 mount on the port bridge wing. We had to perform an at-sea rescue of some Iranians who’s ship had capsized as they moved cargo below decks of their vessel. Since we didn’t know who was who in the Persian Gulf, my Chief said, “MTB! Grab the 60, and get set up on the missile launcher, above the fantail.”
“Aye-aye, Chief!”
I grabbed the weapon, which still had the pintle mount attached underneath, 200 rds of 7.62, and hustled to the missile launcher.
Humping that weapon, pivot mount, ammo in a can, flack jacket and helmet down two ladders and just a few hundred feet gave me GREAT RESPECT to any Army guys having to hump that heavy b*stard through the jungle! It was a “Large Gun” to me that day.
I read an earlier article, saying the ROK had given the Coast Guard permission to use crew-served weapons. I guess you could have two guys on the M-60 as you do on the M2 .50 cal: one firing and one running ammo. I know I didn’t have the size and strength to “Rambo” the M-60 from a standing position, a belt of 7.62 wrapped around my forearm… And I don’t remember many Koreans who could either.
You can put a lot of rounds down range with an M60 … but they would probably just bounce off the hull of one of these fishing ships … need to up the ante and go with a .50 cal. That would scare the shit out of the boat captains.
Most of the Chinese fishing ships pics are of wooden hulled vessels. 7.62 would blow big holes through that easily enough. Might take a while to sink, but 4B/1Tr would start more than a few fires onboard.
As for the steel hulled boats, I’m sure a few rounds through the pilot house would cause a bit of hate and discontent. Not the strawberry jam of an AT round through the hull of a T-72, but enough to get the point across.
The hulls are maybe 1/4 in steel skinned, possibly thinner. The Pilot House is maybe 1/8th in, mostly to keep the weather out.
Still, the Puddle Pirates are more of a Police Force than a Military Force. It’s not really their job to lock horns with the Chinese Fishing Fleet. A whiff of grapeshot across the bow should be more than enough to let the Chinese know that the days of stealing from South Korean waters is coming to a screeching halt.
I based my comment about the boats in the picture – which appear to be steel hulled. If they shot at the pilot house, they might kill someone – which I am quite sure they don’t want to do. But hearing a few rounds ricochet off the hull would definitely get their attention and get them to think hard about whether it would be worth it to continue to resist. It sounds like all they did was fire several hundred rounds into the air/water.
Yeah regular people you don’t need heavy firepower to get them to clear out, just something going “ping ping” off the walls is enough. Those b4st4rds down range though were thick headed and if you didn’t bring in at least a 240B or even better cruise the area in a Bradley with a Bushmaster they just weren’t getting it.
“The Bushmaster, a soldier’s cure for restless nights.” 😉
The M60 is a large gun? Is it a new M60 or just a machine gun?
I think it’s a question of scale. When I first joined the Navy, and weighed in at a whopping 130lbs, I was assigned to the M60 mount on the port bridge wing. We had to perform an at-sea rescue of some Iranians who’s ship had capsized as they moved cargo below decks of their vessel. Since we didn’t know who was who in the Persian Gulf, my Chief said, “MTB! Grab the 60, and get set up on the missile launcher, above the fantail.”
“Aye-aye, Chief!”
I grabbed the weapon, which still had the pintle mount attached underneath, 200 rds of 7.62, and hustled to the missile launcher.
Humping that weapon, pivot mount, ammo in a can, flack jacket and helmet down two ladders and just a few hundred feet gave me GREAT RESPECT to any Army guys having to hump that heavy b*stard through the jungle! It was a “Large Gun” to me that day.
I read an earlier article, saying the ROK had given the Coast Guard permission to use crew-served weapons. I guess you could have two guys on the M-60 as you do on the M2 .50 cal: one firing and one running ammo. I know I didn’t have the size and strength to “Rambo” the M-60 from a standing position, a belt of 7.62 wrapped around my forearm… And I don’t remember many Koreans who could either.
You can put a lot of rounds down range with an M60 … but they would probably just bounce off the hull of one of these fishing ships … need to up the ante and go with a .50 cal. That would scare the shit out of the boat captains.
Most of the Chinese fishing ships pics are of wooden hulled vessels. 7.62 would blow big holes through that easily enough. Might take a while to sink, but 4B/1Tr would start more than a few fires onboard.
As for the steel hulled boats, I’m sure a few rounds through the pilot house would cause a bit of hate and discontent. Not the strawberry jam of an AT round through the hull of a T-72, but enough to get the point across.
The hulls are maybe 1/4 in steel skinned, possibly thinner. The Pilot House is maybe 1/8th in, mostly to keep the weather out.
Still, the Puddle Pirates are more of a Police Force than a Military Force. It’s not really their job to lock horns with the Chinese Fishing Fleet. A whiff of grapeshot across the bow should be more than enough to let the Chinese know that the days of stealing from South Korean waters is coming to a screeching halt.
I based my comment about the boats in the picture – which appear to be steel hulled. If they shot at the pilot house, they might kill someone – which I am quite sure they don’t want to do. But hearing a few rounds ricochet off the hull would definitely get their attention and get them to think hard about whether it would be worth it to continue to resist. It sounds like all they did was fire several hundred rounds into the air/water.
I’m on board with that. Get it? Heh…
Anyway.
Yeah regular people you don’t need heavy firepower to get them to clear out, just something going “ping ping” off the walls is enough. Those b4st4rds down range though were thick headed and if you didn’t bring in at least a 240B or even better cruise the area in a Bradley with a Bushmaster they just weren’t getting it.
“The Bushmaster, a soldier’s cure for restless nights.” 😉