PREDICTABLE derision has greeted the announcement that BAE Systems has developed a laser system capable of disorienting pirates from up to a mile away. ‘Shiver me, er, lasers?’ is the headline on the Time website, for instance, while once security issues blog quips: ‘Weaponized laser beams: pirates may need to invest in eye patches.’
Fortunately, there were no references to Jim Lad, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, pieces of eight or fifteen men on the dead man’s chest in the accompanying articles.
An official of the UK defence giant explains: “We are using the laser as a kind of dummy sun that we can hide the vessel behind. As you go up in power with a laser, you get to a point looking at it creates a big bright light that dominates everything in your field of view.”
Apparently, all that is necessary now is the go ahead from the United Nations, and the kit will be on sale to everybody from yachties upwards. That will sort our the men from the boys in Hobyo and Harardhere, always assuming that they cannot get their hands on a secondhand pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers.
In the circumstances, we must be glad that there was little wider publicity for a story in the Scotsman about a year ago, which revealed that a Scottish firm had developed some kit calculated to make attackers vomit, even at a range of up to two miles.
Those who follow such matters will remember the hype surrounding so-called long-range acoustic devices a couple of years back. LRADs worked by projecting a concentrated beam of sound reaching 140 decibels at hapless assailants.
That is only marginally louder than the Ramones and Motorhead gigs many good respectable middle-age folk attended in their 1970s youth, and cunning pirates have countered their impact by the fiendish expedient of donning ear protectors.
Fixed rotating water cannons, working on a ‘Gatling hose’ principle, are another option. All of this is before we get to such old favourites as electrified fencing and using old beer bottles to improvise Molotov cocktails, a tactic adopted by a Chinese crew on at least one occasion.
Increasing numbers of ships are cutting to the chase and installing armed guards anyway. I hear tell that mercenaries are now travelling on around 15% of all ships going anywhere near Somalia, with that number on the rise of late.
I would be the last person to knock a technological quick fix to the piracy problem, especially one that was cheap enough to convince stingy shipowners to shell out some money to by it. But whether the BAE laser provides a silver bullet remains to be seen.
One Comment
I still believe that solution for piracy is on shore and not at sea. If international community through UN sends troops in Somalia to support Somalia’s fragile transitional federal government peace may be established. Once that is done it is time to rebuild and stabilize the economy of the country.
At present situation the navy vessels in Indian Ocean cannot always prevent piracy attacks. They are of great help but there should be much more ships like Mistral or Hyuga helicopter ships to protect and cover such huge area where the pirates make business. Even HMS Arc Royal could help international community in fight against pirates.
It is absurd to read in 21st century the stories where pirates attack even cruise ships. Let me remind you what happened in April of 2009 when Somali pirates approached Italian cruise ship MSC Melody. The captain of the ship doused the vessel’s lights and tried to outrun the pirates. Undeterred, the pirates managed to fix a grappling ladder to cruise ship and began to board. At that moment they were hit by a stream of saltwater, directed by crewmen who had remained hidden as the pirates approached the darkened ship. Once the security guards of MSC Melody opened fire with pistols, the pirates retreated and abandoned the cruise ship.
Those who think that a safe room (citadel) is solution for piracy are very wrong because the pirates will start using the explosives.
More and more ship owners have begun to use the armed professional guards on their ships, but there is a big question of liability for ship operators, ship owners and crew members, especially in cases for example when guards open fire on a small craft engaged in nonthreatening activities.
To solve piracy problem of countries like Somalia we just need political will. Time is not anymore our friend and piracy will not go away by itself.