Seized: A Sea Captain's Adventures Battling Scoundrels and Pirates While Recovering Stolen Ships in the World's Most Troubled Waters

The <i>Erika</i> was not the first ship Hardberger had stolen (actually retrieved) from under the noses of the authorities. The <i>Patric M</i> had been interned in Venezuela by the receiver for shortage of cargo. There are four entities involved in ship traffic: the owner, the charterer (who charters the ship to carry a cargo), the shipper and the receiver (the actual intended entity for the cargo.) Anyone of these four can screw over the crew, or each other. A common practice was for the receiver to claim he had been shorted in cargo and have the local government (often no government at all in places such as Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and then seize the ship “against debts,” sell it, and split the money as bribes with officials. The crew was caught in the middle, the owner having no incentive to pay the crew if he thought the ship would be seized. <br /><br />Hardberger, risking years in a Venezuelan jail, used stealth, bribes, whiskey, whatever was necessary to get the ship out of the harbor into international waters. In the case of the <i>Patric M</i>, the Venezuelans declared the ship had been stolen by pirates which meant any vessel could go after it and it wasn’t welcome in any port -- at least as the <i>Patric M</i> Hardberger anchored in a remote bay and forged ships papers to reflect a new name and then helped the owner to sell the new ship back to himself. It meant changing the name on all the “build” papers, those that like owner’s manuals came when the ship was new. They also had to build up a new weld to reflect the new name since ships have their names raise welded in certain areas. <br /><br />One of my favorite stories was when Hardberger was hired to smuggle 50 East German crop-dusters to Venezuela. It was two weeks before reunification, the East German government had collapsed, but the Westies (former West Germans) had no authority yet. The planes had been sold to an entrepreneur who called Hardberger to see about shipping. If they weren’t out of the country by reunification they would become the property of the new German government. Hardberger flew over, arranged for FEU’s (forty-foot containers) for each plane, helped arrange bribes for the East German customs officials, and got the containers eventually on board a ship for Venezuela. They had to fly each plane to Rostock where is was quickly disassembled and loaded on to a container. Mechanics and pilots were unemployed so there was lots of labor. It reads like a spy novel. <br /><br />On another occasion, Captain Max was hired to act as intermediary for a bunch of ships that a salvager in China wanted to buy to break down for scrap. The ships were located in Russia (this was just after the fall of the Soviet Union.) He hooked up with broker who hired Milos, a Bulgarian ex-patriot, to translate since Max could not speak Russian. Milos, it turns out had worked for the Bulgarian Secret Police, and, unlike Max, was not averse to dealing with the Russian mafia who made their presence known very quickly. After the owner of the ships was shot and killed and the hoodlums decided they would sell the ships, Max and his colleague decided to vacate the country as quickly as possible only Milos, clearly wanting to take over the deal, had stolen their visas. Annie, Max’s colleague, had a unique and very satisfactory way of getting back at Milos.<br /><br />Not all his adventures involved stealing ships back for their rightful owners from the clutches of Haitian (and other) corrupt officials. After he earned his law degree (he study law via a correspondence course, much to the embarrassment of his wife, and passed the California bar exam on his first try,) he opened a maritime law practice where his unlimited tonnage master’s license and experience as a ship surveyor came in handy, not to mention his numerous friends and contacts all over the world. His method for getting payment for shippers from a corrupt ship charterer was priceless. The generally take-everything-on-trust-or-a-handshake method of doing business lends itself to a lot of corruption. Unfortunately, the crew, often the last to get paid by owners who run into financial difficulty, get screwed. Many are from very poor backgrounds, have little money, and if the owner goes bankrupt with no money to pay anyone, the crew can be marooned in a foreign port with no way to return home or survive. Some wind up living a hand-to-mouth existence on the hulks of rotting ships. There is an agency in New York that exists for the sole purpose of providing these seamen with the means to return home, but if they don;t know about them (and often they don’t) no help can be provided.<br /><br />Lots of interesting and useful information such as how to tell the age of a European freighter. European shipbuilders, being a conservative lot, decided it wasn’t enough to just weld strakes to the strakes so they added additional layers of rivets, especially when later connecting the hull to the deck. So any ship having rivets and welding dated from before the mid-sixties when they finally gained enough confidence in welding alone. Essential knowledge if you are ever in the market for an old freighter. Rivets are strong but they wear out faster than the steel they hold together and eventually have to be re-riveted making them earlier candidates for the breaker. Or what is a MacGregor hatch and the advantages of wooden versus metal hatches, not to mention the different types of cranes. (<i>"Union-purchase derricks are not the best system, but they have the advantage of simplicity. They are slightly faster than swinging derricks-cargo gear with a single boom that swings from over the cargo to over the dock-but they're slower than cranes. Today you will find no type of gear on ships except cranes, but they are complex and prone to mechanical problems"</i> I love this kind of detail, and Hardberger makes it such an integral part of the exploits, it doesn’t even hint at dryness.<br /><br />One of his great jobs was to travel all over Europe surveying ships and recommending them -- or not -- to purchasers. It required a great deal of knowledge about ships knowledge -- he bemoans Coast “90-day wonders” not having yet who can control whether a ship can leave port or not -- and got to see lots of European towns and villages. Very cool. Highly recommended to anyone with a passing nautical interest.

