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Friday, November 21, 2008

Tech Sound Defense

Posted by Grant Brissey on Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 9:13 AM

What if the pirates get earplugs?

The piracy problems of shipping firms running through the Gulf of Aden and down Africa's east coast have been thrown into the spotlight this week by the seizure of the Saudi Arabian super-tanker Sirius Star.

But help could be at hand in the form of a long range acoustic device (LRAD) — hooked up to a humble MP3 player.

About the size of a domestic satellite dish, LRADs blast the target with a precise beam of sound — warning messages, noises, sirens — which can be turned up to excruciatingly painful levels should an attacker get too close.

British private firm Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS) hires out three-man teams of ex-military personnel bearing LRADs on ships and has been inundated with work as the piracy problem off Somalia worsens.

"You'll be in absolute agony," APMSS chief executive Nick Davis, a 38-year-old ex-army man, told AFP. "They're loudhailers that are coupled up to an MP3 player. It's very effective up to 1,000 metres and excruciating if you get within 100 to 200 metres if it's at full power. It would give you more or less permanent hearing damage."

With close to 100 attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean this year, pirates pose an increasing threat to international trade.

Heavily in demand, APMSS will have its full complement of 10 three-man security teams operating on ships in the Gulf of Aden next week.

Via AFP

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Comments (12) RSS

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i am not against this on principle, but i thought sound weapons were banned by treaty...like, dating back to WW1.

Posted by Shoe on November 21, 2008 at 9:21 AM

Just add a couple of AK-47's to the side of each dish, and you've got something worthwhile.

Posted by Banna on November 21, 2008 at 9:22 AM

behold the future of crowd control in murka.

Posted by maxsolomon on November 21, 2008 at 9:22 AM

As sound ammunition, I recommend Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion's duet, "Tell Him."

Posted by Bub on November 21, 2008 at 9:22 AM

Industrial-grade ear-muffs are the new eye-patch.

Posted by flamingbanjo on November 21, 2008 at 9:29 AM

He's an ex-army man?

(@1 Law enforcement uses banned weapons like expanding bullets all the time. That ban only applies to war. Which is why Bush needed so badly for terrorism suspects to not be considered lawful combatants.)

Posted by elenchos on November 21, 2008 at 9:29 AM

My understanding is that earplugs don't help appreciably; the devices induce nausea.

There was an interview on Morning Edition a day or two ago with a guy who runs a company charging $30,000 per trip to put three ex-soldiers and a lot of nonlethal defensive technology on a ship. He was very clear about not wanting guns, pointing out that if his people make a mistake and shoot up a fishing boat, "now, you're the pirate."

Posted by Nat on November 21, 2008 at 9:45 AM

Since the link between the Number of Pirates and Global Warming http://www.venganza.org/about/open-lette… is well established, I see the increase in global piracy as nothing but a good thing.

Posted by kai on November 21, 2008 at 10:31 AM

Is this where I get to make the joke about how ironic it would be if the MP3s they were blasting were themselves obtained via piracy? Because that'd be pretty ironic. Pirates v. pirates!

Also, a joke about MP3s and MP5s.

Thank you, and good night.

Posted by Alicia on November 21, 2008 at 11:21 AM

WANTED: Guitar Hero Intern for Shipping Company.

Must play real loud and be willing to have spotlights from his/her on-boat performance shine out over the waves.

Experience with Gods of War and DOOM also a plus.

Posted by Naval Intern Position Sought on November 21, 2008 at 11:42 AM

Alicia, you're my hero.

Posted by Mr Fuzzy on November 21, 2008 at 12:30 PM

Attach GPS tracking devices to their pirate boats. Then kill the fuckers when they flee with the ransom.

Posted by Vince on November 21, 2008 at 1:00 PM