A ground-breaking glass protective system, Water Dragon® C2, developed for the maritime industry by Idarat Maritime to protect vulnerable crews against small arms and blast, will be formally launched at NAVDEX 2011 on Monday 21 February
Water Dragon® C2 tested and marketed by Idarat Protection Limited, a British company, and subjected to stringent ballistics tests in the U.K. has been shown to be an effective protection against AK47 7.62 mm rifle fire, the standard weapon used by Somali pirates.
The protection of personnel from serious injury from gunfire is a core concern of crews and of prime importance to the shipping and insurance industries. Coastal forces using small lightly protected vessels will also find Water Dragon® C2 to be of particular interest as it gives their crews enhanced protection from small arms fire.
Water Dragon® C2 has huge potential in the maritime industry protecting merchant ships transiting areas where piracy occurs; effective protection against small arms is now a necessity and this solution is cost effective and quick to install, compared with the alternatives.
Water Dragon® C2 is a significant development of materials used for protection against bomb blast for building glass and already installed in key commercial and government offices in the UK, as well many other parts of the World.
Water Dragon® C2 is extremely light and, when fitted by the company, has a 10 year warranty against malfunction. It can be fitted in 48 hours on the inside of the glass by a trained team.
Water Dragon® C2 is completely transparent and does not affect the optical properties of marine glass, nor is it affected by heat or cold. Installation can be undertaken when a vessel is at sea, avoiding down time.
Christopher Ledger, Operations Director of Idarat Maritime Ltd, said:
“For far too long the crews manning the bridge of those vessels likely to be attacked in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and off Nigeria have had no tested and effective protection against small arms fire. Now there is no reason for them not to be properly protected. In fact we believe that Water Dragon® C2 is essential safety equipment, necessary to protect life at sea.”
Every vessel now attacked in the Indian Ocean – whether it escapes or not – invariably has to run a gauntlet of high velocity rounds aimed at its bridge – a truly terrifying and highly dangerous experience. One vessel recently took 80 rounds into its bridge; all invariably take a few into the accommodation.
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