Sonic cannon versus pirates

There are more and more headlines of pirate attacks on freighters off the Horn of Africa. Many shipping companies are already thinking about equipping their ships with Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD), also known as sonic cannons, for defence against pirates. The world’s worst pirate hazard area will be a key issue again at MS&D 2009, as it was at the first MS&D (International Maritime Security & Defence Conference) in September this year.
The second international conference and exhibition on Maritime Security & Defence will be held at the Hamburg Fair Site from 6 to 8 October 2009. It will feature leading security experts of international standing from a range of navies, industrial companies, organisations and scientific institutions, to discuss current developments in maritime security. A special focus will be on the growing danger to world trade from modern piracy, and the threats from terrorist attacks on ships, ports and coastal regions, and illegal drugs and arms smuggling.
The Gulf of Aden is used for transit by about 16,000 ships a year, making it one of the major arteries of world trade. The threat by piracy is demonstrated by the recorded total of 97 pirate attacks in this area, that is 79 in the Gulf of Aden and 18 off the coast of Somalia, in the period from January to 1 December 2008 alone. These are the figures published by the Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which is established in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as a special department of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commercial Crime Services. As a result of the attacks, a total of 806 crew members were taken hostage. At the end of November there were still 14 freighters with 286 crew members in the hands of the pirates.
Some of the shipping lines are now choosing the longer and more expensive route around the Cape of Good Hope rather than face the risk of piracy. At the same time, rises in insurance premiums are making transportation more expensive.
The European Union has announced a concerted action against the pirates at the Horn of Africa, but many shipping lines feel that this announcement is not enough. “The shipping route around the Horn of Africa is just not safe at present,” says Dr. Hans-Heinrich Nöll, Executive Director of the German Shipowners’ Association. “We believe that the only way to restore the necessary security is to conduct a collective programme of action by the Community of Nations. We expect the fastest possible decision by the Federal Government and Parliament, to enable the German Navy to play an active role in combating piracy in the framework of the EU mandate.”
Niels Stollberg, Managing Partner of Beluga Shipping, whose freighter MS “BBC Trinidad” was captured by pirates in August and released only on payment of a ransom, calls for “general deployment of more warships in this region.” His view is that ships should assemble and then proceed in convoy through the Gulf of Aden, in a secure corridor with military protection. That means significantly more frigates would be needed. “The ideal would be convoys of about 50 or 60 ships, because then it would be possible to pass this area daily,” he suggests.
At the same time Beluga are making plans to equip their ships with LRAD. “We are currently examining whether to fit out a small number of the multi-purpose heavy freighters in our fleet with Long Range Acoustic Devices,” said a representative. Like Beluga, a number of other shipping companies have made inquiries to Ralf Lange, Sales Manager of Jabsco GmbH.
These LRADs are made by American Technology Corporation and cost about 65,000 euros each. They were originally designed as communication devices, and comprise a loud-speaker about the size of a satellite dish, which is capable of transmitting information, announcements or warnings in a directed beam of sound that can still be understood at a range of 2000 metres. The acoustic beam is painful at a sound pressure level of 150 decibels, i.e. if attackers get closer than 300 metres. Pirates in the “firing line” of this sound beam lose their orientation and are forced to break off their attacks. That is not just theory, as demonstrated by an attack by two pirate boats on the “Seabourn Spirit” a 134-metre luxury cruise vessel, off the Somalian coast on 5 November 2005. Although the pirates used assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades, the vessel was able to ward them off with an LRAD and managed to escape.
Cannot be sure
Even if shipowners route their freighters so as to avoid Somalian waters and the Gulf of Aden, they cannot be sure that their ships will be safe from pirate attacks. On 15 November 2008 the tanker “Sirius Star” was attacked and hijacked in the Indian Ocean, about 450 nautical miles South-East of Mogadishu. This blow took piracy to a new level. The “Sirius Star” is the largest vessel ever captured by pirates, with a capacity of 319,430 tonnes. The attack took place further from the coast than any before it.
That is particularly worrying for Captain Pottengal Mukundan, Director of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), who said “the distance from the shore would suggest a highly organised operation – this is not mere opportunism.”
The shipping lines suspect that the pirate vessels are systematically analysing factors such as cargo, route and destination port, with the help of an “Automatic Identify System”. The new strategy also involves the use of larger mother ships to direct operations and to launch the pirate speedboats. They can operate at a great distance from the coast. Captain Mukundan fears that this criminal phenomenon will get out of control unless tough counter-measures are taken. He was one of the main speakers on piracy at the first MS&D in September this year.