This was a hard one to classify. Very interesting, but not the best writing. Compelling stories showing an industry, and actually the underbelly of an industry, that few of us know anything about directly but all of us depend on. The world of shipping and independent / small-time freighters is apparently not just dangerous thanks to the work, but thanks to the precarious nature of law and relationships between the shippers, the owners, the crews and the officials in charge of the docks.<br /><br />Fans of characters like Han Solo or Malcolm Reynolds will likely be amazed to find out that those worlds are closer to reality than we might normally assume. Ships are seized for unpaid bills, often trumped up to the point where they are more than the ship is worth, and Captain Max steals them back. <br /><br />The language is not flashy or polished. I don't need a lot of polish, but I would start to lose interest when I got a little too frustrated with the book. But then, about every five pages or so I remembered "this is real, not a story", and I would get pulled in again. Worth a read if you've got the time and any interest at all in maritime industries or stories about true crime and real anti-heroes who fight it.

This book had me wondering whether the author was the good guy or the bad guy. I did enjoy some of the insight into maritime law and the book had a lot of interesting tidbits about the inner workings of large ships. The ending was heartwrenching.

Max Hardberger’s Seized, a Sea Captains Adventures – Battling Scoundrels and Pirates while Recovering Stolen Ships in the World’s Most Troubled Waters is a fascinating account of one man’s remarkable career and personal journey. In addition to working professionally as a crop-duster, school teacher, lawyer, and ship’s captain, Max Hardberger developed the rather unusual specialty of returning stolen property, very large stolen property. He steals back ships wrongly seized in foreign ports and returns them to their owners.<br /><br />There is a cliche that petty thieves steal with guns while the big thieves steal with pens. Hardberger’s career as a “ship extractor” began when as captain of the bulk carrier, Naruda, which had just discharged a cargo of rice in Haiti, a claim was filed against the ship for a short discharge. The claim was false and even if valid, should have been filed against shipper and not the ship. Nevertheless an unscrupulous merchant, paying off a corrupt judge in a third world port, just might have succeeded in stealing the ship. With guile, stealth, liquor for the guards, and a bit of bribery Captain Hardberger succeeded in slipping the ship out of Cap Haitian. It was the beginning of a highly varied career as a ship thief.<br /><br />In Seized, Captain Hardburger describes sneaking ships out of Venezuela, Haiti, Trinidad, Belgium, Honduras, Mexico and Greece, as well as flying forty seven crop dusters out of East Germany. In the process he had to cope with corrupt officials, the Russian mob, political unrest, and a mixed bag of scoundrels, pirates and con men.<br /><br />He describes the difficulty of sneaking ship out of port. Most ships have diesel engines which can make a lot of noise in the dead of night when trying to slip out of a port unnoticed. In one case, Captain Hardberger merely slipped the lines and let the ship drift out with the wind and current to a waiting tug. In another case, he arranged for a very noisy party at a neighboring waterfront whorehouse to mask the sound of the ship’s engines starting up. The range of trickery, diversions and deceptions used to extract ships from ports around the world is highly entertaining.<br /><br />What makes this memoir something more than a group of sea stories loosely strung together is that we also follow Captain Harberger’s personal journey. This includes the highs and lows, from his passing the California bar exam to become an attorney (after completing a law school correspondence course,) to the end of his marriage and the tragic loss of a daughter to heart disease. The memoir ends in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where he has lost most of his worldly possessions while still in mourning over his daughter’s death. Nevertheless, it is clear that he will carry on. There is still work to be done and just possibly more ships to save.<br /><br />Seized, a Sea Captains Adventures – Battling Scoundrels and Pirates while Recovering Stolen Ships in the World’s Most Troubled Waters is a gripping story of real-life adventure. A highly enjoyable read.

