Preventing pirates from boarding commercial vessels - a systems approach
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Authors
Cabungcal, Juan
Kaniss, David
Laing, Chris
Mastran, Keith
Powell, Jason
Quijano, Nathaniel
Rosenberg, Eric
Walsh, Greg
Team Pirates
Cohort 311-111A4 and 311–131A
Subjects
modeling and simulation
system integration
system architecture
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
piracy
boarding
countermeasures
hijacking
trade study
system integration
system architecture
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
piracy
boarding
countermeasures
hijacking
trade study
Advisors
Shebalin, Paul
Date of Issue
2014-09
Date
Sep-14
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Piracy represents a serious threat to modern maritime traffic, causing significant financial losses as well as loss of life. The system’s proposed area of operation is the waters of Indonesia, as current antipiracy solutions are not feasible due to the region’s unique physical geography. Worldwide deployment is possible with minimal modifications. The systems engineering process was used to identify a system that effectively and economically prevents pirates from boarding commercial vessels. A model of the operational environment was developed in MATLAB to run simulations designed to estimate the relative effectiveness of each assessed countermeasure. A cost analysis was performed on the most effective system configurations to determine economic feasibility; the best-value system was recommended. The results of the project indicated that the P-Trap countermeasure, designed to entangle the pirate’s propellers with thin lines, is both effective and economically viable for wide-scale deployment. The further addition of a fire hose system using net projectiles to increase the difficulty of boarders to climb onto the vessel was found to enhance the system effectiveness, while remaining cost-effective.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Systems Engineering (SE)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.