- 22 hours ago
Armed pirate groups target commercial vessels and fuel tankers to steal valuable shipments of oil—referred to as "black gold"—alongside ship equipment and fuel...Law enforcement cracks down on piracy in one of the world's most important shipping lanes, as pirates terrorise ships carrying valuable commodities.
本集探讨了南海和东非地区的现代海上盗版活动, 这部纪录片还追踪了当地及国际执法部门的行动，记录了他们追查并试图打击这些有组织犯罪网络的过程...
本集探讨了南海和东非地区的现代海上盗版活动, 这部纪录片还追踪了当地及国际执法部门的行动，记录了他们追查并试图打击这些有组织犯罪网络的过程...
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TVTranscript
00:12The South China Sea, in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.
00:20If you don't start the engine, you'll die. If you don't open the door, you'll die.
00:24A new breed of pirates is terrorizing merchant seamen.
00:28They don't care whether they've got people killed and injured.
00:33Their target, oil tankers.
00:36The cargo was worth 1.5, 1 million plus, and the ship close to 3 million.
00:41But law enforcement is hot on their heels.
00:44We can see the target here. They are all target.
00:47And closing in.
00:49We are very determined. We are going to catch them.
01:02Off the East African coast, cargo ships fight running battles with Somali pirates.
01:09Defending themselves from the threat of kidnap and ransom.
01:14But 4,000 miles away, in the South China Sea, pirates have set their sights on a different target.
01:22Not human cargo, but gold.
01:26Black gold.
01:27And fuel tankers make tempting targets.
01:32As a miner man, I make a lot of money off this.
01:36Because I'm the one to plan this, to save the price, to sell the product, and to give the pay
01:44to the hijacker.
02:01The hijack price is 50% lower than the market price.
02:08That's what we sell to the buyer.
02:11If we hijack the target is about 6,000 metric ton, then we will sell 150 USD per metric ton.
02:24Singapore is the center of the oil industry in this region.
02:29Oil is loaded aboard tankers for export.
02:33But many eyes are watching.
02:37Pirates have inside men on the docks, who tip them off when a large shipment is about to sail.
02:44It's very easy.
02:46Normally, we have some insider to tell us, okay.
02:51We have vessels, they are coming to loading in this port.
02:55You want to take it?
02:57We will ask some questions, like how many crews on board they have,
03:01and how long they will take to loading, and when they are going to sail the ship.
03:10As soon as the target ship ventures into the Singapore Strait, the pirates close in.
03:17The time is very important.
03:20So when we are doing hijack, we will get to know where is the enforcement, where is the ship.
03:26So the time is very important for us.
03:30Pirate crews often use high-powered fishing boats to intercept tankers.
03:46Once the pirates take control of the ship, they bring in another vessel alongside to siphon off the oil.
03:53A so-called phantom ship.
04:01In Southeast Asia, the pirate hot zone lies in the channels between Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
04:1125% of the world's oil tanker traffic passes through here.
04:17Thanks to limited crew numbers and restrictions to carrying guns, on-board security is weak.
04:25And the number of attacks is growing.
04:29In Southeast Asia, what we have seen has been a dramatic increase in the attacks against the small product tankers.
04:42In the last year, there has been 25 such hijackings, which works out on average about one every two weeks.
04:51So that is a very serious problem.
04:55It's a problem with global consequences.
04:59Shipping is vital to global trade.
05:02And the fear of insurance premiums going up, of course, affects all the countries.
05:08Because it means that these cargoes, which are essential consumer items, become more expensive.
05:13So it is a problem which needs to be dealt with.
05:17Taking the fight back to the pirates, are officers of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
05:25This patrol is looking for pirate attack boats heading into Malaysian waters.
05:34Suddenly, they catch a break.
05:37A radar has noticed a boat coming from south.
05:48They are doing at a high speed, about 30 knots.
05:51It is a suspected boat because of the speed that they are doing.
05:54It could be a robust boat.
05:57If it is a pirate boat, Zubil and his team must stay alert.
06:03Normally, they carry weapons like parang or small arms.
06:09That is why we try to be prepared.
06:12If the worst thing happens, we are ready to face them.
06:16We are very determined.
06:20But Zubil can only police his own jurisdiction.
06:25We can't go into Indonesian waters.
06:28We are just going to wait them in Malaysian waters.
06:31If we chase them early, they might turn back.
