Victim of Piracy Tossed Overboard in South Pacific Waters

A rare 19th-century case in which a sailor was deliberately thrown overboard to sharks as part of a documented act of maritime piracy, with the perpetrators subsequently tried and executed at Manila — an exceptionally well-sourced incident with strong archival detail connecting the shark-related death to a broader, historically documented criminal case.

In January 1893, one week out of Pápete in French Polynesia, a fatal incident occurred aboard the schooner Niualoaiti (formerly known as the Dolly) in the Pacific Ocean. The victim was a crew member who fell victim to criminal acts rather than a shark encounter in the traditional sense. The incident was part of a larger piracy operation orchestrated by the Rodrigue brothers, two escaped ex-convicts from New Caledonia's penal colony who had subsequently worked in South African diamond fields before relocating to Tahiti. They leased the royal schooner under false pretenses and engaged Captain Costello and Supercargo Willie Gibson Hall to operate the vessel under the guise of a legitimate trading voyage. According to the ship's cook, Moloi, who later provided testimony to Spanish colonial authorities, the brothers poisoned the native crew members and murdered the captain and supercargo. The victim was reportedly tossed overboard to sharks by the perpetrators as they eliminated witnesses to their crimes. Moloi, coerced under threat of death and motivated by financial incentive, initially assisted the pirates but later reported the crimes to Spanish colonial officers, revealing his masters' involvement. The Rodrigue brothers were arrested in Manila and stood trial, convicted largely on Moloi's testimony. In August 1893, all three men—the Rodrigue brothers and Moloi—were executed by beheading in a public square in Manila in accordance with Spanish colonial law of that era. This incident represents a historical maritime crime rather than a typical shark interaction with humans engaged in water activities.