Book Review . . .

Stephanie Showalter, J.D., M.S.E.L.

William Langewiesche (North Point Press 2004).

In The Outlaw Sea, William Langewiesche details the chaotic world of international shipping. Despite numerous treaties and oversight by powerful international bodies like the International Maritime Organization, the ocean remains a lawless realm. More than forty thousand large merchant vessels ply the open ocean with little or no regulation. According to Langewiesche, these merchant vessels “are possibly the most independent objects on earth, many of them without allegiances of any kind, frequently changing their identity and assuming whatever nationality - or ‘flag’ - allows them to proceed as they please.”

The ocean today is not much safer then it was 400 years ago. Terrorism is a significant concern, piracy is on the rise in some areas such as Southeast Asia, and aging vessels break apart in storms threatening both the lives of the crews and the natural environment. It is almost impossible to police the world’s oceans. No country has the manpower or the ships needed to adequately patrol beyond the horizon. Even if it was possible to patrol the oceans, ships can easily hide in plain sight simply by changing names, flags, and/or color.

In many cases, design modifications are necessary to ensure mariner safety and prevent environmental disasters such as oil spills. Adoption, let alone enforcement, of international standards is difficult to achieve, as Langewiesche highlights by examining the efforts of the United States, and later the European Union, to phase out single-hull tankers. Langewiesche also examines the current controversy surrounding shipbreaking in India and other developing nations.

The Outlaw Sea, however, does more than document the failures of the international community to regulate shipping. Langewiesche pays homage to the victims of some of the most shocking maritime disasters in recent years. From the sinking of the passenger ferry Estonia in 1994, which claimed the lives of at least 852 people, to the loss of the Kristal, an all-purpose tanker, in 2001 due to a broken hull, Langewiesche describes in stunning detail the price that is paid, in both human lives and environmental damage, when things go wrong.

A significant portion of The Outlaw Sea is devoted to the sinking of the Estonia. With powerful prose, Langewiesche reconstructs the events of that terrifying night, shares the stories of some of the survivors and the victims, examines the accident investigation, and even investigates the conspiracy theory of a German journalist. Through eyewitness accounts, Langewiesche recreates the chaos and terror that reigns on a sinking ship and reminds us all that sailors and passengers have names, families, lives.

The Outlaw Sea is a frightening glimpse into the anarchic world of international shipping. Terrorist organizations finance their operations by transporting goods on vessels fully compliant with international regulations. Vessels break apart and sink weeks after passing inspection by reputable inspectors. Vessels are hijacked by barefoot pirates. In an age when governments often espouse the belief that additional regulations will make the world a safer place, Langewiesche forces readers to face the fact that “our world is an ocean world, and it is wild.”