New Anti-Piracy Initiative Disables Attacking Vessels

Anti-piracy and maritime security specialist Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre (MMWC) has developed an innovative device to improve the safety of shipping in high-risk piracy areas. MMWC’s Propeller Arrester creates an impenetrable security perimeter around a vessel which, when crossed, causes failure of the attacking vessel’s propulsion, rendering it disabled. Rigged to heavy-duty booms and deployed prior to entering high-risk areas, the Propeller Arrester releases lines of strong buoyant rope which float on the surface of the water, without interfering with the deploying vessel’s own propeller. The Propeller Arrester can be deployed very quickly, with minimal manpower. It remains effective when left unattended regardless of vessel speed and design, and irrespective of the cargo carried and the prevailing weather conditions. Once transit has been completed and the threat of attack has passed, the Propeller Arrester can be wound back onto drums and stored on board, ready to be used again when required. Nick Davis, CEO of Channel Islands-based MMWC, says, “Piracy represents a very serious threat to the safety of today’s shipping industry. It requires a concerted effort by all interested parties to frustrate and defeat it, and technical innovation has a very important role to play in that respect. The Propeller Arrester offers, for the first time, a non-lethal countermeasure that is capable of stopping single and multiple-vessel attacks by preventing the attackers getting close enough to effect a means of contact prior to boarding. It is reusable, repairable and a fraction of the cost of having an armed or unarmed team on board. “Until now, shipping companies have had a major disadvantage in that, by the time onboard countermeasures to protect against unlawful boarding have become effective, the pirates are already on board. That is not the case with the Propeller Arrester which, if used as part of a layered defence system and operated by well-trained crew, will enable ships to prevent attacking vessels getting close enough to attempt boarding, or will at least make them such an unattractive target that the pirates will look for alternatives.” www.mmwc.org