You wanna piece of eight?

In today’s “you have got to be kidding me” news, a British merchant navy officer has revealed that ships operating off the coast of Somalia have been blasting out Britney Spears hits to deter attacks from pirates.

According to Second Officer Rachel Owens, who works on supertankers in the region, ‘Baby One More Time’ and  ‘Oops I Did It Again’ have proved most effective at keeping kidnap attempts at bay.

‘[Britney’s] songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most,” she told the Metro. “These guys can’t stand Western culture or music, making Britney’s hits perfect.”

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

The region has been a hotspot for kidnappings following the destablisation of Somalia during a prolonged civil war, with pirates regularly attempting to kidnap crews for multi-million-pound ransoms.

Steven Jones, of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, saw the funny side, telling the newspaper: “I’d imagine using Justin Bieber would be against the Geneva Convention.”

Britney has been on the comeback trail this summer, releasing the electro-infused single ‘Work Bitch’ and appearing on Miley Cyrus’ FACT-approved new album Bangerz.