Correspondence
Email sent to the contact address for Qingdao Songhai Fishery Co. Ltd.
The email said: "My name is Ian Urbina. I am the director of The Outlaw Ocean Project, a journalism organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States, and I'm working on a magazine story about labor issues and other crimes at sea on board vessels of the Chinese fishing fleet. We are reaching out to request a reply from the captain of the Lu Qing Yuan Yu 765, which we mention in the story, to our statements below.
Our reporting, and reporting by local news reporting from Maldonado, Uruguay, has shown the following:
- In June 2023, a bottle washed on shore in Maldonado, Uruguay, with a message inside from a deckhand. “Hello, I am a crew member of the ship Lu Qing Yuan Yu 765, and I was locked up by the company,” it read. “When you see this paper, please help me call the police! Help-help.”
We need an official response in writing from the captain of the Lu Qing Yuan Yu 765 on the above statement by the end of the business day on Monday, August 28th. Thank you."
The company provided a statement, saying: "It was completely fabricated by individual crew members. The Uruguayan Maritime Police have already reached an investigation conclusion, and you can learn the truth of the matter through the Uruguayan Maritime Police. I hope you respect the facts and do not publish this untrue report. If you insist on publishing this untrue report, we will maintain the right to pursue legal responsibility!"