Correspondence
Email sent to two contact addresses for Qingdao Zhongtai Oceanic 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 comment both from your company and the captain of the Lu Huang Yuan Yu 118 (鲁⻩远渔118), on our statements below, concerning the Lu Huang Yuan Yu 118, which we mention in the story.
Our reporting has shown the following: In 2020, several Indonesian deckhands called a hotline to complain about severe beatings at sea and to report the presence of a body in one of the Lu Huang Yuan Yu 118's freezers. An autopsy revealed that the man had sustained bruises, scarring, and a spinal injury. Indonesian authorities sentenced several manning-agency executives to more than a year in prison for labor trafficking.
We need an official response in writing from the captain of the Lu Huang Yuan Yu 118 and your company on the above statement by the end of the business day on Friday, September 22."