Comments on: Maersk Alabama Hit Again by Somali Pirates, But This Time It Has an Acoustic Cannon!

By: GOD

GOD — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:28:59 +0000

the pirates GOT PWNED

By: Peach

Peach — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:49:25 +0000

Whats stopping the pirates from getting one of these cannons?

By: ted

ted — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:25:02 +0000

The siren sound draws sailors to their doom; it doesn’t drive them away.

By: Kalel

Kalel — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:00:34 +0000

Sitting between two LRADs is the best way, short of being at an actual concert, to appreciate musical subtleties of the band Disaster Area.

By: Christophe

Christophe — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:04:06 +0000

The best regular ear protection workgear I sell is reducing the noise only 46dB. You can add earplugs to that, but don’t forget dB is a logarithmic scale : 150 dB is a @#$% lot of noise!

By: Foreigner1

Foreigner1 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:47:59 +0000

The music of one well-placed -be it perhaps oficially non-confirmed- Ma-Duce indeed can be quite incapacitating…

By: Brandon

Brandon — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:16:36 +0000

Johnny Cat, I would guess that Blackwater (or Xe, as they like being called these days) does 95% of their work with small arms. “Small arms” can mean anything smaller than .50 caliber. The SEAL snipers who took out the pirates back in April were using “small arms”.

I’m sure the guns were the main deterrent in this most recent attempted boarding, but an LRAD is not something I’d like to face down.

By: ByrdBrain

ByrdBrain — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:42:00 +0000

Alex, not even industrial ear protection would provide enough defense against this. NRR 30 earmuffs would still have 120 decibels hitting you. anything above 85 is considered harmful.

By: robbibaba

robbibaba — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:38:34 +0000

Nice to see that the Somali Pirates are still being used as media fodder and straw men. Too bad so few people know about their fishing grounds being wiped out and the nuclear waste being dumped off their shores, events that drove these fishermen into desperate poverty.

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:34:25 +0000

what he called a security force of “highly trained ex-military personnel.”

It sounds like Blackwater, which would mean firepower other than small arms and LRAD.

By: BenZarius, Audio Eng. major.

BenZarius, Audio Eng. major. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:30:42 +0000

Alex…at 150 decibels, you would be hard pressed to find ear protection that would adequately cover you. remember…it doesn’t seem like a lot, but that’s a base 10 logarithmic value. So 150 decibels is approaching the level of “Space shuttle launch” or “ground zero”. Even at 140, you’re looking at the loudest recommended level WITH hearing protection. (source: http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html )

Anything over that, and you still could experience pain, and hearing loss. Even for only short term exposure.

In a semi-related thought…Why don’t the Somali’s just do what the Nigerians do, and make money the old fashioned way? With internet scams about lost princes, and poorly written emails?

By: nuiloa

nuiloa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:32:07 +0000

Non-lethal, sure, but permanent hearing damage and/or tinnitus sure isn’t any fun either.

By: pwscott

pwscott — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:27:31 +0000

WHAT?! WHAT?! NO, WE JUST WANTED THE TIME!

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:24:06 +0000

Can you just wear an ear protector to guard against LRAD? If so, that’s a rather cheap defense against a rather hi-tech weapon …

By: shpx.ohfu

shpx.ohfu — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:52:49 +0000

LRAD was recently used against American citizens in PGH: http://gizmodo.com/5369190/lrad-sound-cannon-used-on-pittsburgh-g20-pr otesters

By: C.A.

C.A. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:48:39 +0000

Awesome! Good to see they were prepared this time. Nice job!

By: hey

hey — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:35:55 +0000

Nonsense. Ships have been boarded even though they used sonic cannon. It is the guns the pirates are afraid of.