David Pickard is showing 12 tough-looking men how to use a strange-looking tripod-mounted speaker. The equipment, known as a long-range acoustic device, will deafen and disorient anyone subjected to its high-volume sound. The men banter with Mr Pickard but could soon be using such devices in earnest, to scare pirates away from vulnerable ships.

The men, all former military personnel, are attending an anti-piracy course being held in the UK south coast port of Poole. Run by Drum Cussac, a Jersey-based security consultancy, it concentrates on the problem in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen, which saw more than 110 pirate attacks last year and 40 hijackings. The course aims to leave participants equipped to escort vessels more safely through the highest-risk areas.