Ross Kemp is off the coast of Somalia on the trail of modern-day Blackbeards, who are rather more camera shy. The professional tough guy swaps sunglasses for regulation mushroom helmet and hops aboard HMS Northumberland, the first Royal Navy ship to patrol for pirates since 1816. He soon discovers that it's like looking for a needle in a haystack and, despite interesting tete-a-tetes with marines, Kemp is clearly longing for some real drama.

The actor explores the impact of piracy in Nigeria, where more people are killed in raids than anywhere else in the world. He discovers the devastating effects that pirates are having on the area's fishing fleet, with almost 300 workers killed over the past few years, and how attacks on oil tankers at the port of Lagos are threatening the country's economy

The actor visits Southeast Asia as he concludes his exploration of the increasing risk of piracy on the world's oceans. Beginning in Singapore, where he sees the huge volume of shipping that comes through the Strait of Malacca, Ross heads to Batam Island, before negotiating access to a pirate in Somalia who provides an insight into their training by ex-Somali marines