Ship Blasted Pirates With Sonic Weapon

[DoYouEverWonder]

November 7, 2005, 7:20 PM EST

MIAMI -- The crew of a luxury cruise ship used a sonic weapon that blasts earsplitting noise in a directed beam while being attacked by a gang of pirates off Africa this weekend, the cruise line said Monday.

The Seabourn Spirit had a Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, installed as a part of its defense systems, said Bruce Good, a spokesman for Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line. The Spirit was about 100 miles off Somalia when pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns as they tried to get onboard.

The subsidiary of Carnival Corp. was investigating whether the weapon was successful in warding off the pirates, he said. The ship's captain also changed its course, shifted into high speed and headed out into the open sea to elude the pirates, who were in two small boats, he said. He had no further details.

Device maker American Technology Corp. said earsplitting "bangs" were directed by trained security personnel toward the pirates. That, combined with ship maneuvers, caused the attackers to leave the area, the company said.

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/sns-ap-pirate-attack-sonic-weapon,0,4863906.story?coll=nyc-nationhome-headlines

Wow, a "non-lethal weapon" that was used properly and worked. This captain can sail my ship any day.

[ebal]

1. USS Cole

as long as the "pirates" aren't using the same method they used with the USS Cole in Yeman, you might have a chance.

[Don Claybrook]

16. Pirates usually want to steal stuff

So they don't normally blow up ships, at least not before they get what they're after.

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. They certainly have no problem

with terrorizing and even killing those on board the ships they attack. I use to be a live aboard and this is scary stuff. Out on the open water no one can hear you scream and if you end up in the drink, it unlikely anyone will ever find you.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[xultar]

2. I wonder if there will be beached dolphins or whales as a result.

I knew that ship had some sort of weapon. I truly believe that there are sonic weapons tests in the oceans that are causing animals to beach themselves.

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. This was used above water

So it shouldn't effect anything under water. However, if you have any dogs or cats around, I would imagine they would go nuts.

[msmcghee]

5. Sound from above the water won't . .

. . be a problem under the water. Sound doesn't carry nearly as far in air. It loses its energy quickly compared to sound generated underwater - like the sonar tests that are implicated in damage to whales.

In short - I doubt there'd be any real danger to underwater creatures from this sound beam in the air.

[acmejack]

12. I believe this is the whale killer

SURTASS Low Frequency Active (LFA) is a long-range active sonar designed to detect even quieter threats in the future. The LFA system includes a large source array for active transmissions and the array of the block upgrade as a separate receiver.

[Doremus]

14. Just read an article that beached dolphins, red tide, etc. may be caused

by ocean dumping of surplus biological and radioactive weapons. The US military did it for decades. As the containers deteriorate, they release their toxic contents into the surrounding water and innocent creatures swim into it. Contractors hired to take them out into deep water didn't always go out as far as they were supposed to.

:mad:

[jsamuel]

3. just one question: How many are going to be def?

I understand that this may not be popular, but if they wanted to use the same weapon for, say protestors...

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. Def is better then dead

and piracy at sea is a very serious problem. In the meantime, we might want to get some laws passed that prohibit using weapons like this in certain situations, say for instance, a peaceful protest.

[Vinnie From Indy]

6. It was just Rap music turned up really loud

Works every time!

[DBoon]

24. I thought it was heavy metal

played at its normal volume.

Volume setting 11.

[HeeBGBz]

7. Say what?

I want one of those and a $5 plasma weapon for xmas.

[WhiteTara]

8. is this the same cruise ship that there

were reports on a couple of days ago? Or is this brand new?

[DoYouEverWonder]

10. Same one

just more info about how they outwitted the pirates. Most of the time these pirating stories do not have a happy ending.

[WhiteTara]

11. ah yes, the slow uptake of the murikan press n/t

[Wilms]

13. Long range acoustic device

From Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_range_acoustic_device

[merwin]

15. That headline blows my mind!

:nuke:

[jseankil]

22. lol, I agree! /nm

nm

[nini]

18. A friend of mine who is a cruise line captain told me of the pirates

.. a while ago. I was absolutely floored to hear they still existed. He said that is the main reason that part of the world is avoided by most lines. It's a shame too because tourism dollars could really help some of those areas.

[high density]

19. Ok, that explains why that fairly large ship was able to "out run"

the pirate ships.

[daleo]

21. I suppose that these pirates will have ear plugs next time

Something about this seems vaguely fishy.

On edit: I guess that was just a Freeper, who responded. Nonetheless, what seems off to me about this is that it tends to normalize this weapon. If the current government wanted to use it in Iraq or in the U.S. (against protesters), you would expect to see it popping up in the press reports first, to condition people to its use and existence. What could be better than a story of staving off pirates? It is just a hunch, and I know it has a certain tin-foil hat aspect to it. But there you go.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nostradammit]

26. Just more of those delightful PNAC transformative transformations

that will be so transforming society shortly.

Suppose the SWAT teams have all gotten these goodies yet?

[sam sarrha]

25. it was just my X-wife with a megaphone, they knew they were toast and Ran

:rofl:

[Ian David]

27. Oh, look! The New York Police Department has one, too!

Because plunger handles can only be used on one person at a time...

NYPD ready to use Long Range Acoustic Device
http://radicalreference.info/node/273





That'll make 'em jump right out of their American skin!

[Ian David]

28. Anyone have practical counter-measures to these things yet?

From what I understand, just using earplugs isn't very effective against the sonic weapon, since it actually causes body pain as well.

[formercia]

29. I think it would be impossible to cause pain at any distance.

I've been exposed to high blast pressure at close range equivalent to a pound of plastic explosive at 8 feet and all it did was push me back a foot or so. To cause enough blast pressure to cause pain would take an enormous amount of energy. More than likely it's a frequency dependent phenomenon. The human body is known to react to low frequency sound at about 16 cycles or so.