Recap Part 1: The Drop and the Arrest

In April 2024, the Pong Su Incident turns 21, gaining maturity among the nation’s most notorious folklore and in the annals of our ever-vigilant Border Force, the Australian Federal Police, the Victorian, Tasmanian, and New South Wales water police, and the Royal Australian Navy. Yet two polar opposites seem to dominate local memory, with only a few falling in between:

1. Some rank it along with: ‘I know exactly where I was when I heard of the assassinations of JFK and John Lennon’ or, in the same vein, ‘I remember what I was doing when I learned that Princess Diana died’.
2. Others who have long frequented Lorne look blank and ask: “What do you mean by the Pong Su? I’ve never heard of the Pong Su!”

‘The Incident’ was an extraordinary drug-smuggling operation that went badly wrong for the smugglers, their North Korean freighter Pong Su, and the North Korean crew that attempted ‘the drop’. Yet it was also not entirely successful for the surveillance authorities given that—as best as known—a significant portion of the drug cargo was ‘lost’ to the sea or remains buried on land. Further, the apprehension of the suspects reads like an episode of Keystone Cops—both on land and at sea. Netflix, SBS, and others—take note!

Part 1 of this saga [plus my source references] is at the SCT digital site … https://timesnewsgroup.com.au/surfcoasttimes/print-editions/sct-digital-edition-29-march/ … but to recap, it occurred in April 2003 at Boggaley Creek, a narrow garfish channel on the Great Ocean Road between the Jamieson River and Separation Creek, ten minutes to the southwest of Lorne. After a month-long AFP surveillance operation at Crown Casino [surprise, surprise] and along the Great Ocean Road, a clandestine land-based ‘receiver’ team beamed dead-of-the-night torch signals at the Pong Su, a large North Korean freighter modified as a drug-carrying vessel as it dropped anchor just 250m offshore.

It is hard to think of a worse place to attempt a landing and, in heavy seas, the drug transfer by motorised rubber dinghy went fatally awry. The dinghy overturned, one of the North Korean sailors from the ship drowned, and another was found wet and frightened in the bush the following day. The three members of the shore party were apprehended the next day while attempting an escape back to Melbourne … two near Lorne in possession of two packages, each containing 25kg of pure heroin, the third being separately arrested near Geelong.

A month later, in May 2003, aided by GPS coordinates found on a seized device, three more 25kg packages were found buried near Wye River. An additional 25kg package—buried or lost during the landing—has never been recovered despite avid searching lasting several years.

Part 2: The Chase and the International Incident

Leaving his hapless dinghy crew behind—one drowned, the other bewildered as his ‘safe-haven’ ship receded over the horizon—the captain of the Pong Su struck out at full speed for the international waters of the Tasman Sea. Tailed first through Bass Strait by a Tasmanian police vessel, he was instructed to turn for Melbourne. The instruction was ignored. “I am going to Sydney”, said the captain.

Soon, HMAS Stuart, an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy based at Williamstown, was following in the Pong Su’s wake. The Victorian and New South Wales water police harried the ship’s flanks while helicopters and F-111s from the Royal Australian Airforce circled above. Directions to put in at Eden were also ignored. Then, as the ship approached Sydney Heads, the captain veered sharply east and headed for the safety of international waters. As the weather deteriorated and the police vessels were forced back, all devolved to HMAS Stuart.

Meanwhile, onshore, an international political storm had erupted. Further, the incident had come at a delicate international moment. The following is taken from several Internet sources [particularly Wikipedia] that describe the time:

“… the 2001 people-smuggling Tampa Affair, the September 11 Twin Towers and Pentagon attacks, the 2002 Bali bombings, all were still fresh and raw in Western minds. Further, US President George Bush coincidentally gave his “axis of evil” speech squarely implicating North Korea. In May 2003—in the very month the Pong Su drama was unfolding—US Secretary of State Colin Powell told the US Senate that North Korea’s involvement in drug trafficking into Australia was proof that Kim Jong-Il’s regime “thrives on criminality. Kim Jong II [Kim Jong Un’s daddy} was not pleased.”

“… at home, border security was dominating the political debate. Only weeks before the Pong Su dropped anchor at Boggaley Creek, John Howard committed Australian troops to US-led invasions in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.”

“… meanwhile, the North Korea that the Pong Su’s crew had just left behind for their 2003 Australian’ drug drop adventure’ was making the rest of the world extremely anxious. Kim Jong-Il had just withdrawn from the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty, cautioning the United States against any retaliatory military action, or a “third world war” would ensue.”

