We know she has her critics, but we wouldn’t have thought that Britney’s music could have such an effect on such a fearsome bunch as Somali pirates.
According to The Metro, songs from the American singer are being blasted out by Navy ships on the east coast of Africa to fend off would-be attacks from Somali pirates, and remarkably the tactic is working.
And while you might think it is just the music itself that has sent the pirates packing, it is just as much down to a cultural clash, as merchant navy officer Rachel Owens revealed.
“These guys can’t stand Western culture or music, making Britney’s hits perfect,” she told the paper. “Her songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most.” A hatred of Western culture and good judges of music some might argue.
And the novel plan seems to be working.
While ships in the region are in constant danger from gun-toting pirates boarding and kidnapping crews for multi-million-pound ransoms – in 2011, there were 176 attacks on ships by gangs of bandits off the Horn of Africa – songs such as Oops! I Did It Again and Baby One More Time have proved to be as effective at keeping the bandits at bay as the 14 warships operating round-the-clock patrols in the area.
“It’s so effective the ship’s security rarely needs to resort to firing guns,” she told reporters while also adding that the speakers can be aimed directly at the ships rather than disturb the crew.
No doubt the Somali pirates are thinking it’s Me Against the Music and that their airwaves are becoming Toxic due to the unusual methods employed by the Navy.
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