WatchStander: Piracy was once an anachronistic phenomenon, but it has been back in recent years, largely due to pirate activity in the waters of Somalia - and off the African coast in general.
As this particular issue seems to have now been established as a fact which must be taken into account by the shipping Companies, έρευνες είναι σε εξέλιξη με σκοπό την protection των πλοίων από τις επιθέσεις σύγχρονων πειρατών, που χρησιμοποιούν μικρά ταχύπλοα σκάφη για να προσεγγίζουν τους στόχους τους. Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο εντάσσεται και το σύστημα WatchStander, το οποίο χρησιμοποιεί ραντάρ τοποθετημένα και στις δύο πλευρές του πλοίου για να εντοπίζει μικρά αντικείμενα που φαίνονται να κινούνται προς αναχαίτιση.
As reported in a related New Scientist article, the system automatically activates an alarm and activates countermeasures if a threat is detected. WatchStander aims to solve the most basic problem of modern piracy: the early detection of pirates, whose vessels are difficult to detect by conventional systems (which are designed to locate large objects and filter waves).
If the system "sees" a vessel moving to intercept, it automatically targets the threat with a countermeasure, such as a very powerful strobe light, designed to confuse intruders.
In a test earlier this year, the WatchStander was placed on a liquefied natural gas carrier transiting the Strait of Hormuz, south of Iran. The system detected a flotilla of Iranian fishing boats long before anyone else did. “There were 12 Iranian small boats that passed in front of us. You couldn't see them at first. We were getting ready to test the system when the alarm suddenly went off. The crew told us they were smugglers, you see them all the time in the Straits," said David Rigsby, founder the company's.
naftemporiki.gr
