Slashdot Mirror
Air Cannon Ties Pirates In Knots
Hugh Pickens writes "Numerous high-tech devices have been proposed to help ships cope with piracy on the high seas. Now a company has developed a ship-borne launching device that fires a net or coiled rope into the path of pirate vessels using compressed air with a range of up to a range of 400m. The payload net or rope, which has a parachute attached to the end, will unravel and lay out across the surface of the water so that as the pirate boat travels through the water its propeller shaft will pick up the line and become entangled. 'With the trials and testing we've done, it has taken us some 45 minutes to cut and disentangle the line from the propeller itself,' says Jonathan Delf. 'Within that time of course, the target ship is on its way and hopefully help has arrived in the form of naval forces or helicopter support.' The system can be fired up to five times off just a cylinder of air like a simple scuba tank." The video mentions that the device can also fire a payload of golf balls. The systems have recently been sold to "several large shipping companies that travel near the oil-rich Nigerian Delta, which, like the Somalian coast, is rife with piracy."
Queue the 1/2" kevlar rope! A quarter mile of the stuff ought to do the trick. The worst part about lines jamming the propeller is that the line gets coiled up in the space between where the propeller and the hull meet, and the motion causes the prop to pull the propshaft out of the boat (with the engine attached). This causes what's called a "through hull hole", aka an "oh shit!" circumstance, wherein the boat sinks as the engine room fills with water. The rope doesn't even have to be particularly strong to do this. This isn't as big of a problem for outboard motors (what the pirates use) but it does cause problems for them with fouled props, etc.
moox. for a new generation.
They can carry what they want (within reason - no nukes, etc.), it's when they get to port that the problems ensue. Some ports won't let them in, some will require a shit-tonne or paperwork, and some will require massively-lengthy customs checks that eats in to the profits of the vessel quite considerably.
The MV Sirius Star had a crew of just 25. The Knock Nevis, the longest ship ever constructed, had a crew of 40.
Pirates are not covered by the Geneva convention.
But, the next attempt to take the Maersk Alabama failed immediately...
BECAUSE THEY HAD SECURITY AND FOUGHT BACK.
And your point was?
Why is there an "insightful" mod and why isn't it "-1"? If I wanted insight, I wouldn't be reading
I served in the Navy on a supply ship at the end of the Gulf War. Non-rated seaman, oh joy.
Since we were a non-combatant ship, we only had a few GMs on board. As a result, the gun mount crews were mostly manned by us deck apes.
I was on a .50 mount as assistant loader. Every time we went to General Quarters we had to fully assemble the guns, which were kept in airtight lockers near the actual mount. Open the locker, remove the weapon, set it in place, slide in a half-dozen keyed pins, load and lock and you're ready to rock. Takes all of 60 seconds.
No salt-water corrosion problems at all, and our training was minimal.
Frankly considering the 1970's (Vietnam era) weaponry the pirates currently have, I don't think they stand a chance against the kind of weaponry a license holder can get in many countries. Many don't realize how much a difference modern weapons make. There are a decent number of fairly affordable choices that have an effective range of a mile. AKA-47's especially old ones wouldn't be able to hit a barn from more than 1000 meters same goes with RPGs. They would be dead long before there posed any threat. Even if they could afford to upgrade to more modern weaponry (say 80/90s stuff) you have the high ground, a vessel you know won't sink, and still almost certainly better guns. There are plenty of great reasons to have strict guidelines about guns on boats, but this is simply not one of them.