Security

Sonic Blasters, Mercs vs. Somali Pirates?

In the wake of last week’s Somali pirate raid that nabbed a Ukrainian ship laden with weapons, an international naval flotilla is assembling to protect commercial shipping. But the roughly dozen warships slated to patrol the Horn of Africa in coming months are spread thin. "We’re not always there" when pirates attack, a Navy source […]

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In the wake of last week's Somali pirate raid that nabbed a Ukrainian ship laden with weapons, an international naval flotilla is assembling to protect commercial shipping. But the roughly dozen warships slated to patrol the Horn of Africa in coming months are spread thin. "We're not always there" when pirates attack, a Navy source told Danger Room.

"We're encouraging mariners to take necessary precautions," the source said.

What might that include? Guns are out of the question, said maritime consultant Tim Colton, due to legal problems with arming untrained mariners. That leaves nonlethal weapons as one alternative. Some of the wealthier shipping companies fit their vessels with sonic weapons and high-powered water cannons, as I explain in my new piece for Popular Mechanics. But those devices are "too expensive" for the smaller firms, according to Colton.

Colton said one U.S. admiral floated the idea of putting mercenary teams on commercial vessels to defend against pirate boardings. But this, too, "raises more legal issues than anyone could possibly count."

In short, there's no easy seaborne solution to piracy. Experts stress that ending piracy requires law and order on land, where pirates have their bases. But law and order for Somalia, which has lacked a functioning central government since 1991, is no doubt years and years away.

(Photo: via PopMech)

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