A NEWLY launched anti-piracy system has been given the thumbs up by maritime security and operations consultants Flag Victor.
The WatchStander system was originally developed for the US naval fleet but has been modified and adapted for use by commercial vessels, cruise ships and yachts. The fully automated system detects and identifies pirates before launching a series of non-lethal counter measures. Flag Victor recently put WatchStander through a robust Audit and Performance Assessment and declared: "We observed the functions and capabilities of the development version of WatchStander at initial dynamic trials conducted on The Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.
"We validated the system as successfully completing all test objectives in conformance with the projections of the company's management." Since being unveiled in September 2012, WatchStander has attracted a great deal of interest from commercial shipping lines and the military supply sector. Ron E Lichtman, co-founder and executive vice president of marketing and sales, said: "We are pleased that our claims and vision have been supported by Flag Victor.
"WatchStander really is the breakthrough that everyone in the maritime industry has been looking for. It heralds the beginning of the end of piracy, a blight that has plagued world shipping for years."
David Rigsby, creator of WatchStander, and Admiral Mark Fitzgerald (Ret), former Commander of the US Naval Forces Europe and US Naval Forces Africa, will be speaking about the technology at the Combating Piracy Week Conference which takes place in London later this month. http://combating-piracy.com/ / www.watchstander.com