BONAIRE Hilma Hooker ?? | @svkalos

Welcome to Kalos. The Hilma Hooker is a 236-foot Dutch freighter built in Krimpen aan den IJssel, the Netherlands. It was originally christened the Midsland on May 20, 1951. This ship would change hands - and names - multiple times over the next two decades. On July 18, 1975, the Hooker, then known as the William Express, foreshadowed its eventual fate when it sank off Santa Bãrbara de Samanã in the Dominican Republic. But it was raised from an early grave and sold once more and renamed the Anna C. The last registered company to own the ship, the San Andres Export & Import Company in San Andres, Colombia, purchased the Doric Express in 1979 and gave it the now famous moniker, Hilma Hooker. Less than five years later, in the summer of 1984, the Hooker faced technical difficulties off the coast of Bonaire - whether problems with steerage or an engine failure is a matter of debate - and was towed into the main port of Kralendijk. Authorities became suspicious of the ship when the crew failed to produce papers for Customs immigrations officials, though, depending on whom you ask, it could also have been an inside tip or simply the ship's colorful name that prompted the increased scrutiny. Though tales tend to disagree on what exactly was the key evidence that tipped off the authorities, the result of their search is consistent from one to the next: 25,000 pounds of marijuana were found stashed behind a false bulkhead. The crew was arrested and the ship was impounded at the dock on June 6, 1984.