International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

Maritime crime (piracy and armed robberies against vessels) are challenges to the shipping that have global impact on maritime trade and security. The evolution of this phenomenon is a dynamic process which is characterized by rapid changes both in terms of the number and severity of incidents and in their geographical concentration. This study traces the development of maritime crime over the past 15 years, divided into three 5-year periods. It is performed by analyzing the data collected and published by the International Maritime Bureau, concerning the number, character and location of incidents for the 2008-2022, in order to outline the trends in the contemporary sea piracy and armed robbery.

This paper summarizes the main results of a study on the current state and the development of electroshock less lethal weapons used in law enforcement. Based on statistics and studies, conclusions have been made about the taser-type devices effectiveness and safety with a view to their further improvement.

The development of means for stopping vehicles and vessels that pose a potential threat of criminal and terrorist activity is one of the priorities in the non-lethal technologies research today. This paper summarizes and discusses the results of a study on the current state and prospects of technologies and systems for forced stopping different types of vehicles and vessels

Flash-bang munitions are an integral part of the special forces’ arsenal and are often used by police and military units. Along with the development of more ‘conventional’ constructions, some innovative solutions have appeared lately, allowing significant improvement of the munitions characteristics. The aim of the present work is, presenting in sum a part of results of an extensive study of existing non-lethal means, to outline the trends in the future development of the flash-bang ammunition and systems for their delivery.

The use of holographic subsurface radars is a relatively new technology that enables the detection and recognition of non-metallic objects beneath the ground, including plastic explosives and mines with small or absent metal parts. The Moscow State Technical University (MGTU) “N.E. Bauman” has developed subsurface radars capable of registering such objects and determining their type using holographic methods for information processing. This article discusses the features and principles of operation of holographic subsurface radars. The capabilities of the radar holographic systems of the „Raskan“ family developed by the MGTU are presented with a view to their use in the research activities within a joint scientific project carried out by the MGTU and IMSETHAC “Acad. A. Balevski”- BAS. The main results achieved by MGTU in using Raskan for mine detection and recognition are summarized and analyzed

The threat of maritime piracy has not disappeared with the decline in Somali piracy since 2011-2012. Piracy has surged in other regions and now the tactic is to kidnap the crew for ransom. Although at present many ships employ self-defense measures, pirate attacks become more sophisticated and demonstrate a remarkable degree of success. Considering the presence and the evolution of this threat, the improvement of anti-piracy protection of vessels is increasingly important. The purpose of this survey is to track the evolution of pirate practices (character of attacks, targets, tactics, weapons and equipment), along with the evolution of anti-piracy measures, within the period 2008-2017.

Maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships are one of the contemporary challenges to the shipping and have global impact on maritime trade and security. Following the boom of Somali piracy in 2009-2011, there has been a downward trend since 2012, resulting mostly from the international counter-piracy efforts, with reaching its lowest value for the last 20 years in 2017. However statistics show doubling the number of attacks in some other regions in the last several years accompanied by increased levels of violence. This report presents a survey of maritime piracy and armed robberies over the last ten years (2008-2017) by regions and countries, as well as by type of attacks on ships, personnel and cargo, with the purpose to outline the trends in contemporary marine crime.