Mariners Drive off Somali Pirates by Playing Britney Spears Music

(Photo: Peter Cruise)

Sure, you can shoot and kill the pirates. But why let them off that easily? Blast them with Britney! That’s what British merchant mariners are doing as they go around the Horn of Africa—a region plagued by Somali pirates. The Mirror reports:

Rachel Owens, 34, a merchant navy officer on huge super tankers off the east coast of Africa says the music is a really effective way of deterring the pirates and their high-speed skiffs.

Second Officer Rachel from Aberfoyle in Scotland said: “Her songs have been chosen by the security team accompanying our tankers because they thought the pirates would hate them most.

“These guys can’t stand Western culture or music, making Britney’s hits perfect.”

Don’t worry about crew safety. Ms. Owens says that she can direct the speakers out to sea at the pirates so that the ship’s crew doesn’t come up the direct impact of Britney Spears’s music.

-via Popped Culture