The Technograph

In 2005, the cruise ship Seaborne Spirit was assaulted by a pirate vessel off the coast of Somalia. Lacking firearms, the crew of the luxury ship used a device called a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) to repel the two ships armed with rifles and rocket propelled grenades (RPG). An LRAD is about the size of a large wok and contains multiple transducers that produce a focused sound wave that does not spread out as widely as conventional loudspeakers. They can be used to hail approaching ships at sea or control crowds in a riot, but they can also emit a high-pitched, intense drone. The threshold for pain is around 130db, but the LRAD can reach a damaging 151db. The intensity of this sound wave drops off the farther the target is from the device, but the manufacturer, American Technology Corporation, claims to be effective at 200 meters. It has also been used against the environmental group The Sea Shepard Conservation Society (featured in the Animal Planet program Whale Wars) by a defending Japanese whaling vessel. The sound can be deflected or partially dampened with earplugs, but the experience can still be uncomfortable.

The success of the crew on the Seaborne Spirit and the LRAD were major stories in print and TV news, but the attack on the palm oil tanker Biscaglia in 2008 was not. Three guards contracted through a private security firm were unable to defend the tanker with an LRAD against the RPG-equipped pirates. The guards were prohibited from carrying firearms onboard due to legal restrictions and their LRAD proved ineffective. Because of the restrictions, many ships rely on the growing international naval fleet that patrols high-risk areas. NATO and SCO countries, in addition to Korea and Japan, sent warships to watch dangerous routes, reducing attacks off Somalia. However, the increased presence led pirates to stage attacks in other waters, like the east coast of Oman. The International Chamber of Commerce reports that pirate attacks in the first six months of 2009 are more than double of that in 2008, 240 to 114. In addition, there were more incidents of violence against crew members when ships were successfully boarded.

Many hijack attempts are prevented by ships taking evasive maneuvers, but determined groups armed with RPGs in multiple speedboats can be too much for an LRAD operator. A more-effective, less-lethal weapon system is needed and Raytheon is attempting to fill that void. Raytheon has begun selling a commercial model of the Active Denial System, aka ‘the pain ray.’ So far, there have been few sales of the expensive unit and it has yet to be used against hostile subjects. Nevertheless, if attacks on multi-million dollar vessels continue to increase, pirates might have to swap earplugs for Faraday Cages.

Tagged with: pirates, weapons, warfare, battle, sonic