Episodes

• 2021

• The double agent

  Special bonus episode. A human source risks his life by becoming a double agent. His existence and his crucial role in helping police know which syndicate members to shadow before the Pong Su's April 2003 arrival has remained a secret until now. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Production assistance - Margaret Gordon Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Support the show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
  April 25, 2021

  20 min
• 2020

• Naked City: A true crime podcast from the makers of Pong Su

  John Silvester, Australia’s longest-serving crime reporter, will take you on a journey through his 40 years of dealing with the nation’s most dangerous criminals. Subscribe now and get all the episodes straight to your device the minute they are published.
  July 30, 2020

  1 min
• 2019

• Pong Su extra: Taking the helm of the Pong Su

  Nicholas Martin had a very important role in the Pong Su story, but it’s one he’s never talked publicly about until now.  Nicholas was a navy clearance diver who boarded the Pong Su with the SAS troops. After clearing the ship for improvised explosive devices, Nicholas took command of the bridge and working with one of the captured North Koreans steered the Pong Su back to Sydney Harbour. In this interview you’ll also hear about what it’s like to skipper a navy patrol boat in Australia’s northern water at the age of 20, and what it takes to be a clearance diver.  The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Production assistance - Margaret Gordon Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Support the show.
  December 23, 2019

  40 min

• Pong Su extra: Mission planning with the SAS

  In episode 5 of 'The Last Voyage of the Pong Su', we hear from Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis - two men who were part of the Special Air Service Regiment tasked with a dramatic capture of the Pong Su. In this extended interview you’ll hear about what happened before, during and after the day of this dramatic operation - as well  as their memories of the infamous Tampa affair of 2001 and conflict overseas. Check out Ben and Tim's own podcast 'The Unforgiving60'. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Production assistance - Margaret Gordon Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Support the show.
  December 19, 2019

  39 min

• Reckoning

  Episode 10. After 16 years, the truth finally emerges about the tight bond between three of the key players in the heroin import and their ties to North Korea. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is  a 10-part series brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald.  If you enjoyed this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Assistant Producer - Margaret Gordon Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting Additional audio from: CNN The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Truth the Dead Know by Anne Sexton - read by Jason Chong. Support the show.
  December 9, 2019

  44 min

• The most free they’d ever be

  Episode 9. Nerves are frayed on all sides as a marathon courtroom case concludes. The Australian government plans for a spectacular end to the Pong Su. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Assistant Producer - Margaret Gordon Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting Additional audio from: Channel Nine and the AFL. The reading you heard at the start of this episode was from Law of the Jungle by Rudyard Kipling - read by Jason Chong.  Support the show.
  December 2, 2019

  33 min

• The defector's choice

  Episode 8. Australian prosecutors travel to Seoul to meet North Korean defectors as they try to understand the power structure on board the Pong Su. While laboratory results tell police there is something different about the Pong Su’s heroin. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Assistant Producer - Margaret Gordon Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting Additional audio from: Associated Press, ABC news America and Richard Rogers. The poem you heard at the start of this episode is called I go down to the shore by Mary Oliver - read by Jason Chong. Support the show.
  November 25, 2019

  32 min

• You need a lawyer

  Episode 7. The legal battle begins to save the Pong Su crew and special relationship builds between a suburban Melbourne solicitor and a mysterious North Korean man who has everyone guessing. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Extra production - Tim Mummery Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting Additional audio from: Channel Nine, NBC and Asia Brief. The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich - read by Jason Chong. Support the show.
  November 18, 2019

  46 min

• Hidden forces

  Episode 6. Was Kim Jong Il’’s secretive money-making agency behind the Pong Su heroin importation? A high-profile North Korean defector speaks out. Age & SMH subscribers can listen to an extended interview with former clearance diver Nicholas Martin here: https://bit.ly/2Kackvx The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Extra production - Tim Mummery Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting Additional audio from: Time Magazine, C-SPAN, Alux.com, Vidello Productions, NBC, Associated Press, Sky News UK, Journeyman pictures, Channel 10, Channel 9, ABC, ABC America and CNN The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from the poem Midnight Sun by Kim Hyesoon - read by Jason Chong. Support the show.
  November 11, 2019

  41 min

• Hot pursuit

  Episode 5. A dramatic chase at sea unfolds to stop a fleeing Pong Su. The North Korean crew fears the worst for their Master after they are told by their superiors in Pyongyang to stop and fight. Age & SMH subscribers can listen to an extended interview with former SAS soldiers Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis here: https://bit.ly/36s4szb The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Extra production - Tim Mummery Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting Additional audio from: Channel Seven The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Old man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway- read by Jason Chong. Support the show.
  November 4, 2019

  42 min

• "Do you believe in luck?"

  Tension among the Asian crime syndicate members is at breaking point, while Australian police keep finding their best laid plans are going astray. A dead body on the beach throws everyone off their game. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Extra production - Tim Mummery Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Wasteland by T.S Eliot, read by Jason Chong. Support the show.
  October 27, 2019

  44 min

• Going fishing

  Episode three. Secretly bugged conversations give Australian police clues about the immense scale of the heroin import. On board the Pong Su, two men prepare to risk everything to make it happen. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting Additional film audio from: Reuters, Associated Press and the Australian Liberal Party. The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, read by Jason Chong. Support the show.
  October 21, 2019

  25 min

• Master Sun's big gamble

  Pong Su skipper Song Man Sun embarks on his final journey before retirement, while Australian police get a big break as they covertly track suspected Asian crime syndicate foot soldiers around Melbourne’s casino and the nearby Great Ocean Road coast. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting Additional film audio from: Narcos Productions LLC and MMDP Munich Movie Development & Production The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - read by Jason Chong. Support the show.
  October 14, 2019

  37 min

• "This f---ing boat"

  North Korean cargo ship the Pong Su comes dangerously close to Australia’s Great Ocean Road shoreline as part of a high-risk, high-reward operation to import a record amount of heroin. Coastal locals have never seen anything like it. The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au ) Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield Script translations - Yan Zhuang Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick Actors: Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong Casting - Catapult Casting Additional Audio from: Largo International N.V, World Surf League and Sky News The poem you heard at the start of this episode is titled ‘Waves’ by South Korean poet Cho Oh-hyun, read by Jason Chong. Support the show.
  October 7, 2019

  31 min

• Trailer: The Last Voyage of the Pong Su

  Launching Tuesday, October 8 - Richard Baker investigates the final journey of the Pong Su in a new podcast from The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. When a dead body and bags of heroin washes up on the southern coast of Australia, a dark tale begins to unfold... Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Support the show.
  October 2, 2019

  3 min

• Coming soon: The Last Voyage of the Pong Su

  When a dead body and bags of heroin washed up on the southern coast of Australia, a dark tale began to unfold... Richard Baker investigates the final journey of the Pong Su in a new podcast from The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts, and look out for episode 1 on October 8. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. Support the show.
  September 24, 2019

  2 min