Petro Pirates: The Hijacking Of The Petro Ranger (2000) By Captain Ken Blyth
 
At 1.30am on 17 April 1998, Ken Blyth woke to find a machete at his head.

Captain of the MT Petro Ranger, a Singapore-owned tanker carrying A$2.3 million cargo of diesel oil and jet fuel, Blyth was looking forward to a short trip to Saigon, prior to flying home to Brisbane to celebrate his silver wedding anniversary. He had been a merchant seaman for long enough not to use the term 'routine' about any of his voyages, especially not when carrying a volatile cargo through the South China Seas. Piracy, however, was less of a concern than fire - until now.

This was the start of 14 agonising days for Captain Blyth and his crew, as pirates who had commandeered his ship tried to offload the cargo. After finding forged crew lists and ship's documentation Blyth knew that the Petro Ranger's chances of survival were slim.

With the help of two of his crewmen, Blyth engineered a daring escape which alerted Chinese Marine Police to the pirates' presence on his ship. His ordeal was not over yet, however. Incarcerated in Haikou Harbour for the next four weeks, he fought to be reunited with his family and get to the bottom of who was behind the hijacking.

Petro Pirates is the unique, first-hand account of a survivor of modern piracy. Hundreds of millions of dollars are lost through piracy every year, yet Blyth questions the 'conspiracy of silence' between insurers, shipowners and governments. How did the pirates who attacked his ship have access to confidential personnel files and cargo manifests? How is it that false ship's registration papers can be purchased for as little as A$6000? These are just two of the questions raised in this gripping expose of lawlessness and high-level corruption.

Ken Blyth was born and educated in Scotland before beginning a career in the British Merchant Navy as a Cadet Officer in 1961. Following his four-year cadetship, he remained in the British Service until joining the Australian Merchant Navy in 1971. In the Australian Merchant navy he served in all capacities from Third Officer to Captain. He was Ampol's Shipping Marine Superintendent/Operations Manager for a short period before spending the latter part of his career in South-East Asia.

Ken Blyth is married with two daughters and has lived for the past 23 years in the Queensland Gold Coast hinterland, where he is presently in semi-retirement and still researching piracy.
 
Soft Cover
192 pages
In Good Condition