The Radio Northsea International
Tribute Pages
An in-depth look at the story of Europes most
popuar and controversial radio station.
The Radio Northsea International
Tribute Pages
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 | In the main studio, Alan West was on the air. Fellow dj Dave Gregory had just brought in a cup of tea when there was an enormous bang, and the whole ship shuddered. Initial thoughts were that the ship had been struck by another vessel, perhaps an oil tanker. The two startled djs looked at each other with glazed eyes. Then Dave ran out of the studio, returning moments later saying that the ship was on fire. |  |
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" You're listening to a transmission from the radioship Mebo2. This is Radio Northsea International. Please stay tuned for further information . . . The fire which we reported just now which started in the engine room has now reached the bridge. We will soon have to abandon ship. We need help . . . S.O.S. - S.O.S. "
" This is Radio Northsea International, the Mebo2 anchored four and a half miles from the coast of Scheveningen in Holland. Four and a half miles from the coast, by the radioship Noordeney, Veronica. We are on fire, due to a bomb thrown on board from a motor launch, whos identity we do not know, we didn't even see the launch. We need help immediately, we need help immediately, S.O.S. - S.O.S. Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Our Exact position is: Latitude 52º 11´ North - Longtitude 4º 16´ East " " We may have to abandon ship, the fire has now reached the bridge. We do not know when we shall have to abandon ship, but it may be within the next few minutes. We are on fire in the engine room, and the fire has now reached the bridge " |
SOS calls were made via the ship-to-shore radio, and over the air from the studios. Within seconds, telephone switchboards all over Europe were jammed by anxious callers, wanting to alert the authorities, and the ships owners to the plight of those on board the stricken radioship. By 11:50pm the tug Eurotrip had taken onboard ten crew and djs from the blazing ship, three men were left on board to help fight the fire. Several other ships came to asist, including the salvage tug Smithbank. The fire was finally brought under control at approximately 2:20am on the morning of the 16th May.
Broadcasts ceased shortly after the crew left the ship, but resumed for a short while once the fire was brought under control.
Alan West recalls. . .
| " I've been told several times, by various people since, that on the tape of those couple of hours that I sound very calm and collected. In actual fact I wasn't. I was scared shitless! And if I'd realised, as I later discovered, that the fuel tanks for the generators were packed around the studios, I wouldn't have been anywhere near that f * * * ing place!! " |
At the time, those on board did not know what sort of vessel the visitors had came in, they presumed it was some sort of launch, or other small craft. Throughout the terrifying ordeal, until the Captain gave the order to abandon ship, Alan West sat in the smoke-filled studio broadcasting updates, and S.O.S. calls. Despite the chaos, and danger somehow Alan remained calm, and even managed to show a little humour:
| " The fire was started by a bomb thrown onboard from a small motor launch with an outboard motor. We do not know who it belongs to. We don't know where it came from, or where it's going to. But it certainly bombed us while it was here! " |  |
By his own admission, Alan, scared for his life, felt pretty helpless and didn't know what else he could do to help the situation:
" So I just stayed in the studio and got on with it. . . "
- he recalls.
| " We abandoned ship about five times, clambered over the side the first time, we got into the rubber dingy, and I got my feet wet! And I remember thinking I was very annoyed because I had new shoes on, I'd just bought them a couple of weeks before. And then we clambered back on the ship again, and they said it was ok, and then we got down into the rubber dingy again. And then eventually we got back up onto the ship, went accross to the other side and by that time the " Trip " had arrived and we got into that. And we sailed away, to watch the fire raging from afar ". |  |
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" It was really a sad sight. The whole stern end of the ship was ablaze, the flames must have been leaping about twenty feet into the sky. It was a nauseating sight " .
" There was a Dutch Government ship out there, I think it was something to do with oil-rigging, that was out there and turned it's hoses onto the fire. A couple of tugs came along and helped to fight the fire. I think that went on for about two hours, and in the end, I think they got it down so that it was just smouldering, rather than burning " . |
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" It was about three O'clock when we discovered it was safe to go back on board. The first ones on where Chris St. John and myself. I went staright down to the transmitter room with Kurt Bear. We climbed underneath the transmitter, and with a bit of wire from my razor we managed to get the transmitter back on the air. Apparently it wasn't damaged, but something had shorted out.
