The arrival of a more powerful rival was to cause repercussions for Veronica.
Radio Nordsee International (RNI), owned by two
Swiss businessmen, initially broadcast German and English programmes from its ship
MV Mebo II anchored off the Dutch Coast. It moved to the British coast in early 1970 but was
jammed by the British government. The jamming stopped when the ship returned to the Netherlands, taking up position just from the
Norderney. The German language programmes were subsequently replaced by all-English programmes. The
Mebo II was equipped with a 100 kW AM transmitter as well as
FM and
shortwave equipment. Although power did not guarantee RNI an audience, Radio Veronica's management were sufficiently worried about loss of advertising revenue that they planned to put RNI off the air. RNI closed on 24 September 1970, claiming it was trying to stop the Dutch government from passing legislation that might force Veronica, "so dearly loved by the peoples of the Netherlands", to close. In fact, Veronica had paid RNI 1 million guilders to go off the air for two months and, to enforce that agreement, Veronica replaced the ''Mebo II's'' crew with their own staff. RNI's management became unhappy with that arrangement and, once the two months were up, one of RNI's Swiss directors, Erwin Bollier, attempted to refund the money. Veronica refused, claiming the right to renew the contract. On 5 January 1971, Bollier boarded the
Mebo II, dismissed the Veronica-appointed captain, and took command himself. It was claimed that Veronica's staff had
sabotaged RNI's equipment but, by February 1971, RNI was back on the air, with a Dutch as well as an English service. In March, Veronica sued RNI for
breach of contract. The court found in favour of RNI and the case tarnished Veronica's reputation. Worse was to come. On the night of 15 May 1971, three men in a rubber dinghy started a fire on the
Mebo II which damaged the stern. RNI broadcast
mayday calls. All on board were rescued and the fire was extinguished. The studios and transmitters were undamaged and RNI went back on the air the following morning. On 17 May 1971, Veronica's advertising director Norbert Jurgens was arrested and, on the following day, Veronica's director
Bull Verweij was also arrested. In a television interview, Verweij claimed he had paid a man to tow the
Mebo II into Dutch waters so that the ship would be seized. Verweij denied any intention of endangering the lives of RNI's crew but was found guilty, together with Jurgens and the crew of the dinghy. All five were sentenced to a year in prison. The damage to Veronica's reputation was incalculable and, just as the 1966
Radio City shooting had motivated the British government to pass anti-pirate legislation, the RNI fire similarly motivated the Dutch authorities. Both Veronica and RNI continued to broadcast without further incident but, as the Government began to draw up plans for anti-pirate legislation, the two stations began to campaign against it. In September 1972, the two radio ships were joined by
Radio Caroline's
MV Mi Amigo, which anchored between the
Norderney and
Mebo II. ==Frequency change and RNI2==