This new prototype anti-piracy device whips around like an out of control fire hose because that's pretty much what it is. The high-pressure spray from the hoses along with sinkers attached to the bottom keeps marauding pirates guessing where the sting is going to come from.
That sort of puts a hitch in unauthorized plans to board, doesn't it?
The hoses are just one part of a non-lethal anti-piracy system — or "Anti-Piracy Curtain" — created by Japanese companies MTI and Yokoi. The first stage of their system uses a ship's firefighting water pumps to release a torrent of pressurized water off the side. In addition to likely knocking over anyone waving a gun or RPG, the water also ingeniously fills the pirates' boats at a rate of about a centimeter per second.
If a sinking boat isn't enough, then the high-pressure hoses are released. These long hoses, weighted with sinkers whip and coil around as the water is forced out. The unpredictability of where the water and weights might land makes it pretty hard for the pirates to mobilize.
This two-fold attack on pirates is a measure to combat the increase in pirate attacks around the world — and specifically around the Horn of Africa where armed hijackings and kidnappings are on the rise. With commercial vessels unable to bear arms it gives sailors and crew a fighting chance.
It's not clear when or how this system might be rolled out, but given the show put on in the video, it seems like something that major shipping lines might want to look into.
Those sinkers look pretty freakin' wicked.
Via PopSci
That sort of puts a hitch in unauthorized plans to board, doesn't it?
The hoses are just one part of a non-lethal anti-piracy system — or "Anti-Piracy Curtain" — created by Japanese companies MTI and Yokoi. The first stage of their system uses a ship's firefighting water pumps to release a torrent of pressurized water off the side. In addition to likely knocking over anyone waving a gun or RPG, the water also ingeniously fills the pirates' boats at a rate of about a centimeter per second.
If a sinking boat isn't enough, then the high-pressure hoses are released. These long hoses, weighted with sinkers whip and coil around as the water is forced out. The unpredictability of where the water and weights might land makes it pretty hard for the pirates to mobilize.
This two-fold attack on pirates is a measure to combat the increase in pirate attacks around the world — and specifically around the Horn of Africa where armed hijackings and kidnappings are on the rise. With commercial vessels unable to bear arms it gives sailors and crew a fighting chance.
It's not clear when or how this system might be rolled out, but given the show put on in the video, it seems like something that major shipping lines might want to look into.
Those sinkers look pretty freakin' wicked.
Via PopSci
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