Latest possible use of privateering in naval operations

[Byzantion]

IMO, the problem of privatering in modern times comes from the lack of suitable targets.

First, as some already said, privateering would probably only occur during a war between 2 small countries.
For example, the USA would not issue letters of marque, why bother when they have the biggest navy in the world.

The second problem is targets.

Most of large commercial ships that could interrest privateers are owned by big internationnal shipping companies.
If there is any risk of their ships to be attacked by privateers, they will quickly transfer flag to sail under the protection of a major navy.
Like during the 19th century, there are 2 examples of flag transfer to place commercial ships under the protection of a major navy :
- During the American civil war, quite a few ships belonging to the US transfered flags to British Empire or French to become "invalid targets" for Confederacy privateers
- During the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, a lot of ships flew the British flag to avoid capture by the French blocade, as the French wouldn't dare capturing british flagged ships.

So there will be a serious lack of valid targets for the privateers.

The only case I can imagine where privateering could be used would be a war between 2 "small" countries that do not have a real navy and where at least one is very dependent on coastal shipping using "small" ships (*) that can't easily change their flag.

( * small being relative)

Maybe some Executive Outcome type of people during the Cold War ?

 

[Monk78]

Maybe some Executive Outcome type of people during the Cold War ?

It would be a useful tool to employ PMC by either side during the Cold War era small scale conflicts biggest advantage will be plausible deniability

 

[CalBear]

It would be a useful tool to employ PMC by either side during the Cold War era small scale conflicts biggest advantage will be plausible deniability

Plausible deniability - short hand for "Going to blow up in our face, embarrass us in front of the world, and likely end up with us in a war with some tiny ass country."

 

[Blue cat]

A few light or automatic cannons can be enough, after all privateer would not have reguar warships either.
Since most of the countries promised not to use privateers it would be hard to introduce some regulations. However, if those countries withdraw from the convention, I think the only limit will be practical. Installing anti ship missiles on a merchant ship would also require military grade radar etc. so not many countries could afford it.
ROE for privateers would also be hard to establish and enforce. If there are no witnesses, you can not accuse a Mozambique privateer of sinking a South African ship without warning. "We did warn them, they tried to run anyway, so we had to sink them. Unfortunatelyvthere were no survivors."
But one thing would be certain - actions of the privateers will be considered actions of their governments. Therefore if one country use a privateer against another, it is an act of war and privateers themselves are legitimate targets. You can not say: "but we did no attack them, that was a private intiative of some of our citizens." You can not say: "Our civilian ship was cowardly attacked by Navy X while it was minding his own business harassing merchant ships of the country X". If a privateer has a letter of marque from a government, he is an agent of that government, and that government is responsible for anything a privateer does. Otherwise it is a piracy.

Yeah.. I suspect even a few .50 Cal MG's with API ammo (and a captain and crew willing and able to use them) would deter many if not all pirates, privateers etc. (I seem to recall a comment from an a naval officer a decade or so ago advocating merchant ships having heavy machine guns in certain high risk areas..)

 

[Monk78]

Plausible deniability - short hand for "Going to blow up in our face, embarrass us in front of the world, and likely end up with us in a war with some tiny ass country."

We have been there and done that
And so have most big powers in recent history

 

[CalBear]

We have been there and done that
And so have most big powers in recent history

And almost always get caught. Often with disastrous results. To wit:

Bay of Pigs begat Soviet Nuclear weapons in Cuba begat the Cuba Missile Crisis that camejustthisclose to a full nuclear exchange. It also led, almost directly, to the arms race that wound up with 90,000 deliverable nuclear weapons on launch minus 30 for two decades.

Little Green Men in Crimea begat mass sanctions against the Russian Federation and a reborn Cold War between NATO and Moscow begat ???

I would judge those results to be sub-optimal

 

[UniversalCommons]

I think nations can bring documentation for sinking enemy ships before a prize court. This would not be individual ships crews getting moneys, but other nations getting bounties for sinking ships. Lets say you are North Korea and you have a midget sub and you sink fishing vessels and merchant vessels which enter a countries territorial waters. I think that a court could give them prize money.

Some countries have vessel sinking policies.

 

[Sanderford]

In theory you could do so today, but practically I'd have to say around the 1940s.