Damn you, <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/171919.Max_Hardberger" title="Max Hardberger" rel="noopener">Max Hardberger</a>! <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="b5c8dea5-ac1a-427f-961a-edff6c646a18" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="b5c8dea5-ac1a-427f-961a-edff6c646a18">Real life doesn't always offer a happy ending, but concluding this memoir like you did was so "theatrical"!. </label> You better be working on your next book!<br /><br /><a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/7206724.Seized_A_Sea_Captain_s_Adventures_with_Scoundrels__Con_Artists__and_Pirates_in_Recovering_Ships_from_the_World_s_Most_Troubled_Waters" title="Seized A Sea Captain's Adventures with Scoundrels, Con Artists, and Pirates in Recovering Ships from the World's Most Troubled Waters by Max Hardberger" rel="noopener">Seized</a> is a unique memoir that tells a one-of-a-kind story about a pretty scary, hard way to make a living. <br /><br />In <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/1279686.Genghis_Birth_of_an_Empire__Conqueror___1_" title="Genghis Birth of an Empire (Conqueror, #1) by Conn Iggulden" rel="noopener">Genghis</a> I read that:<br /><i>Courage cannot be left like bones in a bag. It must be brought out and shown the light again and again, growing stronger each time. If you think it will keep for the times you need it, you are wrong. It is like any other part of your strength. If you ignore it, the bag will be empty when you need it most.</i> <br /><br />Some few strong men who make their livings by stepping forward where there is risk like <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/171919.Max_Hardberger" title="Max Hardberger" rel="noopener">Max Hardberger</a> write convincingly about getting scared and being worried. <br /><br />Hardberger shows time and again in <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/3182955.Freighter_Captain" title="Freighter Captain by Max Hardberger" rel="noopener">Freighter Captain</a> &amp; <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/7206724.Seized_A_Sea_Captain_s_Adventures_with_Scoundrels__Con_Artists__and_Pirates_in_Recovering_Ships_from_the_World_s_Most_Troubled_Waters" title="Seized A Sea Captain's Adventures with Scoundrels, Con Artists, and Pirates in Recovering Ships from the World's Most Troubled Waters by Max Hardberger" rel="noopener">Seized</a> that fear and courage can walk in lockstep where there is also risk and adventure. <br /><br />What I admire most here is that somehow Hardberger's been willing to take the next call, do the next job, lead instead of follow, act instead of resign himself. <br /><br />Keep answering the phone and keep writing about it!

full of fascinating stories about shady maritime activities... Max Hardberger sounds like a great guy to sit down with over a beer. none of his stories are quite of dramatic hollywood-esque proportions, but still very interesting to hear about the various (and highly practical) ways that he has managed to sneak into shipyards in order to recover seized ships. equally lucky as he is skilled (with a very unique field of expertise), it is a wonder that he is not in a jail somewhere in Venezuela or Haiti.<br /><br />reading his stories does make me wonder about the other side of the coin... were all of his actions really so heroic? I do wonder about the perspective of those companies/countries who he "rescued" ships from, in every case was it really an unjust seizure that he was serving as robin hood for?