06:36The crew can only wait.
06:44Okay.
06:45Okay, Roger.
06:46Roger, thank you very much.
06:50The report from the radar shows that the suspect boat is stopped.
06:59Maybe they just try to watch out whether this is the correct time for them to cross or not.
07:08It's 4 a.m.
07:11Zubil and his team wait for their target to make a move.
07:15Now we have a report from the radar.
07:19They suddenly stopped in Indonesian waters.
07:24I think that they realized our presence.
07:28Now they are turning back at a slow speed.
07:32They get away this time.
07:37Pirates will always have the advantage in international waters.
07:42Cross border crime, you have to cooperate.
07:46You must have connection with them.
07:48You have to establish friendship with other agencies, like agencies from Indonesia, from Singapore.
07:56Definitely, you cannot solve on your own.
07:59Sometimes it takes a specialist working alone to penetrate the pirates' network.
08:07Investigators who can fly under the same radar the pirates do.
08:12You can usually find clues that can lead you to some of the syndicates.
08:17Unfortunately, the pirates don't know my real name, and I've been using a couple of different cover identities.
08:26Karsten is a special investigator for risk intelligence, an agency specializing in assessing the pirate threat to commercial cargo.
08:35He works for oil companies, shipping lines, insurance firms, you name it.
08:42With up to $16 billion lost globally each year to piracy, Karsten's job is of high value and high risk.
08:54This place is hot because this is an area where there's a lot of criminal activity, and it's because it's
09:00remote, it's because it's geostrategic in the Singapore Strait.
09:04It's the perfect place to be.
09:08A lot of people watching us right now.
09:11Not sure if that CCTV camera is connected to the right of us, but if it is, then we definitely
09:17have eyes on us.
09:19Karsten has come out to Pengarang, a remote part of the Malaysian province of Johor.
09:28Pengarang looks out over the eastern Singapore Strait to international waters, where cargo passes beyond the reach of Malaysian law.
09:37This is our map of all the hijacking incidents in 2015.
09:42Twelve of them are hijacking for product theft, and this is all part of a larger criminal network.
09:48To penetrate this network, Karsten will have to enter an area known as Tumpak, a body of water where anything
09:57goes.
09:58It's like the Wild West, and basically all the transfers are happening there.
10:03It's international waters.
10:04And out here you can get away with transferring and trading, and no one is keeping an eye on you.
10:08No one is regulating anything.
10:11Once he goes into the Tumpak zone, Karsten will be all on his own.
10:17I think we've got a bit of movement on the bridge.
10:20I've got three guys that are on the stern poop deck.
10:26Commercial tankers are falling prey to pirates in the South China Sea.
10:31Special investigator Karsten van Hursland is zeroing in on their operations.
10:37The east coast of Johor, Malaysia is a hot spot.
10:42This is where 40% of the incidents start off from.
10:46Gathering intelligence can be a lethal business.
10:50People have been killed.
10:51Crew members have been killed.
10:53Pirates who have been informing have been killed.
10:55And so it is a concern.
10:56It lingers in the back of my mind, especially when I'm deep in the field.
11:00I tend to worry.
11:01The problem is that people have camera phones and they will take pictures and send it onwards.
11:08Karsten's here to find data that will help him move up the pirates' chain of command.
11:14And that means tracking down the so-called phantom tankers
11:17that pirates use to offload oil from hijacked ships.
11:22I've currently compiled a significant amount of intelligence on four active phantom tankers
11:29that are operating in the Singapore Strait and the South China Sea right now.
11:33And my goal is that I find at least one of these four when we get out there.
11:39And that way we can start to follow the money and follow up the chain
11:43in terms of who the middlemen are, who the buyers of the product are.
11:50A phantom ship is crucial to the pirates' business.
11:54It allows them to offload oil from a hijacked tanker quickly.
11:58It gives them a chance to cover their tracks.
12:02What they do is after they've lifted and stolen the product from the victim ship
12:06is they bring it to the phantom ship.
12:09They mix it together.
12:10It's forged paperwork to allege that it's legitimate.
12:13And then they sell it onwards to the buyers.
12:16These buyers are waiting in the OPL.
12:21Many ships anchor here, making it hard to know who's doing business legally and who isn't.
12:28Pirates know this and take full advantage.
12:34January 28th, 2015.
12:37A tanker called Sunbirdie has moved out of the OPL.
