Oops …

Britney Spears’ hits, including ‘Oops! I Did It Again’, are being used for a very unusual purpose – to deter Somali pirates from launching kidnap attacks on super-tankers off the east coast of Africa.

According to merchant navy officer Rachel Owens, Britney’s chart-topping tunes have proven to be extremely effective in scaring off the attacks. She told Metro: “Her songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most. These guys can’t stand Western culture or music, making Britney’s hits perfect.”

Tankers located in the region are in danger of pirates carrying guns coming aboard and kidnapping crew members in a bid to extract ransom money totalling millions of pounds.

In 2011, 176 attacks on ships by gangs of pirates carrying weapons were recorded off the Horn of Africa. As a result of the on-going threat to safety of the crews aboard the ships, the Royal Navy has over 1,500 sailors operating round-the-clock patrols on 14 warships in the area.

The Britney hits are blared from the ship’s speakers directly at any approaching pirates, meaning that the ship’s crew are not disturbed by the loud music.

“It’s so effective the ship’s security rarely needs to resort to firing guns,” Ms Owens, 34, said. “As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can,” she added.

Steven Jones, of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, told the news source: “Pirates will go to any lengths to avoid or try to overcome the music. I’d imagine using Justin Bieber would be against the Geneva Convention.”