Hijacking and Murder in Global Shipping’s Grim Underbelly

Published 2022-09-21
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. Soon after his inspection, Mockett was killed in a car bombing.

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All Comments (21)
  • Poor Guy doing his job on the verge of retirement.... And gets blown away. And the bank sweeps the debt under the carpet . Terrible injustice. Great Doc
  • @mynameISsky
    Capt. David Mockett was a dear, dear friend of mine. 💔
    Thank you for telling his story.
  • @grungepants
    For a documentary about a ship this was absolutely riveting.
  • thanks to Bloomberg for shining a light into one of the murkier corners of the world... genuinely fascinating
  • This should be a movie. For one, it’s very exciting and interesting. Two, David Mockett deserves to have his story told and memory honored.
  • @terence671
    This is top shelf journalism. Great work.
  • David was a top surveyor - bravely dealt with a hijacking for our team in Sharjah
  • I knew a Swedish guy who had once been an Interpol officer. He had a 30 ft yacht that he burned for insurance. Got away with it, but when he later burned a fishing boat as well, he got caught and went to jail.
  • Beautifully done. It is one of the few news programs that restores my faith in journalism.
  • @idk8587
    Need more documentaries like this
  • @deforged
    if the insurance industry is so convinced of his guilt, then why doesn't it just label him as a pariah and make him uninsurable anywhere?
  • @sethart22
    They should do a movie about this, brilliant story
  • @Stu-SB
    That was excellent, I'd never heard of David Mockett or this incident, incisive and well compiled report
  • This was also covered on BBC Sounds in three 30 minute episodes, The Case of the Brillante Virtuoso. Along with another series, Lost at Seat, looking into disappearances of fisheries observers it makes the maritime industry look like a dangerous lawless place.
  • @GlutesEnjoyer
    What an evil man. At the end of the video he wants the maritime industry to go “it’s not that bad it’s just one bad guy” but it’s not. The maritime industry is absolutely rife with the most vile greedy evil people you can imagine.

    It is literally cutthroat
  • @PapaDamage
    It is known that greek owners are not shying away from sinking their own ship together with full crew for the insurance money, happened to a friend of mine.
  • @traveel9409
    Well done. I wish journalism could be like this again... make it so!
  • @cd5433
    Greek shipping owners are known for this. They are the shadiest people on the world because of the culture around shipping and the laws