12:42The captain and crew thought they were safe.
12:45They were wrong.
12:47I got the call when she was missing around exactly 9 a.m.
12:58We tried to call her and we thought that maybe there's a communication breakdown,
13:03but it was very, very unusual because all of the crew has handphones.
13:08And they have their set-nav, they have their emasat, and all communication waste was broken.
13:16The Sunbirdie has gone AWOL.
13:20It's carrying 11 crew members and nearly 800 metric tons of fuel oil.
13:25I was panicking.
13:27I immediately contacted Laxmana Ibrahim.
13:34I received a call from Mr. Colsey around the time, 55.
13:39He told me that he's lost contact with the ship.
13:42And he said that the ship carried cargo.
13:44So I told him, okay, I will take action.
13:53First Admiral Ibrahim Mohamed is in charge of anti-piracy operations in the Malacca Strait.
14:02He knew he had to move fast before the Sunbirdie disappeared.
14:18The Malacca Strait covers around 25,000 square miles and is full of tankers.
14:25For Admiral Ibrahim, it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
14:33But then he gets a tip-off.
14:36He told me that from his friend somewhere, he told me that maybe your ship is around the Indonesian border.
14:43He gave me the position about five nautical miles to the east of Batu Putih.
14:51The Sunbirdie's last known position was one nautical mile south of Tangjung Aiyam.
14:57But crew on other ships begin reporting sightings further east.
15:01Near an island lighthouse Malaysians call Batu Putih.
15:07So I directed the aircraft to look for the Sunbirdie for the Batu Putih area.
15:15But they can't found the Sunbirdie.
15:20Fawzi's intel doesn't pay off.
15:22I started to panic and I was very anxious.
15:26South China Sea is so big, ships can disappear very easily.
15:34Fawzi needs to understand how the pirates were able to hijack his ship.
15:41Captain Tomas survived the ordeal.
15:46He's asked to have his identity obscured as he lives in fear of pirate retaliation.
16:15The Sunbirdie is a prime target for pirates.
16:18She works offshore as a gas station for passing ships.
16:21And at the time, was full of precious fuel.
16:26This one was broken?
16:27Yeah, broken.
16:28This glass door was broken?
16:30Okay.
16:32Okay, they broke the glass.
16:33Yeah.
16:36The hijackers have come ready for a fight.
16:39And are prepared to use force.
16:44Juan Fawzi, owner of the hijack tanker Sunbirdie, questions the captain about what happened.
16:52Knife?
16:53Yes, they also got knife.
16:54Long knife.
16:55Okay.
16:57Now then they go inside.
16:58They broke inside?
16:59Yeah.
17:02Then they go down.
17:05With the crew hiding below deck, the captain dives into his cabin.
17:10They come here.
17:12Okay.
17:12I see that lock.
17:13Oh, okay.
17:14Then up and lock.
17:15Oh, okay.
17:16So they lock the...
17:18They hammer the wall.
17:19I'm out first.
17:20They hammer the door.
17:21Yeah.
17:21Can they open?
17:22They open here.
17:23Oh, they open this one?
17:25Okay, they come in from here?
17:27Yep.
17:27And then they show the gun?
17:28They show the gun.
17:29Okay.
17:29And you were sitting here?
17:30No sitting here.
17:31Huh?
17:32They're like this.
17:33Oh, you're like this, standing up.
17:34Don't move.
17:34Don't move.
17:35You die.
17:36Do you think that they mean it?
17:38That they're going to kill you?
17:41You don't do, you die.
17:42Okay.
17:43My phone here.
17:46So you touch, you're dead already.
17:50Denied his phone, the captain is at the pirate's mercy.
17:54After that, we open the door.
17:56You open the door?
17:57They hit you one time.
17:59They hit you?
17:59One time.
18:00For that one die.
18:01Oh, they punch you one time?
18:02Yeah, for one die.
18:04The pirates force the captain out of his cabin.
18:08They say they come out.
18:09Uh-huh.
18:09One pooper here.
18:11Uh-huh.
18:11One pooper right behind.
18:13Basically, there was three gun.
18:15Each one of them with a gun.
18:17Yeah.
18:17By the night, yeah, like this.
18:19The knife put you in the back.
18:22The pirates march him up to the bridge to start the ship's engine.
18:29When he gets there, he's dismayed by what he sees.
18:33Take on everything cap.
