Sea Terrors Demon Pirates

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1046, 9 August 1930, Page 18

Sea Terrors Demon Pirates

This thrilling account of Chinese piracy teas -written hy “Taffrail” (Captain Taprell Darling, D. 5.0.), in “Titbits”

ROM time immemorial piracy has been rife in South Chiua, and though much has been done to stop it hy the institution

of regular patrols of British destroyers or submarines off the notorious Bias Bay, 40 miles east of Hong-Kong, and, of course, by the British river gunboats working in the Canton Delta, the Navy obviously can-

not protect every merchant ship no matter where she may be. Since the establishment of a stable Government at Canton river piracies have largely ceased. Ocean piracies, however, are run upon much more complicated lines, and a master mind is usually at the back of them. Considerable preparation is necessary before they take place. Preliminary voyages may even be made by the head man and his assistants to learn the lay-out of the selected ship, the habits and qualities of the officers, and details of the anti-pirati-cal organisation. Resistance Means Death Then, when the time comes, the gang will embark with its hidden weapons, some in the first-class saloon, some among the teeming native passengers in the holds, others among the crew. They may come aboard at ports far afield- —at Tientsin, in the Gulf of Pcchili, Shanghai, Swatow, HongKong, or even so far south as Singapore. Attack may come at any time. During dinner in the saloon, perhaps, there may come a sudden commotion and shots on deck, and the first-class passengers may find themselves looking into the muzzles of automatics presented at their heads by men passing as merchants, stewards, seamen, or coolies. Resistance means death, and, locked up under guard, travellers are forced to disgorge their valuables. Other armed gangs will have appeared on the bridge, in the engineroom, and at the wireless office, and the officers are compelled at the pistol muzzle to steam their ship to Bias Bay, where the vessel is looted and hostages carried off for ransom. The gutted ship is then permitted to make the best of her way back to HongKong, where her arrival causes a couple of days’ talk before the whole affair passes into comparative oblivion.

The lot of the hostages who are usually well-to-do merchants or Chinese <jf the better class, is an unhappy one. Taken inland, an extortionate ransom is demanded for their release, and if the money Is not forthcoming. <-ars or fingers may be removed and sent to relations or friends as an earnest of what is to come. If the

Who Defy The Navyl

A Story by “TAFFRAIL”

ransom fails to materialise, the hostages may be left to starve or put to death, often after horrible torture. It was only in December last that a desperate attempt was made to seize the British steamer Hatching by a gang of pirates who had embarked as ordinary passengers. In accordance with the Hong-Kong Government’s “Piracy Prevention Ordinance” of 1314, which applies to all British vessels trading from the colony, the Haiching carried armed Indian guards, was provided with arms and ammunition, and was fitted with wire grilles to protect her bridge, engine-room and wireless office, as well as to restrict the free movement of Chinese passengers.

This did not prevent the pirates from finding their way into the protected area through a coal bunker, which shows that they had an intimate knowledge of the ship’s geography.

The attack took place at 1.30 In the morning, the stand-off guards being shot while asleep. The alarm being raised, the officers rushed from their cabins to "defend the bridge, the chief officer being wounded and the third officer killed on the way there. The pirates then attacked the bridge, though, thanks to the stout resistance of the captain and officers, they wore beaten off. -» They thereupon set fire to the cabins

underneath with the idea of smoking the defenders out, but, being dislodged, were driven aft and held at bay for about three hours. Seeing their attempt had failed, they then tried to escape in the ship’s boats, using innocent passengers as a serden, but this the officers were able to prevent.

Mean-while S.O.S. signals bad been sent off by wireless, and at 6.30 a.m. British destroyers arrived to find the “Haiching” sto»-; ed and burning fiercely. The five was got under, and about 350 Chinese passengers removed. Finally, at noon, the “Haiching” managed to proceed under her own steam, and reaching Hong-Kong, all the passengers were removed to the shore for the purpose of itjentifying the pirates. Six of the latter had been killed during the fight; but the steamer’s death-roll, augmented by a boat accident when some of the native passengers tried to leave the ship in panic, was estimated at 30. The failure of this particular attack was largely due to the gallantry of Captain Farrow and his officers. ‘The list of piracies within the last few years is an amazing one. At least five piracies took place during 1927, various lives being lost, and one vessel being relieved of the equivalent of £IO,OOO.

With the attempted capture of the “Haiching” the merry game continues. Truly it may be said that, those who go down to the sea in China coasters have more than their share of risk a:ad excitement.