" We got the transmitter back on and we went on the air for about three minutes, a little while after 3 O'clock. But the transmitters were putting out so much power that the Dutch rigging ship alongside, their antenna was starting to burn. Collecting so much R.F. It was shorting and sparking - we thought we'd set them alight as well! " |
Erwin Meister said:
| " We have enemies in the pop music business, but I can't believe that a rival made this murderous attck " . |
Over the next few hours, details began to emerge. UK newspaper, The Daily Mirror reported that once aboard the Mebo2, the raiders placed an ounce of dynamite on a pipeline leading to a 250 gallon oil tank. They then lit a fuse made of rags dipped in petrol. The explosion that followed threw two of the men over the side of the ship, the paper added. A tip-off came when someone living close to the beach, saw the men from his window, trying to destroy the dingy, and called the police.
The UK magazine Record Mirror dated 22 May 1971, quoted RNI station manager Vic Pelli as saying:
| " RNI intends to stay on the air while repairs are carried out at sea. We do not want to risk taking the ship into port, and we hope the repairs will start this week ". |
Earlier, on the 17th May 1971, Dutch police announced that a fourth man, who they named as Norbert Jurgens, had been arrested in connection with the attack. He was believed to have been connected with a rival station.
Quoting " Pirate Expert " Paul Harris, UK Magazine Disc & Music Echo the same week, offered three possible explanations:
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" It could have been the work of sympathisers of another rival station ".
" It could have been the work of the Dutch Underworld ". " Or it could be connected with recent espionage rumours ".
Mr Harris added:
" It is certain that the MEBO would never return to harbour for repairs. The chances of it being allowed to leave again are very slim. The danger is still, that because of these unsavoury events, the Dutch Government will turn against the pirate stations and ban both RNI and Veronica ".
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In an article which appeared in a Dutch newspaper published 17th May, RNI's Dutch manager John de Mol expressed doubts as to whether rival station Radio Veronica was involved. It was inffered that RNI had more opponents than just Veronica. These thoughts, it was reported, were also shared by the the ships Swiss owners.
However, also on 17th May, Norbert Jurgens, the Advertising Manager at Radio Veronica was arrested and questioned by Dutch Police, and the following day Veronca director Hendrik Bill Verweij was also held. Verweij appeared on Dutch TV and told how he had paid a man some 12,000 guilders, (approximately £1,100) to force the Mebo2 into territorial waters. The idea being that once inside the three mile limit, the ship would have been liable to arrest or confiscation by creditors.
In the TV interview Verweij said:
 | " It was agreed that the ship would be forced to enter a Dutch port , on the condition that human lives would not be endangered. I have the impression that it got out of hand ". |
The interview was given after the management of Radio Veronica issued a statement denying it was involved in the bomb attack.
Meanwhile, on 22 May 1971 John de Mol told UK magazine Disc & Music Echo:
| " There is no damage to the transmitting or generating equipment, nor to the studios or the DJs quarters. So we will remain on the air and any repairs will be carried out on the high seas ". |
The report also reminded readers of the foiled take-over attempt the previous year, in which Dutch businessmen tried to cut the anchor chain and tow the Mebo into port.
Then, in the same magazine the following week, John de Mol was again quoted:
| " Plans are being drawn up for the repairs, and we may take advantage of the damage to re-design much of the superstructure and make it more functional for our purpose ". |
On the 20th May 1971, Verweij, Jurgens and the three frogmen appeared before the Public Prosecutor in The Hague, to answer charges relating to the attack on the Mebo2.
After hearing the evidence, Mr H. van 't Veer, the Hagues's Officer officer of Justice told the accused:
The court concluded that Radio Veronica had financed the raid, by paying the men approximately £10,000 to get the Mebo2 inside Dutch waters. But conceeded that Veronica intended the men to tow the ship without damage. It was accepted that he fire was not ordered by Veronica and that they had no intention of endangering life.
The case was adjurned until September, and on the 21st of that month all five were sent to jail for one year.