18:35All wire cap.
18:36See here?
18:37All the communication wire was cut.
18:39Yeah.
18:40Sunbirdie's comms have gone dead.
18:43It's Fawzi's worst nightmare.
18:47He isn't just losing cargo.
18:48He might also be losing his ship.
18:51You cannot use your...
18:53I just see landfall.
18:54Everything you cannot use.
18:55Cannot use.
18:55Yeah.
18:58Now, only the pirates know where the ship is going.
19:02Did you see the sea chart?
19:03Yeah, he see the sea chart.
19:04It's a brief, yeah.
19:05Yeah, he put it here.
19:06His own sea chart.
19:07His own sea chart.
19:08So, he was well prepared.
19:10Yeah, correct.
19:11The pirates' leader keeps the sunbirdie's new destination secret.
19:16But then he gives away an important clue.
19:20When you were in the bridge, did you hear him trying to contact anybody?
19:25Yeah.
19:25He called the sun.
19:27People use the telephone.
19:28He used the telephone.
19:29Handphone.
19:30Handphone.
19:30To call somebody.
19:31Somebody.
19:32They said, somebody, I catch already.
19:37Captain Tomas believes the pirate leader has made a call to his boss.
19:42But he doesn't know what the boss plans to do with the ship.
19:48In this kind of crime, pirates are merely the foot soldiers.
19:53The money men calling the shots are miles away in air-conditioned offices.
20:00They organize the people in Singapore.
20:04So, Singapore is the mastermind who get all the cash and debt.
20:15Shakir is a shipping agent with links to Singapore.
20:20He tells of a shady group of oil tanker owners doing dodgy deals.
20:25No questions asked.
20:28All the owners in Singapore, who are a mafia, who already buy anything.
20:34They will buy anything.
20:36They are not interested where the cargo comes from.
20:38There's no good price.
20:39You give me a lower price, I will buy from it.
20:44Cargo ships at sea burn up a lot of fuel.
20:47Some owners and captains will do whatever it takes to get their hands on cheap oil.
20:53Even if that means stealing it.
20:56Someone will sponsor $20,000, $30,000 for doing the hijack operation.
21:04They need to buy the fuel.
21:05They need to buy a certain weapon.
21:08They need to hire the speedboat.
21:12All this cost of money.
21:14But black market buyers are savvy and never deal directly with the pirates.
21:19They use middlemen, like Kamal, as an intermediary.
21:23And they keep their hands clean.
21:26The pirates don't care whether they got people killed and injured or whatever.
21:33And whether the environmental pollution, they will not care about it.
21:39What they care is only their vessel and the cargo.
21:43For pirates like Kamal, the money is life-changing.
21:46But the risks are high.
21:50My life has changed because I got more money to invest in my business and my family got better life.
21:59Obviously, the life has changed.
22:00But I can't say it's happy because sometimes we also worry about that cost or whatever.
22:09Kamal is working his way up the pirate ladder and into the good life.
22:16Maritime Special Investigator Karsten van Hürslen needs to play catch-up before another ship falls victim to the region's pirate
22:25gangs.
22:25We need to get closer.
22:31Special Investigator Karsten van Hürslen is in Malaysia on the hunt for a fleet of pirate phantom tankers.
22:38But spotting phantoms is proving tough.
22:41It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
22:45Then he gets a lead.
22:49On a deserted beach in Johar Province, he finds a trail of breadcrumbs that could lead him straight to the
22:56prize.
23:01This used to be a place where people would sunbathe and now you can't do anything here.
23:05The beach is ruined.
23:07This is fuel oil, diesel oil that's coming from just 12 miles out.
23:13There, they're doing illegal ship-to-ship transfers.
23:15That's where the hijacking of ships is occurring.
23:18And essentially, it's all spillage that's leaking and destroying the marine environment.
23:23Transfers of stolen oil between ships can be quick and sloppy, leaving a toxic mess for local fishermen.
23:32Karsten finds plenty of unhappy locals willing to share intel.
23:37The problem we face as a threat of all the enemy is really a lot.
23:46One of them is the oil spillage.
24:17Norman reveals more.
24:22The pirates are now beginning to pose a direct threat.
24:44Pirates use stolen fishing boats as attack craft.
24:48The thefts are hitting the village hard.
25:04With thefts on the increase, fishermen decided to take action.
25:08They've built a barrier to keep marauding pirates out.
