NORTH SEA HIJACK

Eccentric and cat-lover counter-terrorism consultant Rufus Excalibur ffolkes is asked by Lloyd's of London to develop a contingency plan, should any of the North Sea oil installations it insures be threatened. Months later, a North Sea supply ship named Esther takes on board a group of men posing as reporters who are to visit the oil production platform Jennifer. The leader of this group, Lou Kramer, hijacks the ship; the gangsters attach limpet mines to the legs of Jennifer and its accompanying oil drilling rig, Ruth, then issue a ransom demand for £25 million to the British government. Esther's crew tries to fight back, but is thwarted by Kramer's vigilance, and two of their number end up dead.

When the British Prime Minister and her staff consult Lloyd's - where both platforms are insured - about providing the ransom, the CEO informs them about ffolkes, and after some initial hesitation he is hired to take out the terrorists and retake the platforms. ffolkes enacts his plan by traveling to Jennifer as the aide of Admiral Brindsen, who was tasked by the Prime Minister to supervise the operation. With Ruth out of Esther's sight, ffolkes first asks the admiralty to prepare a fake explosion in order to distract Kramer from blowing up Ruth and to buy them more time, then arranges for having Brindsen and himself brought aboard the supply ship to take out the terrorist leaders from within while his men board from underwater. However, Kramer distrusts ffolkes and has him removed from Esther.

With his original plan thus upset, ffolkes persuades the Prime Minister to have the ransom helicopter drop off a bomb on Esther in case his team fails to take out Kramer's gang in time. Then he approaches the ship from underwater, and despite some mishaps he manages to thwart the activation of the detonators, leaving Kramer for dead, and prevent the bomb drop on Esther. Kramer, mortally wounded, makes one last attempt to blow up Jennifer, but is stopped by ffolkes and dies. Following the successful conclusion of the mission, ffolkes is rewarded for his service with three kittens named after Esther, Ruth and Jennifer.

ffolkes and his team successfully prevent the detonators from being activated, leaving the terrorist leader dead and saving the oil rigs. ffolkes is later rewarded with three kittens named after the platforms.

The ending underscores the triumph of unorthodox thinking and preparation over brute force, with ffolkes’ eccentricities proving instrumental in outmaneuvering the hijackers. The kitten reward is a wry nod to his unique personality, bringing a touch of levity to the film’s conclusion.