A SWEDISH ENCOUNTER

We will call him Sven. A round man of jolly

countenance although given to sudden moments of
silent reflection.

His call from Bahrain surprised me. Over the years,

I have tried many times to engage with the Middle
East and almost always failed. Anyway, he
expressed interest in a 43ft motor yacht we were
advertising and asked the questions which betray
real interest to the experienced yacht broker. Lying
where? Construction? Condition? Price
negotiability?

I explained the buying process: inspection, offer,

sea trial and survey. The motor yacht was a Royal
Storebro called Marie Louise, built in Sweden.
Handsome motor yachts with double diagonal
timber hull and beautifully varnished toe rail, deck
trim and flying bridge. Marie Louise however was in
pretty poor condition thanks to ignorant and
careless owners. I advised him the motor yacht
was lying in Malaga, southern Spain. Both this
news and my description of the condition seemed
to please Sven.

He asked for bank details. I advised him to wait till

he had inspected before paying the deposit and
was a bit taken aback when said he hadn’t got
time so would send the full purchase price and
dispense with inspection and the purchase
formalities. I very strongly advised against but he
was determined so I wrote confirming my advice
and warning him of the folly of his plan.
 2

The following morning, the bank telephoned to

advise receipt of funds.

I met Sven a week later. He was a lot less jolly and

a bit preoccupied. Anyway, I handed over the Bill
of Sale, duly signed, witnessed and dated, the
British Certificate of Registry, a copy of a transcript
confirming clear and unencumbered title and
arranged for him to collect the keys in Malaga.

About a week later, one of my Detective

acquaintances, let’s call him John, from Leman
Street CID called. Usual form; no names; no clues
but could he call in for a chat.

An hour or so later, we were going through the

Marie Louise file. They had had an urgent call from
Interpol asking them to arrest a Swedish national
called Sven. This man owned a small garden shed
company in Sweden but had somehow won a
contract with the Government of Bahrain to supply
a new 200 bed hospital in Manama. Sven’s
company was contracted to supply prefabricated
and highly sophisticated medical wards which
would be put together on site.
The payment terms of the contract required initial
cash deposits followed by Letters of Credit, FOB
terms.
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When the deposits were received, Sven took the

contract to his bank who were very impressed.
When the shipping documents were presented and
the bank asked to pay against the terms of the
Letter of Credit, it did so without hesitation and
Sven’s company was several million dollars richer.

However, when the consignment arrived in

Bahrain, officials feared a sound lashing when they
found containers of flat pack garden sheds, and no
sign of the prefabricated hospital wards they
expected!
Anyway, I could only confirm that Sven fitted the
fugitives description and wished John the best of
luck.

A month later, Sven arrived in my office

unannounced. The Bahrain episode had been a
misunderstanding, he said.

He had collected Marie Louise in Malaga and

decided to return to UK. The 43ft Royal had a flying
bridge and a draught of about 1.5m.

Sven, having no yachting, navigation or other

marine experience or skills decided a passage
through the French canals was his only option. He
had the flying bridge removed and strapped to aft
deck. When he encountered a bridge still too low,
he first tried flooding the bilges and if that didn’t
work, he hired a crane to transport the Royal to the
next stretch of river. He also used the crane trick
when he encountered shallow stretches of the
river. A man of some enterprise!

He completed the passage and took Marie Louise

to a south coast yard for an extensive and
expensive refit. The bills mounted but the yard was
unconcerned as they had a lien. Eventually, after 6
months and looking very impressive, Marie Louise
was launched for sea trials.

The trials were successful. A date seven days

hence was agreed with the yard for Sven to start
his planned passage to the Baltic. This would allow
time for his account, now in excess of £150,000 to
be paid by bank transfer thus releasing the lien.

It was a full moon and starlit sky when Sven left

the yard the following morning at 03.00hrs. There
was a south westerly breeze which he calculated
would help him on his was on his way to the Dutch
canals. He quietly navigated down the river before
opening throttles in the Solent. He passed Cowes
to starboard before adjusting his course towards
the channel buoys off Portsmouth.

Marie Louise had now settled at her cruise speed of

about 15 knots in the lea of the Isle of Wight. She
comfortably handled the slight chop created by the
south westerly.
 5

Then a big bang when Marie Louise hit something

below the water. It was the submarine barrage just
east of the Portsmouth harbour channel. Sven had
mistaken the barrage marker buoys for channel
buoys and holed Marie Louise. She lay at an angle,
bow down, moving to the sea but going nowhere. A
fishing boat took Sven and his chum ashore. Marie
Louise lay mostly submerged for a week before
being salvaged as a total loss.

Sven explained to the yard that he had had an

undeniable urge to try his boat and planned to be
back before breakfast.

He filed an insurance claim. His policy, to provide

cover, required a 24 hour weather forecast of not
more than wind force 3. At the time of the sinking,
the Meterological Office confirmed they had issued
a force 4/5 forecast. The claim was refused.

Sometime later, Sven was arrested and charged

with deception. He had tried to buy the house he
rented in Sunningdale with forged documents. He
was sent to jail for 3 years.