Last week an ancient issue resurfaced on the open seas off the Somali coast. The Saudi Arabian oil tanker, the Sirius Star, was pirated (read: hijacked) and its crew and $100M in crude oil cargo were all held for ransom. These massive oil tankers, brimming with black gold, and other cargo freighters have become easy pray for the
modern pirate. The slow moving, under-manned and unarmed merchant ships are poorly outfitted to stave off pirate attacks. The world's cargo fleets are at constant risk of hijacking.
According to
BBC News, Somali pirates alone have collected over $150M in ransoms over the past 12 months. With a
world tanker fleet of over 11,100 ships the problem is wide reaching.There is growing concern that piracy will become more and more common in the years to come not only to derive hefty ransoms but to also use certain vessels as floating weapons.
This situation grows even more troublesome when considering the scenario where a
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) tanker is hijacked. LNG is highly explosive when compared with crude. According to sources cited in the
L.A. Times if one of these tankers where hijacked and then detonated, the blast would be equivalent to 50 Hiroshima's. This risk clearly has grave consequences. The world economy nonetheless requires a steady stream of LNG and other fuels necessitating even greater numbers of tankers into the future. How can we secure tankers and our safety as a society?
What relevance does
Lucid Dimensions have with this issue? Lucid's technology provides a compelling anti-piracy solution. By strategically placing SDS units about the hull (stern, aft, port and starboard) or as a single mast-mounted spherical unit the crew is provided with "eyes" fixed in all directions 24/7. The SDS locates incoming threats, such as people or boats, alerts that location to a guard, and automatically points a high-zoom camera at the target for further recognition. The SDS can also automatically point high pressure water cannons at the boarding hijackers to provide a non-lethal deterrent.
The SDS is thermal detection system and is therefore ideal for operation in low visibility conditions such as night, fog, rain, and smoke. An SDS adds value as a collision avoidance system preventing mishaps with smaller friendly ships not seen with RADAR.
SDS Anti-piracy Benefits include:
- 360 coverage about the vessel for pirate threats
- 24/7 threat detection
- Thermal sensing sees through fog, rain, darkness, and smoke
- Eliminates the need for security guards on deck
- Automatically points high zoom cameras or countermeasure systems at targets
- Prevents collisions with smaller ships not seen on RADAR
Maritime security guards and systems are becoming more common in preventing and staving off pirate attack. These guards can be effective but constitute a considerable regular cost to the shipping company. Tools and technology are also being employed as passive and active deterrents.
Common Countermeasure Systems:- High pressure water cannon
- High intensity directional acoustic megaphone
- Barbed-wire
Not to make light of the situation but here's a pretty funny take on it all. "The Buccaneer Stops Here" by the Daily Show.
Other Maritime Piracy/Anti-piracy Related Links:
International Maritime OrganizationInternational Chamber of Commerce - Commercial Crime ServiceU.S. Naval Forces Central Command - 5th Fleet - Combined Maritime Forces Bloomberg.com
Ryan Riel, President and CTO of Lucid Dimensions, is presenting at the following conferences for the SPIE Defense Security and Sensing Symposium 2009: 
