Mercenaries, Sonic Blasters No Match for Pirates

Here is an interesting bit of news that I picked up regarding the use of sound weapons to try deter the Somali pirates:

A team of three private guards from AntiPiracy Maritime Security Solutions (AMPSS) were aboard. They didn't have firearms -- it's "almost impossible to carry firearms through Customs and on to vessels in most countries," as the Times of London notes. But they did have a sonic weapon. The LRAD shoots out a concentrated blast of 150 decibels worth of noise; vessels have used the machine to send pirates running, before. The U.S. Navy already has 45 of the sonic blasters, and is in the market for more.

Full Story

But these pirates are made of much sterner stuff and merely spat in the face of this terrifying weapon:

The pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s at the weapon; the guards jumped off of the ship, and into the Gulf of Aden

So now we can conclude that pirates are tone deaf savages who prefer the quiet life - too much noise merely enrages them.

"What I am saying is that the pirates were basically laughing at our guys while shooting them out. LRADs don't work when they take an AK-47 round through them," APMSS principal Nick Davis tells Lloyd's List.

Most listeners of 70's concert rock regularly listened to heavy metal with very similar decibel levels and appeared to enjoy it - although the vast majority of these 70's rocker-types are in all probability stone deaf now.

How about some ideas for making a ship unboardable without using mercenaries or heavy weapons?
How about:
1. Electrifying the hand/guard rails?
2. raw sewerage cannons?
3. playing the Titanic theme by Celine Dion at max decibels

An amusing article I also found is that the US Navy has about 45 of these sound weapons or LRADs (Long Range Acoustic Devices) and a certain Admiral was pleading for their immediate deployment and use:

Fifth Fleet commander Vice Adm. Bill Gortney issued an "urgent" request for "nonlethal weapons that could keep cruisers and destroyers to keep small boats at bay," Navy Times reports. Fifth Fleet is the branch of the Navy that is currently dealing with the Somali pirate threat, among other things.

Link

The author of the article asks a pertinant question:

But what if the pirates get wise, and start wearing earplugs?

Well then, enter the next level of weapon:

Well, the Navy could ramp things up another few notches, and deploy on its ships the military's controversial pain ray, the Active Denial System.

I ask this what the heck is wrong with using good old fashioned gun powder? We are not dealing with crowd control here people! These are heavily armed men trying to take over ships worth millions of dollars.


[edit on 3-12-2008 by deltaalphanovember]

Originally posted by deltaalphanovember
2. raw sewerage cannons?

You would never get that one past the tree huggers - and rightly so I suppose, and I can't really see nice white cruise ships with sewerage cannons mounted fore and aft! - and that tanker the other week would only be crewed by less than 20 people - they don't 'produce' all that much (well depends on the ships chef I suppose) - and stocking up onther peoples fresh sewerage whilst in port just seems so wrong.

What about something similar to those pepper sprays? biodegradable and prob very cost effective - just have it in very concentrate form and mix it with sea water in the water cannon.

[edit on 3/12/2008 by Now_Then]

If they are looking for non-lethal weapons, maybe they could fire live sharks at them ... most pirates hate sharks (or so every movie I have ever watched tells me).

Or how about miniature heat seeking missiles ... ones that will home in on those noisy hot outboard motors and do just enough damage to wreck them.

The ideas I have are endless.

In the Second World War the Germans achieved lot of success with disguising 9 deadly warships to look like juicy merchant ships. In fact they sunk over a million tons of shipping.

Here is a link to a really good article on Armed Merchantment

The thing is with the concert goers of the 70's and today, listening to music at high db levels, is that they were/are not listening to frequencies above 20Khz. The typical human upper frequency hearing range is at about 23-25Khz.

Now you start getting into frequencies above 30Khz and then you got something that will drive not only humans nutz, but many animals too.

Go up into 120Khz and you can cause severe damage, even kill at that db level.


Cheers!!!!

I am all for blasting Celine Dion at these buggers but, perhaps this will work a little better.







There is also a good chance that the pirates are amped up on cheap drugs also. Much like the alleged Indian terror squad that was allegedly taking coc aine. If these guys are stoned enough, they wouldn't be bothered by much.

reply to post by jibeho


lol that reminds me of some movie where a guy stoned on acid was in ICU and started bopping to the rhythm of the ECG monitors... freaky man.

I wonder what is the "best" drug for use in war when you want your soldiers to feel invincible, feel no pain/fear/tiredness etc?

I am aware the US Government did/does a lot of experimentation on this - especially in the 60's and 70's.

I would imagine PCP would be a great drug if your desired outcome is uncontrolled rage. The dopers feel no pain and often have incredible strength while the drug is coursing through there system. Adrenaline overload.

The famous Rodney King in L.A. was apparently doped up on PCP when the cops tried to subdue him. He was unfazed by the tazer darts and it took multiple officer just to keep him down. Dealing with guys like this is a good reason to pony up on your sidearm caliber to a .40 or .45 to take these weasels down.

