from Stefan Jeudenkrep of SV Malaka Queen
I have been sailing for eight years, covered 50,000nm, visited 27 countries, spent 3000 days at sea, often at anchor in nature and isolated locations. I have always left the door of my boat open and never had a bad experience. On the contrary, everywhere you go there is always a friendly welcome and someone waiting to help you. Unfortunately these two experiences in Papua New Guinea are not from the beautiful world I am so familiar with, they are completely new to me. My warning to fellow cruisers is to avoid the area if at all possible.
There were two events in two different bays, resulting in a number of items being stolen from our vessel and a fight with one of the attackers which resulted in a trip to hospital and numerous stitches.
Despite numerous meetings with police, customs and immigration officials with various statements and meetings, I have just left New Britain with no progress in my case.
The First Robbery
The first Incident was a robbery in Kabakaul Bay where two young men in canoes climbed on board around 04:00 and went through the boat while I was asleep. A third guy was waiting in the canoes. Thankfully I woke up and chased them out. There was no violence, but checking the boat after they fled, I realised a number of items had been stolen. That day, I moved from Kabakaul to Reiven Beach the same day because I thought I would be safe there.
The Second Robbery and Attempted Murder
That night, I locked up the boat, but left the back window open as I was sleeping in that room. At about 20:00, two guys from a neighbouring village swam from the shore and climbed on the boat.
The family that helped me before from Reiven Beach village saw it all happening but they were to far away to provide help. One guy attacked me using two knifes while the other tried to open all lockers. After a bloody fight I was able to close the back window and that saved my life. The knife guy tried to kick in the door but was not able to. They stole the dinghy, outboard, fuel tank and paddle board. I had to go to hospital for stitches the next day.
The dinghy and paddle board were found the next day, but they had destroyed the engine mounting. There was no sign of the engine and fuel tank.
A day later there were two gatherings of the two villages by the elders and the law and order committee. In the night the outboard engine was returned to the house of the family in Reiven beach that helped me.
I went to police five times and to customs four times, to immigration three times for various statements and meetings.
In short the police did nothing. My laptop has been found on a website and the police detective (I was in contact with) said I must pay 1500 kina to get it back.
The police did not apprehend the suspects although they know who they are, from both robberies and the attempted murder. That is clearly not right, to say the least.
Stefan Jeukendrup
SV Malaka Queen
………………………………
Other Related Reports for Papua New Guinea
- Friendly and Welcoming Vibes Everywhere (October 2025)
- A Very Enjoyable Six Month Cruise (October 2025)
- Island Hopping Remote Atolls and Islands (July 2025)
- From Kavieng in PNG to Noro in the Solomon Islands (June 2025)
- Cruising the North Eastern Coast (April 2025)
- Sailing the Northern Route from Rabaul to Vanimo (February 2025)
- Do Your Homework for an Amazing Experience (December 2023)
………………………………
© 2026 Noonsite. This content was edited by Noonsite. Do not reproduce without permission. All rights reserved.
The opinions expressed in this article and video are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of http://Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.
If you have found this information useful, become a paid member to enjoy unlimited use of Noonsite plus many other perks. Your membership fees really help our small, dedicated team keep country information up-to-date in support of cruisers worldwide. Find out more about Noonsite Membership levels and benefits here.
Subscribe to our FREE monthly newsletter: https://www.noonsite.com/newsletter/