Captain Haddock Captain Haddock as a permanent addition to the cast. Hergé introduced Captain Haddock in "The Crab with the Golden Claws" as the rum-loving captain of the "Karaboudjan", a merchant vessel used— without Haddock's knowledge— by his first mate Allan for smuggling drugs inside crab tins. Because of his alcoholism and temperamental nature, his character was weak and unstable, at times posing as great a hazard to Tintin as the villains of the piece. He was also short-tempered, given to emotional expletive-ridden outbursts, and capable of infuriating behaviour; at one point he even attacks Tintin when, while traversing the Moroccan desert,
Nicholas Haddock of Barcelona in 1706. On 6 April 1707 he was promoted to the rank of captain and placed in command of the 42-gun fifth-rate HMS "Ludlow Castle". England was at war with France, and Haddock's orders were to hunt for enemy privateers. On 30 December he brought "Ludlow Castle" into range with two such vessels, "Nightingale" and "Squirrel", both former English merchantmen captured and refitted by the French. Haddock ordered that "Ludlow Castle" give chase, and was rewarded with the capture of "Nightingale". This vessel, Haddock's first prize ship, was returned to England along with her crew. Haddock was also