25:22Stolen boats and spilled oil convince Karsten he's close to his quarry.
25:29This is the spot to deploy his latest surveillance tool.
25:36The drone's high-definition camera can search the village fishing grounds undetected.
25:42What we're looking for is a dark hulled product tanker with a white superstructure and a black funnel.
25:51All four of the ones that we're trying to find have this type of ship's profile.
26:02This is getting us a really good overview.
26:04I can see a lot of vessels that fit the profile though.
26:10Any one of these vessels could be a phantom tanker.
26:15We're going to have to get in a boat and take a very close look.
26:21Karsten is closing in on his prey.
26:24In January 2015, when pirates jacked the tanker's sunbirdie, no one knew what its fate might be.
26:32The ship had dropped out of sight.
26:34It had become a literal phantom.
26:38Then the ship's owner, Juan Fawzi, gets a potential lead.
26:44One of my ship's crew was previously working in the sunbirdie.
26:48He called us up and says he saw the ship.
26:51It could be sunbirdie.
26:53But we are not sure because they have changed the phantom colours.
26:58They have changed the names.
27:00And the only lead that they say it's a sunbirdie is that the exhaust fan,
27:05the exhaust part of the sunbirdie, it looks like sunbirdie.
27:09And this was so far out, it is near Pulau Aor.
27:13The new sightings of the sunbirdie means the pirate took a sharp turn north
27:19and travelled around 35 miles after the hijacking.
27:25They know what's happened to the ship, but of the crew, there is no sign.
27:31The ship costs a lot, but the most important to us is the crew.
27:35We don't know what happens to the crew because this is life at stake here.
27:44Worried about his crew, Juan Fawzi, owner of the hijacked oil tanker's son, Birdie,
27:50drives over to the Malaysian Coast Guard headquarters to deliver his news personally.
27:55I told Laksmana Ibrahim that I want to be in the operation room.
28:02Fawzi gives the Coast Guard his new location for the ship.
28:05It's near Pulau Aor.
28:19First Admiral Ibrahim is already in the air and races to the new sighting ahead of the Coast Guard.
28:28And finally, a breakthrough.
28:33We are happy because we managed to locate the vessel.
28:39After 12 grueling hours, the sunbirdie is found.
28:44But she's still under the control of pirates.
28:49When you were in the room, was anybody on guard standing in front of the door
28:53or they just locked you in the room?
28:55I locked the inside there. One big bear is a standby.
28:57Was the one standby with a gun also?
28:59No, only nine.
29:00But everybody's scared already.
29:01Everybody's scared?
29:02We died.
29:03So everybody keep quiet and stayed there until the Coast Guard comes?
29:08Yes.
29:11The Malaysians deploy the elite star unit to take the boat back.
29:23What happens next is a reconstruction.
29:30Under the cover of darkness, the team pulls alongside the ship and boards.
29:37The pirates are focused on guarding the crew.
29:41So how many pilots were there?
29:43Nine pirates.
29:44Nine pilots.
29:45So two with you now?
29:46Two there.
29:47Two is here.
29:49Two inside this room with the other crew?
29:51The other crew.
29:56As star unit commandos close in, below decks, the crew has all but given up hope.
30:07So all the time you were inside the room, they tie you up?
30:10Yes.
30:10And how about the other crew?
30:12Are they traumatized still?
30:13Are they still worried?
30:15Are they still worried?
30:16The crew is staying in.
30:18I like to say, will you finish or stay going or not?
30:21Okay.
30:22Everybody's scared already.
30:23Go, go!
30:23Go, go!
30:24The commandos continue to sweep the ship, hoping to find the crew alive.
30:30But the silence is worrying.
30:32Go, go!
30:34At this point in time, did anybody try to shout?
30:37No!
30:38No, no.
30:39Any of the crew panicked?
30:41Any of the crew tried to, you know, run from the ship?
30:45No.
30:45Or tried to fight with the pirates?
30:47No, no fire.
30:48Everybody he catch already.
30:49Everybody he put in the room?
30:51Yes.
30:51Okay.
30:52Go, clear!
30:54The commandos burst into the sleeping quarters.
30:57Depend!
30:57Go!
30:58Go!
30:58Don't shoot!
31:00Don't shoot!
31:01We have food!
31:02Go, Captain!
31:03I have something!
31:04Come here!
31:05And find several men packed into the tiny room.
