Yo-ho-ho and a vat of anthrax! Checking cargo ships for WMD and contraband isn't exactly swashbuckling. In fact, as a NATO video game makes clear, it's actually a lot of dreary, methodical work.

As I wrote in Training & Simulation Journal, the NATO Maritime Interdiction and Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC), housed on a decommissioned Greek Navy vessel anchored in Crete, has developed a video game to train boarding parties. It's called, naturally, "Boarders Ahoy!"

With the newer and smaller NATO members not having a great deal of experience in searching vessels on the high seas, the goal is to use an easy-to-understand video game to teach basic skills. The game impressed enough judges at last year's I/ITSEC defense simulations conference that it won a People's Choice award for best serious game.

There's no Johnny Depp and a cutlass in this adventure, however. Not even a parrot. Actually, there isn't any combat at all. The worst the boarded ship's crew will do is conduct verbal hostilities or just not answer questions. Somewhat anti-climatic in the cinematic sense, perhaps, but probably more realistic than portraying a gunfight between Panamanian-registered freighter "Golden Rustbucket" versus Navy destroyer.

Playing a demo of "Boarders Ahoy!" is really just about checking all the nooks and crannies where containers are stored, and marking the ones you've searched. And there are an awful lot of places on a ship to stash weapons or human cargo.

This is NATO's first foray into virtual worlds, and there is more to come. Next up is a Second Life-like world set in Afghanistan. Maybe it'll have a little more action than the pirate game.

Illo: NATO

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