Catching the Thunder
IT OFTEN takes an individual or organisation to bend the rules to achieve a desirable outcome. And more often than not, those tasked with carrying out what is necessary are painted as pariahs, decried as being ugly in their approach, and publicly condemned in the mainstream.
Yet in private society, there is immense gratitude that such people exist. Most people are not cut out for dirty work, and if a result that is viewed as being in the best interests of society, is attained by a group of renegades, so be it.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an organisation focused on protecting the world’s marine resources, is notorious for operating in the murkier waters of what is legal.
Despite a world-class marketing strategy and extensive ties to Hollywood’s elite, Greenpeace it is not.
Sea Shepherd’s generals and soldiers traditionally subscribe more to the laws of nature than those of man, resulting in the society often causing a headache for national governments. In tackling whalers and illegal fishing syndicates, they push the envelope, yet they have a proven track record of bringing perpetrators to justice.
Four years ago, Peter Hammarstedt, captain of Sea Shepherd’s flagship vessel, the Bob Barker, set course in pursuit of the Thunder, a poaching vessel that had been pillaging the waters of Antarctica for more than a decade.
Wanted by Interpol, the Thunder had brought in millions of dollars for its owners by illicitly fishing the sought-after Patagonian toothfish, the “white gold” of the Southern Ocean.
The Thunder was part of a fleet of illegal fishing vessels known as the Bandit 6, all of which had histories that were entangled in a dark web of intrigue, involving sinister registrations, questionable trade practices and clandestine ownership.
What was known is that these ships were turning their masters into extremely rich men.
Centring their book on the Bob Barker’s pursuit of the Thunder, the longest sea chase in history, journalists Eskil Engdal and Kjetil Saeter unravel the intricacies of organised crime on the world’s oceans, and the bureaucratic obstacles hindering the apprehension of its masterminds.
The chase is written in present tense, heightening the tension as the players ponder their next move on the high seas, where, frequently, their best-laid plans are derailed.
The reader is also given insight into the frustration caused when even supposedly conservation-friendly nations are reluctant to come to the aid of the Bob Barker, for fear of a public relations nightmare.
Charismatic Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, in hiding from the authorities after a variety of run-ins with the law, says on social media: “Interpol states that nations have united to identify this poacher, yet none of these nations seem to be interested that Sea Shepherd has not only identified this poaching vessel, but has also escorted it from the CCAMLR (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) region and has seized its nets.
“Instead of supporting this effort by Sea Shepherd, the Australian government condemns Sea Shepherd’s intervention.”
Nevertheless, Hammarstedt and his 30 crew plough on relentlessly, following closely in the slipstream of the Thunder across all parts of the ocean.
In March 2015, the pursuit arrives just beyond South African waters…
A thrilling read, both as a piece of investigative journalism and as a true-life crime caper with far-reaching consequences.