“It must be a terrible day for them to see you resupplied yesterday and three ships this morning,” Siddharth Chakravarty says on the radio from the Sam Simon.
On the Atlas Cove, the engineer has taken control of the radio and calls up the Thunder. In his hand he has a memo written by Steve Paku on the way down from Portugal. He now reads it in Spanish:
“Fishing vessel Thunder, good morning. I speak in the name of my captain. This is marine fishing vessel Atlas Cove. This ship is a member of COLTO, Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators. We have set position along Sea Shepherd ships Bob Barker and Sam Simon in support of their actions to stop all illegal fishing operations. Your ship is part of the ones that keeps fishing illegally. Both governments and NGOs are determined to stop this illegal activity. These people behind you won’t let you go passively. Their reputation speaks for them, and you, sir, are their target. They won’t stop until you stop, so do yourself a favour, go home and stay there. If you want to keep fishing in the Southern Ocean, do it through the right channels like everyone else does, and become a responsible person, a responsible and legal operator. And most important, you help yourself being a responsible person, a responsible human being. We have to take care of the little that is left in the seas, because if we don’t there will be nothing left for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Over.”
Captain Cataldo is not in the mood to listen to a cautionary tale about love for nature and children. As the Atlas Cove approached, he was summoned up onto the bridge. He is tired and under the weather; the chase has begun to take its toll on his strength. During the past few weeks he has not been especially talkative, but now he picks up the phone and calls Spain. The numbers of the owner and his two closest colleagues are written down on a yellow Post-it hanging on the wall of the navigation room.
“Now there are bloody well three of them!” he shouts over the phone.
According to one of the officers on the bridge, Cataldo then receives an order to run into one of the ships pursuing him. Throughout the entire chase Cataldo has bragged about how he is a better captain and shipmaster than Hammarstedt.
“We’re going to put about now,” he says after having finished the call to Spain.
Abruptly he puts the vessel hard about starboard and towards the Atlas Cove.
“The Thunder is turning, just got to get on the helm here, Steve,” Hammarstedt warns over the radio.
A black cloud of smoke shoots up out of the Atlas Cove’s stack as the ship picks up speed to escape the Thunder’s sudden attack. The Sam Simon and the Bob Barker must also navigate out of the formation to avoid being hit.
“Hey Steve, they are a bit unpredictable. Don’t take it personally,” Hammarstedt says.
When Cataldo finally speaks up over the radio, he is clearly upset.
“Here Thunder is sailing in international waters with the Nigerian flag. What is the problem with the three ships?” he asks.
“Yes, yes, what is the problem? It is three ships already, three ships. The Sam Simon, Bob Barker and Atlas Cove. What is the problem? We are sailing in international waters, in international waters with the Nigerian flag, what is the problem? Over.”
“The problem is that you are fishing illegally, like our colleague said, and we are trying to stop you. Over,” the Sam Simon answers.
“Negative, negative. We are not fishing, we are sailing. You are going to cause an accident and there are people here, and you have people in your ships, too. You have to be careful and keep a safe distance, over.”
“If you keep changing course like you are doing, maybe you will cause a collision, otherwise there will not be any accident. Over,” the Sam Simon replies.
One of Sea Shepherd’s dinghies is positioned in front of the bow of the Thunder, ready to film the altercation. Hammarstedt does not yet know whether he will publicize the story of the meeting with the three ships, out of fear of the reaction of Sea Shepherd supporters who oppose fishing.
“And your small boat should not cross our bow anymore. That is dangerous. It might make us nervous, and when someone is nervous, he can cause an accident. Over,” Cataldo says.
“Don’t worry about the small boat, it is not going to cause any accident, it keeps staying away from you. Over.”
“Say to the captain of the Bob Barker, the captain of the Sam Simon and the captain of the Atlas Cove that I am not afraid of them. I am not afraid of them. If they want to ram me, ram me. If they want to sink me, sink me. But I will keep on with the orders that I have, to sail in international waters. I am not afraid of you. Over.”
“Understood, but while you keep sailing in international waters, since we are not afraid of you either, we will stay with you. Over.”
“But don’t accuse me and don’t bother me. I am not afraid of you. If you want to sink me, sink me, but under your responsibility. Remember that we have people here. There are people on board, we are fulfilling a job, and we are going to stay here until we receive another order. Over.”
“It is not our intention to put your ship or your crew or anyone in danger. We only want to make sure that you go to port and stop fishing. But we don’t want to put anyone in danger, you or us,” the Sam Simon answers.
“Then why are you so close, why are you so close, the crew here is getting anxious and nervous, and that is dangerous. If there is an accident or a tragedy, or someone jumps overboard, it’s going to be your responsibility. Over.”
“OK, we will stay with
