For ships (both cruise and tanker) sailing along the coast of Africa near Somalia, pirates can post a legitimate threat. And these aren’t swashbuckling buccaneers singing songs while they swig rum and swing from ropes, but ruthless thieves and murders armed with assault rifles. In 2009 alone, pirates committed 200 ship attacks and made off with €30 million (or $34 million) in ransom and stolen goods. We say “ransom” because the pirates often take the ships, their passengers, and their crew hostage while holding out for more money. To combat this, ships are often equipped with high-pressure water hoses and sonic cannons that can fire concentrated beams of sound capable of permanently affect human hearing from over 900 feet away.