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High-tech shipping sets up vessels for pirate attack
At the moment, most commercial vessels are required to use AIS, Automatic Identification System, as a collision avoidance measure. It radios the ship position, course and speed to any ships within receiving range. And to any pirates. The Washington Times reports AIS is a suspect in the recent hijacking of a mega-tanker 450 miles offshore. "The ability of the pirates to intercept this mega-tanker so far out in the Indian Ocean suggests they were able to obtain either track information from an outside source or they were electronically able to intercept the ship's Automatic Identification System (AIS). The AIS system is driven by Radio Frequencies (RD) that can be intercepted and tracked by any ship with an RF intercept capability"
That'd make sense. Picking off ships at choke points isn't that hard, but you'd not want to range out 450 miles, without radar, unless you knew where and when to intercept a big prize. Its captain changes course by a degree or two and you're going to spend a long time waiting for nothing.
AIS receivers are on the market (Google AIS receiver and you get prices as low as $189, more if you want a GPS unit to show your own location relative to the target), and if you qualify you can even get one for free.
But they don't need a radio receiver, just an internet connection. Go for a world map showing location of ships at sea, with different designations for cargo, passenger, tanker, etc.
Click on the "vessels" tab and you get a nice table of all vessels at sea, their type, last location and course (and when that was recorded, usually less than an hour ago) and destination. Click on the individual ship and you get its details. Admiral L is a tanker, weight 41,100 metric tons, ETA Houston on Jan. 11, reported at 24.2255 lat., -81.83988 long, 52 minutes ago. Click on its "track" and you get a nice map. It's heading around the Florida Keys right now.
I'd guess a hi-tech pirate would use both. Ship-to-ship AIS range is about 20 miles; if you have a receiver on a mountain, it can go to ten times that. So you'd have a guy ashore with an internet link up, to radio you on any course changes by the target. When you get close, you have your own receiver for the final approach. This would also suggest that radio monitoring might give advance word on pirate attacks. You'd be listening for someone ashore broadcasting locations and courses, maybe even naming the target. A bit direction finding and you'd also have the pirates' transmitter's location, just in time for an air strike.
Several hat tips to Don Hamrick...
Comments
they could triangulate the signal -- you don't even need to decode it. you know you're gonna find something you can steal, even if it's just the fuel you'll need to justify chasing RF around.
and, these guys have the same outboard RIB the navy uses, the zodiac hurricane.
Posted by: jon at November 29, 2008 03:13 PM
"... radio monitoring might give advance word on pirate attacks. You'd be listening for someone ashore broadcasting locations and courses, maybe even naming the target. A bit direction finding and you'd also have the pirates' transmitter's location, just in time for an air strike."
I doubt that confederates ashore doing the tracking via Internet sites are communicating with pirates at sea via radio. More likely they are doing it via satellite phones like Thuraya.
Much tougher problem to intercept. Probably within the ability of the NSA, but probably outside the ability of a Blackwater-type privateer.
Posted by: Bill at November 29, 2008 03:18 PM