Water Cannons for Protecting Ships from Pirate Attacks

Water cannons have been used for to protect ships from pirates with fairly effective results.

One problem with water cannons used for this purpose has traditionally been that the water cannons have not been specifically designed or placed to effectively protect the ships from pirates, but rather have been designed to protect them against fire.

Swedish fire equipment manufacturer, Unifire AB, has developed an "Anti-Pirate Water Cannon System" or APWCS, which is designed specifically to protect ships, non-lethally, from pirates. The system places the cannons strategically on the ship's perimeter in key locations that can aim at any pirates trying to gain access to the ship.

This system is remote controlled from the bridge and/or other safe location, allowing all persons to get off the deck and out of the path of bullets during a pirate attack. Moreover, the cannons are all programmed with an automatic recorded spray pattern that can be played in a loop at the press of a button. So, in a panic situation, one button pressed can still help protect the ship.

Unifire has devoted a web site to this system at PirateSafe.com.

I am interested in getting feedback from anyone who has used water cannons to defend against pirates and what that experience was like. How were the cannons located on the ship? How were they controlled? (Manually? Remotely?)