Pirate-busting 'stinger' device for ships launched
A new device is aimed at stopping pirate ships without use of weaponry by tangling an attacker's propeller in line. 'Somalian stinger,' the Buccaneer Ship-Borne Shore Launcher anti-piracy system was recently unveiled.
The idea is that if a pirate skiff approaches, a length of strong line can be fired into the path of the vessel from the Buccaneer. A small parachute makes sure the thousand-foot line flutters down on to the surface of the water and the pirates, unaware that they have been fired on, speed over it and find their propellers hopelessly tangled.