The use of water spray and/or foam monitors has been found
to be effective in deterring or delaying pirates attempting to board
a vessel. The use of water can make it difficult for a pirate skiff
to remain alongside and makes it significantly more difficult for
a pirate to try to climb onboard. Options include:
- Fire hoses and Foam monitors – Manual operation of hoses
and foam monitors is not recommended as this is likely to place the
operator in a particularly exposed position and therefore it is recommended
that hoses and foam monitors (delivering water) should be fixed in
position to cover likely pirate access routes. Improved water coverage
may be achieved by using fire hoses in jet mode but by utilising baffle
plates fixed a short distance in front of the nozzle.
- Water cannons – These are designed to deliver water in a
vertical sweeping arc thus protecting a greater part of the hull.
Many of these have been developed from tank cleaning machines.
- Ballast pumps – Where possible to do so ships may utilise
their ballast pumps to flood the deck with water thus providing a
highly effective water curtain over the ship’s side. This may
be achieved by allowing ballast tanks to over-flow on to deck, by
using existing pipe-work when in ballast condition, or by retrofitting
pipe-work to allow flooding of the decks whilst in loaded condition.
Care must be taken to ensure that ballast tanks are not over-pressurised
causing damage to hull and tanks, or vessel stability compromised.
If in doubt it is recommended that the respective Classification Society
be contacted for advice.
- Steam – Hot water, or using a diffuser nozzle to produce
steam to deter pirates has also been found to be very effective in
deterring attacks.
- Water spray rails - Some ships have installed spray rails using
a Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) water main, with spray nozzles to
produce a water curtain to cover larger areas.
- Foam can be used, but it must be in addition to a vessel’s
standard Fire Fighting Equipment (FFE) stock. Foam is effective as
it is disorientating and very slippery making it difficult to climb
through.
The following points are also worthy of note:
- Once rigged and fixed in position it is recommended that hoses
and foam monitors are in a ready state, requiring just the remote
activation of fire pumps to commence delivery of water.
- Where possible no maintenance should be carried out on the vessel’s
sea water systems whilst on passage in the High Risk Area. Note that
in order to utilise all pumps additional power may be required and
therefore these systems should also be ready for immediate use.
- Practice, observation, and drills will be required in order ensure
that the results achieved by the equipment, provide effective coverage
of vulnerable areas.