Fire, ice and thunder: A chase on the high seas
An endangered ice fish, the world's most notorious poaching vessel and an epic chase across three oceans; Peter Hammarstedt tells the dramatic tale of taking down the Thunder.
The Thunder was the most notorious and elusive poaching ship in the world; for ten years governments had struggled to catch it. Then, in 2014, a crew from the organisation Sea Shepherd - known for its anti-whaling activity - found it illegally hunting Patagonian toothfish in the ice floes of the Antarctic and decided to stop it. They pursued the Thunder for 110 days over 10,000 miles before a dramatic stand-off in the Gulf of Guinea. Captain Peter Hammarstedt, from Sea Shepherd, tells Jo Fidgen about the dramatic chase and eventually watching the Thunder as it burned. A longer version of this interview was broadcast on 19th November 2020 and is available as a podcast in the Outlook feed.
On-board recordings in this piece are from the documentary Ocean Warriors: Chasing the Thunder, courtesy of Brick City TV.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Mariana Des Forges
Photo: The Thunder surrounded by icebergs
Credit: Sea Shepherd
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
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- Sat 26 Jun 202108:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 27 Jun 202108:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 27 Jun 202122:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
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