After a four-day chase at sea and intense diplomatic activity on land, HMAS Stuart was instructed to intercept the Pong Su 35 nautical miles southeast of Newcastle. The Pong Su’s captain, recognising that his goose was cooked, finally complied with most directions. Members of the Army’s Special Operations Tactical Assault Group [TAG] dropped to the deck from a Seahawk helicopter while other TAG operatives boarded rope nets thrown over the sides of the Pong Su from three rigid-hulled inflatable boats that had sped across from the Stuart. The Pong Su was quickly commandeered and turned for Sydney. Later, it was found that the ship had been modified to travel around the world with enough fuel and provisions aboard to avoid entering a port. It had secret storage compartments, had been modified for sea-to-land assault, and was not an innocent freighter.

The thirty crew were detained. Though Australian authorities alleged a ship modified for the manufacture and trade of drugs, the North Koreans stated that it was a ‘civilian trading ship’. The ship’s owner [the government of North Korea] claimed no knowledge of an illegal cargo.

While the story doesn’t end there—not by half—mine does. It suffices to say that after drug charges were brought against the whole crew, after legal ramifications, detentions and court cases, the eventual deportation of the entire crew back to North Korea followed. But since deportation, no subsequent trace of their whereabouts is known. Conjecture has it that they may have disappeared into labour camps—or worse. News reports have claimed the Australian Federal Police fear nearly all of the crew have been executed. While I hope not, who will ever know?

As for the ship, this proved a problem … after all, it was owned by a foreign power—and not a particularly friendly one. After spending time as a melancholy, desolate and rusting ghost ship at Garden Island, it was moved to Snails Bay for two more years—at $2,500/day for security and maintenance. After moving yet again to Chowder Bay in early 2006, the order from Canberra finally came. Scuttle it.

On March 23, 2006, just a month short of three years since the dramatic days along the Great Ocean Road near Lorne, a joint exercise of the RAN and RAAF saw it sunk by two GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bombs off Sydney Heads.

A word from the chariman

Welcome to our Easter visitors. We hope you love, enjoy and respect our town as much as we do who are lucky to call this place home. There is plenty to see and do this weekend with the Saturday Market, a major fundraiser for our local school. Come along and enjoy craft from our local artisans, great food and fun for the kids. There is a fishing competition on Sunday at the pier, and live entertainment at the Aquatic Club, the Lorne Cinema and the Lorne Hotel. Please enjoy our beautiful beach as our late summer rolls on, but please stay safe, swim between the flags, and take your rubbish with you.

*****

Last weekend we were fortunate to be able to visit children and grandchildren in Sydney. While we were there, we also visited the White Bay Power Station. Well, you may ask, why!

It’s ok it wasn’t some fossil-fuelled or nuclear-powered aberration. The power station has recently been restored into a museum to its history but also an arts and performance precinct. It is currently hosting the Sydney Biennale, a festival of arts as well as many activities to keep younger children entertained. While the art and performance was interesting and entertaining, what blew me away was the building, an amazing structure covering over 30,000 square metres and a towering roofline. What is even more amazing is that the New South Wales government recently invested $100 million to restore the building to its never-before-seen glory to be used for the arts.

The power station was first built in 1917, to power the city’s train and rail network, and was later extended to (in conjunction with other such power stations) supplement the commercial and domestic power supply to the Sydney metropolis. The station was decommissioned in 1984 and lay dormant until some visionaries saw its potential and had the passion and persistence to convince the government to preserve an important piece of history.

As we continue our fight to respect the history of Point Grey we can only hope that such vision and passion will win the day. It is worth it!

*****

Smoke is in the air! No, not leaves and bark burning in the gutter, not yet anyway! No, this is important work being done by Forest Fire Management (FFM) protecting our property and our wellbeing. We met with FFM last week to learn that planned burns are an important part of fire protection of our community. The Otways are the highest bushfire impact area in Victoria, and Lorne is the Number 1 highest bushfire risk location in Victoria, closely followed by Anglesea at Number 2. The burns are not random, but the result of scientific modelling to maximise risk-reduction. So let’s not complain too much about a bit of smoke and remember that “fire is part of our landscape” and that you should be concerned if you don’t see smoke in March.

Wishing you the blessings of Easter

Cheers

John Higgins

Chairman

Lorne Ward Events Calendar

April

• 6 Lorne Dolphins Football and Netball V
  Western Eagles

At Stribling Reserve, juniors match from 9am, seniors at 2pm

• 8 Matilda Musical Workshop

At Lorne Stribling Reserve 11am-3pm. www.trybooking.com/cqmdy

• 7 Saltwater Studios School Holiday

At Lorne Stribling Reserve 9.30am-12.15pm. www.saltwaterstudio.net.au/holidayprograms

• 20 Lorne Dolphins Football and Netball V Simpson

At Stribling Reserve, juniors match from 9am, seniors at 2pm

• 21 Ravenswood High Tea, Celebrate Mothers Dy early at the historical Ravenswood home as a fundraiser for The Smith Family

From 2pm – 4:30pm tickets via www.trybooking.com/1189141 for $50 each.