Pirate-fighter vessel revealed by Juliet Marine

Somali pirates

Described as "an attack helicopter on water," a vessel designed to combat piracy on the high seas was announced on March 9 by Juliet Marine, of Portsmouth, NH.

The new attack platform called Ghost is designed to work in a sea-based patrol scheme. It has the ability to conduct long-range security patrols at very high speeds and to loiter for several days. It can utilize non-lethal weapons -- such as sound, infrared or microwave -- or lethal ones, depending on situational requirements.

When contacted by Government Security News for details about the platform, Juliet's President and CEO Gregory Sancoff said, "I am unable to reveal any information regarding the boat by order of the U.S. Navy."

"It a very revolutionary boat," he said. "It's as much as an aircraft as it is a boat. It's something totally new."

The company revealed that it is in talks with the shipping and insurance industries to use Ghost boats to protect their assets.

In addition, it is working with the State Department to receive funding from international anti-piracy sources to grow the Ghost technology.

Another possible market for a Ghost-based protection service is private yacht owners. "We would provide a frequency that they could call by radio or phone and arrange to be escorted through areas that are known to be hostile," Sancoff explained.

"The piracy problem is not going away," he said in a statement. "The pirates are becoming more sophisticated. With the success of each hijacking, there is more money available to pirates through payment of ransoms to purchase better equipment, larger ships, and better weapons."