Sailors assigned to the guided-missle cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) approach a life boat to rescue crew members from the Liberian-flagged motor vessel MT Brilliante Virtuoso, July 6, 2011. U.S. Navy Photo
By Kit Chellel, Matthew Campbell and Angus Bennett (Bloomberg) —
In July 2011, the oil tanker Brillante Virtuoso was drifting through the treacherous Gulf of Aden when a crew of pirates attacked and set her ablaze. When David Mockett, a maritime surveyor, inspected the vessel, he was left with more questions than answers. Not long after, Mockett was killed in a car bombing.
Bloomberg reporters Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel, in their 2022 book, “Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy,” published by Portfolio, pull back the curtain on the byzantine and often corrupt world of international shipping. In this episode of Bloomberg’s Storylines, they tell the tale of one of the biggest insurance fraud cases in history—and the damage and death that came with it.
© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.
Join the 85,785 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
A group of shipping industry bodies have decided the remove the Indian Ocean “High Risk Area”, reflecting a signicantly improved piracy situation in the region, the International Chamber of Shipping...
Global incidents of piracy fell in the first half of the year to the lowest reported level in nearly 30 years amid ‘cautious’ gains in the Gulf of Guinea, the...
The notoriously dangerous Gulf of Guinea saw a lull in crew kidnappings in the first three months of the year, but officials are urging continued caution as of the risk...