A dangerous profession is what I call that of Max Hardberger. He has allowed us into his world of retaking of seized ships of all types and sizes from the not so friendly waters of some seemingly brutal countries in the world. Mr. Hardberger also interjects some humor into what could be called one of the most dangerous professions known, and maybe not so well known. The taking of a ship with no power and allowing it to drift into international waters without being detected is something this reader did not expect to read in the story of his life. Thank you so much Max, for a story that is worth telling.

3.5 stars

Who doesn't like to read a good sailing yarn? And what better than to learn something about international shipping while you're at it. Captain Max's stories are entertaining but there's probably a fair amount of hyperbole in these supposedly true stories. Anyone who's been to Chaguaramas knows how busy the entrance channel is at all hours as Trinis are notorious for partying all night long, coming in at all hours in their fishing pirogues, smuggling boats, pleasure power boats and foreign yachties' sailboats. Even with a northeast wind, a quick look at an aerial satellite map, let alone a nautical chart and you can see that only a miracle would let a large freighter drift to sea without hitting the shore of the harbor islands. It does not seem likely that a sane person would risk a long term in third world prison for owners you don't know and ships you don't own so many times. It's more likely that Captain Max listened to the embellished tales of the many storytellers in the shipping business and, like Jack London before him, wrote their stories along with the ones in which he was actually involved. Kudos to him for bravely breaking the law so successfully so many times and living to tell the tales, I guess. Unfortunately, unlike Jack London, Max Hardberger's writing has too many 'I had the fish for dinner' blog-like references though some may feel the diary feel adds to credibility to his claims. But you have to hand it to him, the book is a good tale and a pleasant memoir, one unlikely to be written again because port security post 9/11 has improved significantly so it's a lot harder to steal a ship from ports around the world that are accredited to send goods by ship to the U.S.

This book is really a page turner. You will not want to put it down once you start it. It is easy to forget that it is a true story because the tale the author tells has you sitting on the edge of your seat. When you do remember that it is a true story you are aghast and struck with awe for this man who has enormous courage and fortitude and manages to defy all odds while operating in a corrupt maritime world in many dangerous third world countries. At times the choices he makes seem cruel or heartless and without compassion. He puts himself in danger often without considering the needs of his family back home. He makes horrible threats, he dumps guards into lifeboats and sets them adrift in the sea, he hoodwinks so many people one would think his reputation would precede him and there would be pictures or posters of him plastered in public places in these out of the way ports, as if he were public enemy number one for the criminal world and mind to avoid. <br />These crooks he encounters are not very smart. Max Hardberger is way smarter and usually outwits them with his brain and brawn reclaiming ships and property that have been illegally seized. He often seems fearless, even reckless with a wanderlust that leads him to adventures in remote parts of the world to do things that sometimes defy the imagination and place him in enormous danger. To achieve his goals he can be cold and calculating. He is driven by the job, motivated by the "rightness" of correcting a wrong perpetrated upon an honest owner by unscrupulous business people and organized crime. To succeed, he often bends the rules and bribes others to break the law. <br />His varied experiences have served him well in whatever he has chosen to do since he has contacts and friends everywhere who happily serve his needs, for a price, when he calls upon them. He has dealt with the most corrupt people and I wondered, at times, how he kept himself from becoming corrupt, in order to survive, since he has had to operate under the legal radar. <br />The author has had a varied life, studying law, working on oil rigs, ships and teaching. He himself is very interesting and he has written a very exciting book.<br />