Pirates. Facts & Non-Lethal Pirate Fighting Weapons & Technologies

The piracy problem is on the rise and is not going away any time soon. Commercial and private ships and yachts face significant risk of attacks by pirates in certain "hot spots".

According to the ICC International Maritime Bureau's Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships Annual Report for 2008, there were 293 reported attacks in 2008. Two-thirds of all attacks took place in the following areas:

• Gulf of Aden (92 attacks)
• Nigeria (40 attacks)
  
• Indonesia (28 attacks)
• Somalia (19 attacks)
• Tanzania (14 attacks)
• Bangladesh (12 attacks)
  
• Vietnam (11 attacks)
  

A significant problem in dealing with this problem is that pirates typically have and use firearms and weapons. At the same time, for a number of legal and policy reasons, commercial and private vessels are effectively prevented from having weapons on board. They must, therefore, rely on non-lethal means of self-defense and deterrence. As a result, it becomes extremely important for ships passing through high-risk waters to be fully prepared for possible pirate attacks.

While no single method can guarantee success, there are a number of technologies that can, particularly when combined together, provide a ship with advance warning of a possible attack, allowing them to take precautionary measures and prepare to defend themselves if evasive action cannot be achieved.

One major component to such systems is the water cannon, known traditionally to be an effective, yet non-lethal, means of protecting ships.

Swedish firefighting equipment manufacturer, Unifire AB (Unifire.com), has taken its advanced, remote-controlled water cannon technology and developed a system to protect ships against pirates. The company has a web site devoted to the system at PirateSafe.com and an overview of the system is presented in the video presented below, as well as in a number of other video clips on the PirateSafe web site.

The system is comprised of an advanced, fully remote-controlled network of the Unifire "Force" series stainless steel water cannons (also called "monitors" in the firefighting industry).

The APWCS control system, called the "Unifire Control System" or "UCS", allows all cannons, valves, video and other peripherals to be controlled from a single (or multiple) safe, remote locations, such as the ship's bridge and/or other safe location.

The system works with infrared and/or standard video cameras placed behind each cannon for remote viewing from the perspective of each cannon. The video is fed to the UCS, where the operator can see and control each cannon on the system. The system can also be combined with high-intensity spot lights and other devices, including the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device).

The operator of the APWCS can control from the UCS any one of the cannons, or multiple cannons, or all cannons simultaneously. The system also features the ability to pre-program each cannon in a unique spray pattern to automatically protect it's area of the ship in case of an emergency or a lack of ability to manually operate the cannon remotely. This is achieved by simply selecting the cannon (or cannons) the operator wants to deploy in automatic mode, then pressing a single "Play" button. The operator can then control another cannon while the other(s) are in their automatic protection mode. The operator can also take over operation of a cannon in automatic mode at any time.

The water cannons themselves, called "Force™ monitors" are made of marine-grade stainless steel, and come in two size ranges. The Unifire Force50™ has a capacity of 400-2000 liters per minute (up to 530 gpm) with a maximum reach of approximately 65 meters (71 yards). The Unifire Force80™ has a capacity of 2000-5000 liters per minute (up to 1320 gpm), with a maximum range of 90 meters (100 yards). Both cannons can operate a pressures of up to 12 bars (175 psi).

Because the cannons are made of acid-proof, marine-grade stainless steel (type 316), they can accommodate use of sea water, as well as foams, dyes, and other chemical additives. The entire system, therefore, taps right into a ship's existing water supply for other onboard systems, such as for firefighting.

Unifire is now working with companies that integrate the Anti-Pirate Water Cannon System with third-party products (cameras, lights, etc.) and which are therefore able to supply turn-key solutions to ships. To find out more contact sales @ unifire.com.