ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -It's enough to make even hardened sea dogs think twice: a 9,000-volt electric fence to zap pirates and other intruders as they try to board ships.
A suspected terrorist attack on a French oil tanker in Yemen having raised safety concerns on the high seas, Rotterdam-based Secure-Marine says its new device can ward off modern-day buccaneers, who often arrive at night aboard motorboats and scale vessels by rope.
Beefing up onboard security might persuade insurers to lower premiums for ships headed to places such as Indonesia. That nation's waters were recently declared a war-risk zone by insurers, according to Regional Container, Thailand's largest shipper.
"If it's effective, and if there is the take-up, then it could be reflected in rates," said Jonathan Ranger, principal officer at Lloyd's marine insurance syndicate Watkins in Singapore. He added, however, that "an electric fence is unlikely to stop a determined terrorist."
Attacks at sea range from "maritime mugging," in which thieves board anchored vessels to steal personal belongings, to robberies in which goods are stolen at gunpoint by organized gangs, said Jayant Abhyankar, a 17-year merchant captain who is deputy director at the International Maritime Bureau, a division of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Attacks off Indonesia, where a bomb blast in Bali killed at least 190 people last month, accounted for 72 of 271 reported pirate attacks from January to September last year, the bureau said, citing its latest figures.
Global pirate attacks rose from 253 in the first nine months of 2000, the bureau said. Other hot spots include the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, where armed militias have seized four commercial vessels near Somalia this year.
Secure-Ship is modeled on the electrified fences that enclose military installations. Wires are strung from poles on a vessel's deck and "can stop anyone from trying to board a ship, pirate or terrorist," said Raphael Kahn, director of the Dutch security company.
The cost varies from ship to ship. Buyers can expect to pay about 20,000 euros ($19,800) to fit a vessel less than 150 meters (490 feet) long, Kahn said.
The system has drawbacks. Its high-voltage current means it can't be used on oil tankers such as the Limburg, the French ship attacked off Yemen, or on liquefied natural gas carriers and other vessels carrying flammable cargoes. It offers no protection against suicide squads such as the one that used an explosives-packed boat to attack the USS Cole off Aden in October 2000.
It also could endanger crews.
"It's not going to be too long before a stevedore or crew member accidentally electrocutes himself, and shipping companies start getting insurance claims," said Darryl Kennard, a maritime lawyer at Thomas Cooper & Stibbard in Singapore.
Secure-Marine hopes to win its first order from Rotterdam-based Jumbo Shipping to protect a fleet of 11 ships that transport heavy parts for power stations and oil rigs.
Jumbo is testing the system for six months on one of its vessels, the 7,500-ton Fairlift, said Bert de Wolff, the company's marketing and communications director. Its ships traverse the Strait of Malacca, between Indonesia and Malaysia.
"Our ships trade worldwide, and one of the risk areas is the Malacca Strait, and there's no way that we can circumvent that," de Wolff said. "Hopefully, it will reassure not only the crew but the families of the seafarers."