Reporting
Reporting from the most lawless place on earth — the vast, unpoliceable ocean.
Forced labor, illegal fishing, violence, dumping — little of it gets reported, because covering it is too costly, too dangerous, and too slow.
- 3 investigations
- 20 stories
- 417 outlets
- 2015–2025
Investigations
Investigation China
The Superpower of Seafood
At sea and on land, the country dominates, but with what environmental and human cost?
Investigation Libya
The Invisible Wall
Tired of migrants arriving from Africa, the E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that captures them before they reach its shores.
Stories
Robbing a Bank When No One’s Looking
The most important place on earth that virtually no one has ever heard of.
How a Nation Famous for Marine Conservation Is Bankrolling Its Own Destruction
Costa Rica’s fuel subsidies are funding widespread poaching and overfishing in supposedly protected waters.
Critics Question The Climate Crisis Benefits of Deep Seabed Mining
The seafloor is thought to hold trillions of dollar’s worth of metals and the Pacific-island nation of Nauru is making bold moves to get a jump on the global competition to plumb these depths.
Subsidizing China’s Fishing Fleet
No other country comes close in the size of China's fishing armada, but the dominance and reach of this fleet raises broader questions about how, why and at what cost China has put so many boats on the water.
Saving The Planet While Ignoring Two Thirds Of It
While companies dump carbon into the air for free, the lungs of the globe suffer. The current climate crisis barely even considers the oceans.
Purgatory at Sea
Off the coast of Italy, cruise ships are being repurposed as holding pens for migrants rescued from the Mediterranean.
The Worsening State of Seafarers
The past six months have thrown an unusual amount of attention on an otherwise invisible workforce.
From Capture to Culture
With more than 80 percent of the world’s fish stocks at or near collapse, some marine conservationists suggest that aquaculture might help counter the problem of overfishing.
The Smell of Money
In the small coastal country, an exploding industry has led to big economic promises, and a steep environmental price.
Shell Companies In Fishing Industry Get New Attention
The international fishing industry is ripe with corruption bred by corporate anonymity.
Reining in the Outlaw Ocean
What can we do to mitigate the mayhem offshore?
A Slaughter at Sea, A Grainy Video and Justice Delayed
Among the investigations covered in The Outlaw Ocean book is that of the Murder at Sea story, which reveals a slow-motion slaughter of at least four men caught on camera.
The Hidden Cost Behind the Explosion in Beirut
Behind the tragedy of the recent deadly explosion in Beirut is the more pervasive travesty of the abandonment of ships, seafarers and cargo.
The Dark Fleet
Desperate North Korean fishermen are washing ashore as skeletons because of the world’s largest illegal fleet.
Lawless Ocean: The Link Between Human Rights Abuses and Overfishing
The high seas remain an often-dystopian realm where the scant laws that do exist are frequently ignored. This has led to overfishing, illegal dumping, and other environmental abuses that are closely linked to human rights violations aboard thousands of vessels.
Thailand’s Sea Slaves: Shackled, Whipped and Beheaded
Every year, tens of thousands of migrants to Thailand are sent to brutal lives at sea.
Ship of Horrors: Life and Death on the Lawless High Seas
From bullying and sexual assault to squalid living conditions and forced labour, working at sea can be a grim business—and one deep-sea fishing fleet is particularly notorious.
The Pint-Size Nation Off the English Coast
The absurd and remarkable story of Sealand, a “micronation” on an eerie metal platform, tells us plenty about libertarianism, national sovereignty, and the lawlessness of the ocean.
Storming the Thunder
For 110 days and across two seas and three oceans, crews stalked a fugitive fishing ship considered the world’s most notorious poacher.
‘Sea Slaves’: The Human Misery that Feeds Pets and Livestock
Men who have fled servitude on fishing boats recount beatings and worse as nets are cast for the catch that will become pet food and livestock feed.