As members of the crew tried to steer the ship away from the pirates, other crew members blasted the attackers with noise -- really loud noise, made possible by sonic technology conceived at Bath Iron Works and developed by American Technology Corp.`s division in Maine.

Headquartered in San Diego, American Technology`s government sales and systems engineering division is in Topsham.

Its engineers and technologists were instrumental in developing the company`s Long Range Acoustic Devices, or LRAD, which the military, law-enforcement agencies and others use to provide focused, long-distance broadcasts. (The technology was used earlier this year for crowd control during the Iraqi elections.)

Some cruise ships use the $30,000 devices to inform boats that they are getting too close to the ships.

Among its features, LRAD can emit a deafeningly loud, nonlethal tone -- like a smoke detector, but as much as 100,000 times louder.

****American Technology has 25 of its Long Range Acoustic Devices on commercial vessels, including the ships operated by Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line, a division owned by Carnival Corp.*****