Originally posted by deltaalphanovember
In the Second World War the Germans achieved lot of success with disguising 9 deadly warships to look like juicy merchant ships. In fact they sunk over a million tons of shipping.

I love this idea, and it was, in fact, mentioned in another thread. But it's cheap, efficient and psychologically maiming as well as deadly. You take out a bunch of these scum in the first few waves...and with luck you disable their communications first. So...they just don't come home, and any tales that come out just scare the others away.

And if we've thought of it, figure it is already being prepared.

I just hope we get to watch the fun on Youtube.

reply to post by JohnnyCanuck


That's the smartest idea I heard in a long time. Lure the pirates and smoke them. Brilliant!

But, like I said in a separate thread, another effective way is to destroy the port cities and supply centers the pirates use. Without fuel, they won't travel far if at all. Adjacent waters (close to the shore) can also be mined.

Originally posted by buddhasystem
...another effective way is to destroy the port cities and supply centers the pirates use. Without fuel, they won't travel far if at all. Adjacent waters (close to the shore) can also be mined.

Two words...colateral damage. These clowns are based in communities, which, while thriving on the new cash injection, are also innocents in a hugely miserable corner of the world.

Nice thing about the 'honey trap' is it only targets those jackals that choose to attack.

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
Two words...colateral damage. These clowns are based in communities, which, while thriving on the new cash injection, are also innocents in a hugely miserable corner of the world.

I didn't say they should be carpet-bombed. Which, by the way, would have worked.

Nice thing about the 'honey trap' is it only targets those jackals that choose to attack.

It's not going to work outside of the first couple of tries. They'll wise up real quick, because their lives depend on it.

reply to post by buddhasystem


I have a huge problem with mines of all kinds. We are still trying to clean up the mess of mines from the 1st World War, never mind the latest war that left millions of landmines creating a whole new generation of innocent amputees.
World War II Era mine Found

reply to post by deltaalphanovember


I tend to agree.
Also, I didn't mean this in a massive sense like seeding all of the coastal line or anything.

okay, this might seem like a mad crazy idea, but why not allow the crews to arm themselves to the teeth.

[edit on 3/12/08 by pieman]

Originally posted by pieman
okay, this might seem like a mad crazy idea, but why not allow the crews to arm themselves to the teeth.

I'd say that the pirates out-gun most of what a merchant seaman could throw at them. Also...they're paid to run a ship, not fight bad guys. I can see your sentiment, though.

I was reading about the recent pirate attack of a cruise ship and wondered what in the hell a cruise ship was doing in those waters anyway. These pirates have been plastered all over the news outlets for months and now we have a cruise ship caught in the mix. Someone should be keelhauled for allowing the ship to sail in infested waters. The ship could easily sail out of range of the pirate assault dinghies.

I can only imagine that it is was a pirate watching cruise that was searching for rickety old galleons full of peg legged sailors. To many people watching movies instead of the news.

[edit on 3-12-2008 by jibeho]

[edit on 3-12-2008 by jibeho]

I just thought of a brilliant idea.... why not hire Samali Pirates to protect the ships going through the Gulf of Aden, Turn it from a den of thieves to a capatilist venture.

It's what America does best

And I'm being serious by the way.

I like the carpet bombing idea. The population supports the pirates, they bred the pirates, and I hear there's not enough food for the population anyways.

Kidding, just kidding.

What's wrong with renting 20mm Vulcan guns for fore and aft decks for the passage? Ought to turn those pirates right into chum.

Those non-lethal methods are a laugh! What idiot thought of that? The idea is to kill them all off and save a few worthwhile lives.

I vaguely recall that in the 1960's a country developed the habit of confiscating international fishing vessels near their territorial waters, making false claims for the purpose of generating revenue while discouraging fishing near their territorial waters.

Apparently, the fishermen hired a merc group, who somehow acquired an old PT boat, stripped her down, tuned her up, and fitted her with a false superstructure that looked like a fishing boat.

Sure enough, the country in question spotted the boat, and their low-flying Cessna guided the military boat to the "fishing vessel." At the right moment, the aircraft was instantly shot down as the false superstructure was discarded, and the "military" boat was sunk immediately under heavy fire.

The fishing fleets had no more problems.

A modern version should be no problem at all to replicate. It will take longer as there are hundreds of miles of shoreline for pirates to attack from, but a good alert crew with thermal imaging should never be surprised, and instead, provide the surprise.

If every time a pirate crew goes out and just disappears, in no time it will become a non-profession. But they've got to be smart, alert, and even set up some "ships" that have a few surprises built in. Including some of the cargo that can easily be lifted from the vessel.

We used to pull the bullets, shake out the gunpowder, and refill the cartridge with C-4 and reseat the bullet. We used to arm mortar rounds so that upon firing, they don't go anywhere, they just explode. Then there can be small transmitters installed in some popular items to see where this stuff is going. And of course, it's easy enough to fill a few cases with RPG rounds that don't fire, but will explode.

If you ever find yourself in a fair fight, your planning absolutely sucks.