Netherlands-based Westmark BV is testing a combination of legal techniques aimed to protect fishing vessels in the Gulf of Guinea, where maritime criminal activity has increased in recent years.
The company has developed a “multi-layered strategy” involving two barriers of “passive non-lethal equipment” to deter criminals – one barrier is the P-Trap anti-piracy system and the other a sound cannon.
Westmark’s P-Trap system is operated alongside the vessel with a safety spread of multiple protective lines in the water on both sides of the vessel, which will entangle the propeller of a hostile vessel within boarding range during an attack, causing its engine to stall.
The trail proved successful and revealed that the operation of fishing gear is not affected by the safety spread of trailing lines connected to the P-Trap.
The second barrier, the sound cannon, also proved successful. Patented penetrating sound tones, which are potentially damaging, discourage intruders from coming too close to the vessel.
Westmark’s systems have been installed on a range of vessel types, including dredging, transport, heavy cargo and chemical tankers and small coasters.
