On our Great Ocean Road tour you can discover the magnificent history of this coastline. From shipwreck disasters in the 1800’s to soldiers carving a road into the coast in the 1920’s to bring tourists to the area. But more recently there was a scandal on the Great Ocean Road that is now being revealed in this hit podcast.
Podcast: The Last Voyage of the Pong Su
The 2019 hit podcast written and produced by the Age Newspaper, Melbourne explores the story of the drug trafficking ship Pong Su in 2003. The North Korean Ship attempted to drop $150,000,000 of heroin at Boggaley Creek, 3 kilometres north of Wye River on the magnificent Great Ocean Road.
The drop off did not go to plan. The Federal Police had been tracking a number of individuals who they suspected were a part of a massive Asian drug cartel and although they knew an importation of some description was going to occur, they did not know how or when. To their surprise a monstrous 300 foot timber carting ship appeared cruising past Wye River just a few hundred meters offshore as night fell on Easter Friday. So close to the shore was the ship that locals attempted to throw rocks at the ship from shore.
The drop off was a disaster. Weather and sea conditions were anything but perfect, in fact swells were metres high and currents strong. The small inflatable boat commissioned to deliver the drugs from ship to shore ran into grief almost immediately, capsizing and killing one of the two sailors on board, leaving the other stranded in the foothills of the Otways.
The aftermath would become a political, diplomatic and legal saga that would drain the resources of government and the Australian Federal Police for years to come. Further the plight of the North Korean Sailors would also divide Australians.
The podcast is beautifully produced and presented and captivates the listener over ten magnificent episodes.
Listen to the podcast here: https://www.theage.com.au/pong-su