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Mariners Develop High Tech Pirate Repellents
Hugh Pickens writes "NPR reports that owners of ships that ply the dangerous waters near Somalia are looking at options to repel pirates including slippery foam, lasers, electric fences, water cannons and high-intensity sound — almost anything except guns. One defense is the Force 80 squirt gun with a 3-inch nozzle that can send 1,400 gallons a minute 100 yards in any direction. 'It is a tremendous force of water that will knock over anything in its path and will also flood a pirate's ship very quickly,' says Roger Barrett James of the the Swedish company Unifire. Next is the Mobility Denial System, a slippery nontoxic foam that can be sprayed on just about any surface making it impossible to walk or climb even with the aid of a harness. The idea would be to spray the pirate's vessel as it approached, or to coat ropes, ladders, steps and the hull of the ship that's under attack. The Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, a high-powered directional loudspeaker allows a ship to hail an approaching vessel more than a mile away. 'Knowing that they've lost the element of surprise is half the battle,' says Robert Putnam of American Technology Corp. The LRAD has another feature — a piercing "deterrent tone" that sounds a bit like a smoke detector alarm with enough intensity to cause extreme pain and even permanent hearing loss for anyone directly in the beam that comes from the device. But Capt. John Konrad, who blogs for the Web site Gcaptain.com, says no anti-pirate device is perfect. 'The best case scenario is that you find these vessels early enough that you can get a Navy ship detached to your location and let them handle the situation.'"
Why in heaven's name play patty-cake with pirates? You're going to piss them off with loud sounds and a water hose, and they have GUNS? Someone really thought this was a good idea?
If you're not going to repel them decisively, raise your hands and give them what they want. You'll be treated better. Hopefully your family can afford the ransom.
Spraying a water hose at pirates with guns. I want to see that when it goes up on youtube. They must think we're morons. They might even be right.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
...the Ninja!!! True ultimate power and all that jazz.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
One defense is the Force 80 squirt gun with a 3-inch nozzle that can send 1,400 gallons a minute 100 yards in any direction.
Oh yeah, They must feel pretty safe bringing a water cannon to a gun fight. Do they get Super Soakers in case the pirates manage to get on the ship?
100 yards. Hmm, let me see here. The effective range of an AK-47 is rated at 400m, though it can kill you out to about a kilometer on a lucky shot. Then we have the RPG-7, which has an effective range out to about 500m for stationary targets and 300m for moving targets. I'm not really sure what a container ship counts as in this context. Either a "mostly stationary" or "barely moving" target, I suppose. Call it 400m, then.
For comparison, the M-2 Browning machine gun has a rated effective range of 1800m.
Hudson: "How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?"
Give each ex-Marine an AR-15 and 500 rounds
Give each ex-Marine an m92 and 100 rounds
Give each ex-Marine full battle dress
Put 5 each on each ship
Pay them 50k per year
Pay extra 100k in insurance
350k per year per ship
Safety and dead pirates, priceless.
-- I am the NRA, enough said...
I've been both poor and homeless, and didn't steal rob murder or ransom. The only people who turn to crime are criminals.