LONDON , England -- A military-grade laser that blinds temporarily is the latest security technology available to wealthy superyacht owners afraid of pirate attacks . The SeaLase laser temporarily blinds pirates -- preventing them from attacking the yacht . The `` SeaLase '' laser , similar to weapons used for crowd control in Iraq and Afghanistan by the U.S. military , has a range of four kilometers and becomes harder to look at the closer an attacker comes . At a distance of one kilometer , attackers develop strong nausea and can no longer see , according to Lasersec Systems , the Finnish company that developed the lasers for commercial use . `` We do n't have guns , so we need non-lethal systems to defend yachts , '' Lasersec CEO Scott Buchter told CNN . Buchter , who recently launched the $ 104,000 multi-colored laser at Monaco Yacht Show , says the loss of eyesight the laser inflicts is only temporary and that no permanent damage is inflicted . Hi-tech military-grade security systems like SeaLase have become increasingly popular with superyacht owners looking to protect multi-millon dollar yachts on the open seas . Pirate attacks on oil tankers and other boats in dangerous waters like the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia -- a maritime link between Europe and Asia -- have fueled the growing worry that superyachts may be the next target . Because law regarding the use of deadly force on ships is ambiguous in some countries and the transport of guns is illegal in most international waters -- yacht crews favor the use of non-lethal weapons for security . This has fueled the recent market boom for weapons like SeaLase , according to Buchter . SeaLase is the latest of these kinds of weapons , which include `` L-Rad , '' a long-range acoustic device that temporarily deafens enemies and the $ 450,000 `` SeaOwl '' tracking system , which combines radar and infrared or thermal cameras to detect incoming threats as far as five kilometers away . BAE Systems , the world 's second largest global defense company , is thinking even bigger with plans for a sophisticated electronic early warning system for supertankers that some experts say could cost several million dollars . `` Piracy is on the rise , '' said Nick Stoppard of BAE systems . `` Attacks in 2008 were double those of the previous year and there is a clear need for better methods to help commercial ships identify and evade pirates before an attack occurs . '' The early warning system would use extremely advanced radars that could see over the horizon , as far as 25 km away . But pirates are not the only enemies of affluent yacht owners . For some , the paparazzi , using long range lens to take pictures of them on their yachts , can pose a privacy headache . According to reports in UK newspaper , The Times , Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has installed an `` anti-pap system '' that would fire light beams at a camera , disrupting its ability to take images . Aside from the anti-pap system , it has been widely reported that Abramovitch 's yacht `` Eclipse '' carries an anti-missile defense system and an escape submarine . The yacht is also said to have doubled in price to $ 1.2 billion since its commissioning three years ago . Michael Howorth , former super-yacht captain and technical editor at SuperYachtWorld magazine , told CNN for a previous article : As a yacht owner , `` you would be an absolute fool if you did n't have this sort of advanced defense technology .
Systems that blind pirates are now available to wealthy super - yacht owners . The systems only temporarily restore eye - sight and make the assailant nauseous . Systems such as SeaLase are on the increase with growing sales figures .