ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

One November day in 2014, we were discussing ideas for new articles for the Norwegian national daily newspaper Dagens Næringsliv. The conversation went something like this:

“Do you remember the two fishing vessels that were wanted by Interpol?”

“Yeah ...”

“What was it that actually happened?”

The work that led to writing this book began with one of journalism’s most fundamental questions. And although we weren’t aware of it, Peter Hammarstedt had just set his course for the Banzare Bank in search of the Thunder, the Viking and “The Bandit 6”. The documentary article about Hammarsted’s pursuit of the Thunder and our search for the ship’s owner in Galicia was one of the most read pieces in Dagens Næringsliv in 2015. A book deal followed, along with trips to five continents to speak with people who were involved in the story of the search for “The Bandit 6”.

It has been a long journey and there are many people who have helped us out along the way.

First, we give thanks to our bosses at Dagens Næringsliv, Gry Egenes, Frode Frøyland and Espen Mikalsen, who gave us the opportunity to work on the story for the newspaper – and who later granted us leave so we could write this book. Our wonderful colleagues Kenneth Lund and Morten Iversen deserve a solid pat on the back for their interpreting and reporting assistance.

We owe a huge thanks to Frode Molven, editor at Vigmostad & Bjørke, for his belief in the project, especially when our own belief failed us. Rita G. Karlsson, at Kontext Agency in Stockholm, has done a fantastic job of selling the book to the rest of the world. Thank you!

The Sea Shepherd captain Peter Hammarstedt contributed above and beyond the call of duty. When we had received 500 emails, we stopped counting. Sid Chakravarty, Simon Ager, Alex Cornelissen and Michelle Mossfield at Sea Shepherd also deserve our thanks for making a contribution far beyond any reasonable expectation.

We give a huge thanks to all our sources who came through for us in Spain. A special thanks goes to journalist Victor Honorato and María José Cornax from the environmental organization Oceana. Victor accompanied us on our first trip to Ribeira, knocked on doors and made uncomfortable phone calls. María answered all of our more or less intelligent questions about the pirate syndicates, Spanish bureaucracy and the Spanish authorities’ unwillingness to take any action against the fisheries mafia in Galicia – up until the moment when they moved in with the big guns in 2015, to a large degree thanks to the tireless efforts of María and Oceana.

Special thanks also go to Tor Glistrup, Eve de Coning and Gunnar Stølsvik in Norway who gave us our first introduction to the work of combating international fisheries crime.

We are particularly thankful to Alistair McDonnell from Interpol’s Project Scale and Glen Salmon at AFMA in Australia who guided us, dug through archives and answered questions as far as their job descriptions would permit.

We have travelled far and wide in conjunction with the work on this book, but the trip to São Tomé and Príncipe is the one we remember best. We thank our interpreter Alex and the untiring manager of Sweet Guest House. The same holds for the adventurous and newlywed couple Aleksandra Dorann and Olof Van Winden. What a party!

In Oslo, the team at Visualdays, along with Tore Namstad, Morten Haug Frøyen and Anne Walseth all deserve our thanks for their advice, encouragement and overall goodwill.

The captain of the Kunlun, Alberto Zavaleta Salas from Peru, also merits a particularly honourable mention. He was the only officer on the pirate vessels who was brave enough to be interviewed on the record.

We have saved our biggest thanks for last: Fernando Manuel Toledo Oregon, the fearless optimist who travelled with us to Latin America when the book project was on the brink of falling apart, who certainly saved us from being robbed in Valparaiso and whose resolve did not waver when we knocked on the door of “Mr. Big” in Galicia. Muchas gracias!

And to Anne Grete Arntzen, Hilde Andersen and our children: thank you for putting up with all our madness.

The writing of this book was made possible by funding from the Fritt Ord foundation and the Norwegian non-fiction writers association (NFF). We are incredibly fortunate to have you. Thank you.

We will conclude with a well-known phrase: this is a documentary in which we describe real-life events to the best of our abilities. Any errors, omissions or misunderstandings are not the fault of our sources, but wholly our responsibility as the authors.

Eskil Engdal and Kjetil Sæter Oslo, December 2016