Can Britney Spears ward off a group of swashbuckling pirates? According to the British Royal Navy, the answer is yes.

The "Toxic" singer's catchy early hits like "Oops! I Did It Again" and "Baby One More Time" have been used by naval officers to ward off Somali pirates off the east coast of Africa.

Merchant Navy Second Officer Rachel Owens, who works on supertankers, told Metro UK, "Her songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most."

Heavily-armed Somali pirates regularly target cargo ships in the area and collected more than $40 million in goods in 2012, but according to a report presented to the United Nations Security Council, pirate attacks are at their lowest since 2006. In the first nine months since 2013, only 17 vessels have been attacked compared to 99 attacks in the same time period in the previous year.

"These guys can't stand western culture or music, making Britney's hits perfect. As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can," Officer Owens continued.

Well there you have it, folks. The former Mouseketeer's pipes are more threatening than an approaching naval destroyer and might be the catalyst for a dramatic drop in attacks. We bet her old mouse pal Christina Aguilera can relate, since her own song "Dirrty" is regularly used as a method of disorientation in military interrogations in Iraq and Afghanistan.