If repossessing a used Chevrolet can be tricky, consider retrieving the Aztec Express, a 700-foot cargo ship under guard in Haiti as civil unrest spread through the country.Only a few repo men possess the guile and resourcefulness for such a job. One of them is F. Max Hardberger, of Lacombe, La. Since 1991, the 58-year-old attorney and ship captain has surreptitiously sailed away about a dozen freighters from ports around the world.
“I’m sure there are those who would like to add me to a list of modern pirates of the Caribbean, but I do whatever I can to protect the legal rights of my clients,” said Hardberger, whose company, Vessel Extractions in New Orleans, has negotiated the releases of another dozen cargo ships and prevented the seizures of many others.
[Continue reading at the Los Angeles Times]
Cool article, and another entertaining read. I hadn’t heard of this before, but it stands to reason that at times creditors need to take back ships. I assumed that most cases it just went through the court. But its interesting that they almost have to “pirate” a ship to get it back in some cases.
Tags: Interesting, Irony, Naval
