A Lawless Frontier

Traffickers and dumpers, pirates and mercenaries, wreck thieves and repo men, vigilante conservationists and elusive poachers, shackled slaves and cast-adrift stowaways—home to gritty characters and urgent concerns, the high seas are a realm in dire need of investigative journalism.

Featured Investigations

Our journalism is distinct not just in its focus, but also in how the reporting is conducted and distributed. Most of the stories are reported at least partially at sea. We partner with dozens of outlets around the world to translate and disseminate our reporting as broadly as possible.

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  • The Economist
  • The New Yorker
  • NBC News
  • Christian Science Monitor
  • Los Angeles Times
  • Yahoo! News
  • NPR
  • MSNBC
  • CNN
  • Columbia Journalism Review
  • Democracy Now
  • Crooked
  • Radio Kingston
  • KCRW
  • The Guardian
  • Alqatiba
  • UDN
  • Yahoo! Taiwan
  • El Diario
  • El País
  • Meduza
  • AD
  • El Sol de Mexico
  • Rock101
  • Millenium Magazine
  • Caravan India
  • Expreso
  • Cerosetenta
  • El Desconcierto
  • Clarín
  • Twala

Beyond Traditional Journalism

To reach a younger and more international audience, we leverage non-news platforms, collaborating with artists to convert our reporting into other forms such as music, animation, mural art, stage performance, and podcasts.

Audio Series

The Outlaw Ocean Podcast

Relying on more than eight years of reporting at sea on all seven oceans and more than three dozen countries, The Outlaw Ocean is an immersive seven-part audio series.

Listen to the award-winning series
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Short Film Series

Dispatches from
The Outlaw Ocean

This 10-part short film series chronicles a gritty cast of characters including traffickers and smugglers, pirates and mercenaries, shackled slaves and vigilante conservationists.

Watch the series