The hijack of a ship on the British Columbia (BC) coast is a rare possibility, but with all the controversy over oil spills and destruction of coastal rain forests, the possibility is still there for terrorists or others to hijack a ship on the BC coast and hold the government for ransom.

In the rest of the world, piracy, or hijacking of a ship, is not unknown and shipping companies have had to find many ways to keep their ships safe. Speed is one method, but a fully-loaded freighter does not go very fast.

Today, October 17, 2013, a new website for me, Marine Insight, mentioned:

Infographics: Anti-Piracy Weapons Used on Ships

Along with political and diplomatic tactics, a variety of non-lethal (and lethal) methods are used to keep somali pirates at safe distances from the ships.

Implementation of armed guards on ships is a matter of great debate. And Eunavfor is doing a fantastic job at protecting seafarers from Somali pirates. . . more 

In one of the comments on the above page this company Marine and Auto Security Solutions have a solution. See the video below.

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[private]

However, there is a long way to go when seafarers would feel safe in pirate-infested areas around the world. Until then, the demand for anti-piracy weapons is going to stay.

In the below infographics, we have mentioned some of the most important anti piracy weapons (and methods) that are used on ships.

Kindly note that there are several other systems available in the market to fight piracy.

If you know any method we have missed or that is widely used on ships, let us know in the comments below. [/private]