Greed, pollution, piracy, terrorism, storms, flags of convenience. From the first day out of drydock to the day they are dismantled (or sink, or left to die), the undervalued cargo ship plies dangerous waters. The oceans are untamed and likely untamable according to William Langewiesche in his 2004 book The Outlaw Sea. The ocean covers 70% of the planet, yet we humans know little of what happens beyond our shores. There is a savage power out there from another time, but it is in our time.

The audiobook is particularly good as the authour himself reads in his gravelly, well-travelled voice. The first third of the book is the best as Mr Langewiesche describes with austere poeticism the dangers of the sea, where the rule of man is spotty at best. The legal loopholes set up to regulate international trade are big enough… well to drive a ship through. The fierce storms faced down by a single young officer at the helm are terrible and inspiring. The second third of the book is almost a book within a book. Langewiesche describes the sinking of the Estonia and covers the surrounding investigations and conspiracy theories in excruciating detail. The final section deals with Alang and the shipbreaking industry, ghastly in its pragmatism.

The authour does not judge or moralize the barbarity of the ocean world, but aims to describe the situation with a healthy dose of skepticism. I don’t think he is as cynical as he is realistic. It is no wonder he is a companion of Robert Kaplan at The Atlantic Monthly. If you have seven hours to spare, download the audiobook and get taken away to a world I caught a glimpse of earlier this year. It will make you appreciate that in spite of what many people think, we aren’t quite out of the wild yet.

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