The crew of a luxury cruise ship used a sonic weapon that blasts
earsplitting noise in a directed beam while being attacked by a gang of
pirates off Africa this weekend, the cruise line said Monday.

The Seabourn Spirit had a Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, installed as
a part of its defense systems, said Bruce Good, a spokesman for Miami-based
Seabourn Cruise Line. The Spirit was about 100 miles off Somalia when
pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns as they tried to
get onboard.



The subsidiary of Carnival Corp. was investigating whether the weapon was
successful in warding off the pirates, he said. The ship's captain also
changed its course, shifted into high speed and headed out into the open sea
to elude the pirates, who were in two small boats, he said. He had no
further details.

Device maker American Technology Corp. said earsplitting "bangs" were
directed by trained security personnel toward the pirates. That, combined
with ship maneuvers, caused the attackers to leave the area, the company
said.

The LRAD is a so-called "non-lethal weapon" developed for the U.S. military
after the 2000 attack on the USS Cole off Yemen as a way to keep operators
of small boats from approaching U.S. warships.

The military version is a 45-pound, dish-shaped device that can direct a
high-pitched, piercing tone with a tight beam. Neither the LRAD's operators
or others in the immediate area are affected.

American Technology, based in San Diego, compares its shrill tone to that of
smoke detectors, only much louder. It can be as loud as about 150 decibels,
while smoke alarms are about 80 to 90 decibels.

The devices have been deployed on commercial and naval vessels worldwide
since summer 2003, the company said.
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