31:10One by one!
31:11One by one!
31:13Go!
31:15Go!
31:18Go!
31:19Go!
31:21But now the commandos need to figure out who is who.
31:24Sit up!
31:25Sit up!
31:26They call the name.
31:28Where's the passport?
31:29And see the passport name.
31:31This one, your crew?
31:32Yes.
31:32This one, my crew, sir.
31:33This one?
31:34This one, my crew, sir.
31:36Okay, go.
31:38This one, your crew?
31:39Go!
31:40This one!
31:41Two, sir.
31:41One more, no!
31:44They ID the pirates and separate them from the crew to search for weapons.
31:49The pirates didn't fight back?
31:51No, they didn't fight back.
31:52Only quiet.
31:54Where was the gun?
31:55It said through already in the sea.
31:57Night also through already.
32:01The worst is over.
32:03The pirates are caught and Fawzi gets his ship back.
32:13As for the captain, this event has traumatized him for life.
32:18If the commando doesn't come, what do you think happened to you?
32:23Life has finished already.
32:24Life has finished already.
32:25Life has finished already.
32:25Are you scared about it will happen again?
32:28I'm scared.
32:29That's why I want to go back home.
32:33All nine pirates are sentenced to ten years in prison.
32:38But there are still more pirates out there.
32:45Welcome, Salam.
32:47Maritime Special Investigator, Karsten van Husslen, is closing in on what he thinks are pirate
32:54phantom ships.
32:56But he can't prove it without photographic evidence.
33:01And getting the pictures is going to be tricky.
33:05Right now we're in the outer port limit, so we're looking for four vessels that are
33:10flagged that are suspected phantom tankers.
33:13And there's pretty conclusive evidence that they're involved in hijacking cases.
33:18They're looking for flags of convenience, such as Mongolia, North Korea, Belize, or Equatorial
33:25Guinea.
33:26The reason why they picked these flags of convenience is because these are all states that can effectively
33:30enforce regulations on their ships, but they flag out because they make money on it,
33:35and ships like it because the regulations are quite lax.
33:41If the pirates see him first, it could be game over.
33:44You have to be very careful when you're doing this because you don't want them to spot you.
33:49Uh, and the other thing is they may be able to chatter with other ships who are connected
33:53or, let's say, managed by the same owner.
33:56It may very well be safe when you're out here at sea, but the minute you get to land,
34:00you may have someone following you.
34:03If Karsten is caught, his whole case will be compromised and his cover blown.
34:12Special investigator Karsten van Hoeslin is on the trail of a phantom ship, but he needs
34:17to get close enough to take pictures before he can go to the cops.
34:22We are going to have to be careful. I need to get some evidence and some image intelligence,
34:26and then I can pass it along, but we obviously don't want to be spotted.
34:32Karsten uses a kind of sleight of hand to get close to his target.
34:38He needs the big ships to think he's just a transport boat.
34:44We're in the right type of vessel here. This is kind of a pilot vessel.
34:47And, uh, as long as we keep a low profile and not be seen,
34:52because we don't want to frighten them or have to lift their anchor and head off.
34:57Just try and get as many close-up shots as possible.
35:03Karsten is now close enough to get a positive ID on at least one of the vessels.
35:13Now, this ship ahead, it actually fits the description of one of the four.
35:17It's highly unlikely that she's actually going up to the victim ships.
35:21It's even one better. It's one where the phantom tankers go to her and blend hijacked fuel.
35:28Now, they can be phantom tankers. Either they're, uh,
35:31they're coming alongside to the victim ship and lifting the cargo,
35:34and then they're moving it on to, um, and transferring it to a mothership,
35:38which then blends it with legitimate cargo,
35:40which they sell to unknown buyers, uh, on the legitimate market.
35:45It's a rare find.
35:47Like other phantom ships, the blenders tend to operate in deep cover.
35:53They turn off their AIS, their automatic identification system.
35:57Now, technically, that's supposed to be running 247 if you're moving or if you're at anchor.
36:03And, uh, when I checked this morning to see what's out here and what has the AIS on,
36:08well, this one isn't here.
36:16But the men aboard have eyes on him.
36:20I think we've got a bit of movement on the bridge.
36:25I've got three guys that are on the stern poop deck.
36:29He's getting dangerously close.
36:32We have to keep our distance because even the size of that vessel,
36:36if they're on the bridge, they can easily spot us.
