A Pirate Banquet in 1930

Posted: February 18th, 2026 | No Comments »

So the 1920s and 1930s are full of pirate attacks on passenger ferries….Wallis Simpson worried about them (see my book Her Lotus Year), Macao always worried (see my book Destination Macao) while I’ve written about them for the South China Morning Post before – both the use of Royal Navy submarines to hunt pirates in the 1920s and the “passenger ploy” tactic – which is what we have here in 1930 on the Hirundo between Swatow (Shantou) and Bangkok.

The Norwegian-built steamship Hirundo (built 1926) was a general cargo vessel associated with trading along the China coast, based out of Swatow. In this instance it seemed a normal pirate raid. Cabins were trashed, stuff stolen, a crew member wounded but fortunately nobody killed (which did happen often sadly). But the pirates commanding the chef to prepare them a banquet and complimenting him on its excellence is a rather classy touch I have to say….

BTW: In September 1933 the Hirundo stranded and sank 22/09 off Ko Sichang, Thailand whilst on a voyage from Bangkok to Swatow carrying general cargo. Both the master and mate were fined for serious negligence.

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