French Company Working on 'Ship of the Future' to Aid in the Battle on Piracy

A French military vessel, dubbed The Ship of the Future, is a new project that will be taking aim at pirates. As there were over 400 reported pirate attacks and armed robberies at sea in 2011, the new ship is equipped with a barrage of non-lethal defense technologies that will provide security in the water. Some of the on-board anti-piracy features include light blinders, water cannons and sound blasts.

The project was revealed last week at shipping security forum MARISK in Nantes, France to 400 delegates. These defenses and traps are set to be installed on board the Partisan, which is used as a French military training vessel. This venture is a 12 million euro plan, led by France’s Environment and Energy Management Agency.

Project representatives state that the goal of this equipment is to make vessels difficult to board and very unwelcoming for pirates. The security measures on board the Partisan start with radar systems and infrared cameras that detect the first signs of danger; this is when authorities and rescue squads will be alerted. If the assailants make it closer to the boat, long range acoustic devices are put into effect like pain-inducing sound blasts, or blinding light beams. Lastly, powerful remote-controlled water cannons are deployed. The crew will take refuge in a hidden safe room on board the ship. The crew will be able to monitor the pirates, as well as continue to sail the ship via cameras.  If the attackers still make it on board, they will be greeted with tear gas canisters. The ship will become completely dark and flooded with smoke which will most likely disorient the pirates.

All of these measures are now being installed for testing on the Partisan and should be on the market in 2014.

There was some skepticism at the forum from shipping companies and security officials. The main concern was that these tactics, some of which are already in use, would only be effective in fighting off amateur pirates, not the hardened Somali gangs. With the new implementation of armed guards, speed is the next most relevant solution, according to them. For example, large container ships which move at quick speeds are not pirated in the Indian Ocean.