36:38It's now carrying an Equatorial Guinea flag,
36:40which is obviously a flag of convenience.
36:44But what he sees through his lens is worth the risk.
36:48The vessel alongside it...
36:54Yeah, that's a vessel that we've flagged before in the past as well.
36:57Also, same flag, Equatorial Guinea.
37:00So, if I had to guess, they're probably doing some type of transfer there that they shouldn't be doing.
37:07Karsten spots evidence of STS transfer.
37:11You can see the hoses there on the starboard side.
37:15Oh, that's great.
37:17Yeah, they've got them on the ready there.
37:20What they generally do is by readying the hoses, they're not connected.
37:24And if they're not connected, it's not illegal.
37:28But it's very easy to simply put them together and then conduct an STS, which is a ship-to-ship
37:34transfer.
37:41Karsten's seen enough.
37:43Once ashore, he makes a beeline for the cops with pictures in hand.
37:50Ideally, we can get to a point where we can read the names, see what they've scratched off.
37:55Look at the flag on the stern as well as the data on the stern.
38:00See if we can record some IMO numbers.
38:08The MMEA needs probable cause to raid the ship.
38:13A lot is riding on Karsten's photos.
38:18Both ships have freshly painted names.
38:22Given the number of stolen vessels in the region, this makes the cops suspicious.
38:28You can see the names are changing.
38:30Yeah.
38:31The whole name is still on the board.
38:34Well, that was a really useful meeting.
38:35Based on the information, it looks like they have enough intelligence now and evidence
38:39to board the vessel, to detain the vessel, and then arrest the captain.
38:45An MMEA boat floors it out to the suspect vessels.
39:02The raiding party pulls alongside, but no one's to be seen.
39:12The ship is over twice the size of a football field.
39:18A small crew can be elusive.
39:28They head to the bridge.
39:33It's a long hike.
39:34The superstructure is three stories tall.
39:40Captain?
39:41They need to find the captain quickly.
39:43If he's going to flush incriminating information, it's going to be now.
39:48Captain?
39:51But the captain is nowhere to be seen.
39:55The record, do you have?
39:57The record?
39:57The record?
39:59Oh, you don't know?
40:00Oh.
40:00This one is the captain.
40:02Oh, okay.
40:04Then a crewman finally reveals the captain's not around.
40:09Captain, where?
40:10He left.
40:11He left.
40:12He left.
40:13He left.
40:13He left.
40:13He left.
40:14He left.
40:15Passport?
40:16Yeah.
40:18We're supposed to meet with the captain.
40:21But the captain's on leave.
40:27All right, so right now, I think the senior officer that's on board right now is the chief officer.
40:35Along with the captain, the ship's phone also seems to be missing call data.
40:42Lieutenant Brendan is getting suspicious.
40:57They didn't have a logbook for their ship, which is actually an important thing to have for every ship.
41:06Every captain should know this, they should have a logbook.
41:10But the cops do find a record of STS transfers, and they've caught the crew in a lie.
41:29In the absence of the captain, the chief officer has got some explaining to do.
41:35So the cops are going to take him downtown.
41:39We have to take him to the captain, and we will take him to the captain.
41:49From the onboard inspection, it looks like the ship's names have been overpainted.
41:56For Lieutenant Brendan, it's been a good day.
42:01I'm pretty satisfied about it. We managed to bring down two of the crew.
42:07Just a little bit disappointed, because we couldn't get the captain, because the captain's on leave.
42:15If the ship is found guilty, they'll be charged. The penalty, I think, around the amount of 50 to 100k,
42:22Malaysian ringgit.
42:25There is no safe place for oil tankers when pirates are around.
42:31But when Malaysia's maritime cops show up, they give the ship owners a fighting chance.
42:50It's going to take more international cooperation in the region to catch the pirates red-handed.
42:57If action is not taken against maritime crime when it emerges, then the criminals will try to extend their operations.
43:07Which will continue to affect the innocent.
43:22But where there are losers, somebody always stands to gain.
43:28Black Market Oil finds ready custom among cargo ship captains looking to save a buck.
43:34But the truth is, it will always be cheaper on the black market.
43:37There's this demand for hijacked fuel. And that's something that will keep driving the market.
43:42And that's why the pirates are already planning their next heist.
43:46I can't say what ship will reduce, just how big and how many times.
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