News | EQUIPMENT
Safety and security Buccaneer forces
pirates to a slow crawl BCB International has launched its new Buccaneer Lightweight Interceptor (BUC LWI) line-throwing cannon, developed as a non-lethal / non-explosive attack weapon to stave off pirates and other seaborne aggressors. Weighing in at 22kg, fashioned from aluminium
and carbon fibre and positioned on a 360degs gun mount, the BUC LWI utilises a supply of compressed air to fire a line in the direction of any threatening, advancing craft, at a range of up to 500m. The line spans a width of over 100m, and drag chutes have been positioned at either end of the line. When the attacking vessel makes contact with the line, the chutes automatically inflate, drastically slashing the vessel’s speed as the line snags the propellers; in tests, the BUC LWI line has been proven to slow a vessel travelling at 40knots down to a crawl of 4knots, within seconds. The width of the line provides coverage to deal with two or more aggressive boats, should the pirates attack in a group. In the event of a sustained attack, the BUC LWI can be reloaded for multiple shots every five to 10 seconds. A spokesperson for BCB International tells Ship
& Boat International: “The only damage the line does to an attacking craft is that it snags its propel- lers, so it would not be a problem if any other craft were accidentally caught up in the line. The non-explosive nature of the BUC LWI also makes it ideal for use in ports and harbours.” The BUC LWI is intended to be installed on any type of small vessel, with training provided by BCB, although the spokesman adds that the main bulk of demand has so far come from patrol RIB operators and river police authorities, who are keen to deploy the solution in an attempt to halt trafficking and violent demonstrations. At present, the unit is undergoing sea trials with a security agency which prefers to remain anonymous. The BUC LWI has a three-year service life, and,
for any users unlucky enough to find themselves attacked on a repeated basis, the sales agreement includes access to fresh quantities of line and compressed gas. BCB marine projects manager Jonathan Delf comments: “There can be no room for human error when lethal force is used. No one wants a repeat of what happened last year when Italian marines guarding the oil tanker Enrica Lexie shot dead two Indian fishermen in the Indian Ocean they mistakenly believed to be pirates.”
www.bcbin.com
16 Ship & Boat International May/June 2013
LSAs Martek introduces new
gas detector Martek Marine has launched a new portable gas detector, Marine 4, which has been developed to enable crew to recalibrate it at any stage of the voyage. Seafarers can place the detector in a self-certification / calibration station, which comes with the handheld unit, and obtain automatic recalibration, within 60 seconds, at the touch of a button. Te system then logs this data and produces a tamper-proof calibra- tion certificate, which can be ticked off by relevant class societies and port state control authorities. According to Martek, the Marine 4, which meets
the requirements of the Marine Equipment Directive (MarED), uses 75% less gas than manual calibra- tion techniques. Should any potentially flammable or harmful gases be present, the system will issue a series of visual and audible alerts, the latter extend- ing up to 90dBA. Sized 121mm x 59mm x 32mm, the unit weighs 215g and is powered by a lithium ion rechargeable battery capable of running for 14 hours at a time.
www.martek-marine.com
Deck equipment Cargotec weathers
rough first quarter ‘Weak sales’ placed a slight dent in deck equipment manufacturer Cargotec’s profit margins for Q1 2013, with the group recording a 14% decrease in sales compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. Cargotec has attributed this decrease to a downturn in the total number of deliveries of MacGregor equipment in this period, which the
Martek’s Marine 4 gas detector comes with a station for automatic recalibration
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