LANCELOT - GREEN LASER, BLINDING LIGHT
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Where the Merlin AI system is a wizard at detecting piracy patterns of approach, the potential pirates will be given ample incentives to desist on their present course. At this stage the unwelcome boarders will be given audible warnings at every stage of the self defence system.
Green laser light may be used to temporarily blind attackers. Before this stage, the hapless pirates will have been reported and distress signals sent. Though, these communications are frequently ignored, due to a lack of resources.
Defending against hijacking is fraught with issues, since pirates invariably have a high speed skiff, AK47s and Rocket propelled Grenades (RPGs). With such threats, one cannot afford to take chances, and yet we have to use reasonable force.
Causing temporary blindness is kinder than taser shocking, provided it works to dissuade the offenders from further action. The effects of green laser light is only temporary. In any event, it causes discomfort and reduces their capacity for aggression. Being blinded may halt any attempt at boarding. Should boarding have taken place, then blinding light will make pirates relatively helpless, if they cannot see where they are going, or what they are looking at. They will feel vulnerable, and most likely, will want to retreat, to a place of safety. The roles are reversed.
Being tasered will also cause them pain. But what you don't want is indiscriminate firing of weapons, by someone who cannot see what they are shooting at. If there is any sign of that happening, the system (you, or the operator) will have little option but to render them unconscious, to be able to relieve the intruders of their weapons. That is far kinder than more serious wounding with a laser. But then, if a crew member is in danger for their life, the "reasonable force" threshold is raised. In which case, wounding with a laser might be the only option to save lives.
Hopefully, the first warning shot at their boat will have done the trick. Persuading them to limp home while they may. But that assumes that they speak English or whatever language your warnings are being given. And, they believe the warnings (threats to them) are genuine. Being desperate, and headstrong (or they'd not be pirates) they will probably take a lot of convincing.
LARGE
MILITARY USP LASER -
The Tactical Ultrashort Pulsed Laser (USPL) platform will be different from the current laser systems, as it will emit short pulses that rely on low energy. In contrast, current lasers typically emit continuous
high energy beams.
As part of a comprehensive system to ward off pirate attacks, the Elizabeth Swann is to be armed with three weapons, controlled by an AI controlled, detection tracking, ranging and firing system:
▲ Merlin - Wizard AI alarm, detection, recording and tracking - management system
▲ Excalibur - Ultra Short Pulsed Laser (USPL) 500-1000 kilowatts
▲ Pendragon - Integrated onboard Taser shock immobilization system
▲ Lancelot - Green laser temporary blindness, optical deterrent
▲ Galahad - Vessel immobilizer and distress beacon
Merlin is wizard AI alarm, the eyes of system, able to detect incoming threats, analyze patterns of approach, target, provide audible communications as warnings, and finally fire 'Lancelot' or 'Excalibur.' Depending on the situation.
Should pirates still manage to scramble onboard, then 'Pendragon' will electroshock the unwelcome guests, with increasing intensity, to overcome physical force, finally rendering the boarders unconscious. When they will be zip tied. Ready to be officially arrested and detained. They could of course be thrown overboard, back into the sea. But care should be taken, not to extinguish life from hypothermia or drowning, from prolonged immersion and exhaustion. The crew of the Elizabeth Swann are after all life protectors, and human rights observers. Every life is precious, and there is the capacity for good in everyone.
Meanwhile, SOS messages will be sent, requesting assistance from coastguards and naval authorities.
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ZEWT ALORS - The hydrogen and solar assisted 'Elizabeth Swann' is to feature solar collectors and fuel tanks for ammonia and methanol.
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PIRATE FREE SHIP - In the quest for safe transits and reduced insurance cover, we are building in an array of self defence weapons and alarms, that we hope will make the crew of this advanced hydrogen powered trimaran, feel happy to navigate waters that other sailors fear to travel.
The Golden Age of Piracy revolved around sailing ships, muskets, pistols, cutlasses and canons.
Famous pirates like Henry Morgan and Blackbeard were also privateers working for English kings and queens. They routinely captured whole ships as prizes, boarding them wholesale, and stealing all their cargoes. Other nations had their own arrangements, seeking to profit from trade at sea. But, that was yesteryear.
Today, desperate Africans and Asians, take to the sea in small boats, with the intention of boarding a larger vessel, capturing the ship or yacht, and kidnapping the crew for ransom. They can earn big money from capturing oil tankers, so temptation is high. Imagine if they captured a warship. Indeed, that is the plot of one of the John Storm adventures. But, we don't want Hollywood to pirate that notion. Our lips are sealed for now.
Piracy is not bound to any particular
region, social and political factors do though make piracy flourish in certain parts of the world. Poor coastal areas with few economic opportunities, low literacy rates, weak governments, and
law enforcement, as well as easy access to weapons and proximity to busy shipping lanes give rise to more pirate activity than other areas. A prime example of such an area is Somalia, which was considered a piracy hotspot between the 1990s and 2010s. It was only after a concerted international effort led by the
UN to combat Somali piracy that the number of piracy attacks off of the Somali coast dropped dramatically in the late 2010s.
What then to do? Load a ship with firearms, machine guns, shotguns, side arms. Not for us.
With a healthy electrical supply, and modern technology, it is possible to booby trap a vessel for the unwary. And, before that, disarm pirates, or even sink their boat, if they persist on a course that can only mean they intend boarding.
Generally, pirates would not be familiar with lasers or tasers, typically being less well informed - being in the realm of science fiction - and uncommon on shipping, if not unique. Let alone ships that are booby trapped, with the capability of tracking and sinking small ships, and blinding, or rendering human invaders unconscious.
Either way, pirates faced with these obstacles, are likely to desist. Or face total ruin and capture. If all shipping was equipped with such deterrents, the oceans would be pirate free.
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