Sonic blast drives pirates away from chem tanker

14 November 2008 18:24  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--A British private-security force used a sonic blast to ward off Somali pirates from attacking a chemical tanker early on Friday near the Horn of Africa, the head of the security force said.

Nick Davis, a former British army pilot who said his company has teams of ex-special forces personnel working on six vessels in the Gulf of Aden, said the noise can cause permanent deafness within 50 metres.

The non-lethal weapon, already in use by US forces in Iraq, is a magnetic acoustic device (MAD) that broadcasts a targeted beam of sound for a more than mile (1.609 km). Davis said, within close range, the 186-decibel noise is excruciating.

"It's used a lot for riot control," he said. "It hurts your eardrums and sends you on your merry way."

Davis said this was the first encounter his company, Anti-Piracy Maritime Security, has had with the Somali pirates, who have made the Gulf of Aden by the Horn of Africa the most dangerous waters in the world this year.

The latest incident took place early Friday just 18 miles off the coast of Yemen, marking a tough week for chemical tankers transiting the perilous waters near the Horn of Africa.

Somali pirates on Wednesday succeeded in hijacking another chemical tanker, the Turkish vessel Karagol, off of Yemen near the Horn of Africa. On Monday, pirates in the Gulf hijacked the Stolt Strength, also going to India, with 21 Filipino crew members on board.

Davis said his firm has been swamped with inquiries in recent weeks. He added that he could not identify the name of the chemical tanker, only that it was a 150-metre long vessel.

Davis said as the pirates approached the tanker water hoses were turned on full blast and then the crew turned on the MAD.

“They closed to within 500 metres and then turned away to a ship that was due south of ours by approximately five miles," Davis said, quoted in Lloyd's List maritime newspaper.

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By: Lane Kelley
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