Page 64 (2/2)

"Looks pretty er

"The line after Sosan Trading Company"

"Where they're listed as operators? So what? That showed up before"

"As owners, not operators There's a difference"

"What does it prove?"

Pitt straightened, and his eyes took on a reflective look "The reason owners register their vessel hat is called a 'country of convenience' is to save costly licenses, taxes and restrictive operating regulations Another reason is they becoation So they set up a dummy front and carry the company headquarters andress as a post office box, in this case, Inchon, Korea

Now, if they contract with an operator to arrange cargoes and crews for the ship, the transfer offacilities must be used And banks keep records"

"All right, but say I' line be run by so links? I fail to see the advantage

"An insurance scam," Pitt answered "The operator does the dirty hile the owners collect For exao A tramp called the Trikeri It departed Surabaja, Indonesia, with its oil tanks filled to the brim

After reaching Capetown, South Africa, it slipped onto an offshore pipeline and reallons A week later it mysteriously sank off West Africa An insurance claiators were dead certain the sinking was intentional, but they couldn't prove it The Trikeri's operator took the heat and quietly went out of business The registered owners collected the insurance payoff and then siphoned it off through a corporate maze to the power at the top"

"This happen often?"

"More than anyone knows," Pitt replied

"You want to dig into the Sosan Trading Company's bank account?"

Pitt knew better than to ask Yaeger if he could do it He simply said, "Yes"

Yaeger logged out of the Lloyd's computer network and walked over to a file cabinet He returned with a large bookkeeping ledger