The Outlaw Ocean
Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier
by Ian Urbina · first published 2019
81% recommend19% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Readable reporting on lawlessness in international waters: slavery on fishing crews, overfishing, human trafficking, repo men, mercenaries and activists. Suits readers curious about the hidden maritime industry.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
There are few remaining frontiers on our planet. But perhaps the wildest, and least understood, are the world’s oceans: too big to police, and under no clear international authority, these immense regions of treacherous water play host to rampant criminality and exploitation. Traffickers and smugglers, pirates and mercenaries, wreck thieves and repo men, vigilante conservationists and elusive poachers, seabound abortion providers, clandestine oil-dumpers, shackled slaves and cast-adrift stowaways — drawing on five years of perilous and intrepid reporting, often hundreds of miles from shore,
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All well and good, but who is going to enforce these speed limits in international waters? Reading Ian Urbina's Outlaw Ocean[1] was an eye opener regarding what activities happen in effectively un-policed international waters. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/02/the-outlaw-oce...
on “Cutting the speed of ships has benefits for humans, nature and climate – report” ↗If interested in reading more on this, and other abuses on the sea: The Outlaw Ocean https://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-Ocean-Journeys-Untamed-Frontie... This is based on a series of articles the author wrote for the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/24/world/the-out...
on “Crews are abandoned on ships in record numbers without pay, food or a way home” ↗…be details about the cause of the collision as yet. However for a candid look at the grim reality of the maritime industry, and how these kinds of disasters are far too common, I highly recommend The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina. The human trafficking elements are particularly disturbing.
on “Why the Mauritius oil spill is so serious” ↗For anyone even mildly interested in crime, exploitation, vigilantes and other human stories across the oceans, check out The Outlaw Ocean by NYT journalist Ian Urbina. Brilliant work. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43345615-the-outlaw-ocea...
on “Stopping some fishing would increase overall catches” ↗The author of the story, Ian Urbina, has just published an eminently readable book (Outlaw Ocean, from which this story is an edited excerpt) on the vagaries of law on the high seas; embedding with fishermen, repossessors, fishery authorities and environmentalists he paints a rather grim picture…
on “Ship of horrors: life and death on the lawless high seas” ↗if anyone is interested in this topic of how these things happen and the general lawlessness of the seas due to tragedy of the commons I highly recommend Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina
on “'Ghost ship' washes up on Irish coast” ↗…business, designed to facilitate tax and responsibility avoidance. If this sounds interesting, investigative journalist Ian Urbina published a most informative (and scary) book on the subject last year - Outlaw Ocean.
on “'Ghost ship' washes up on Irish coast” ↗…the process. Especially given the labor conditions [1] exploited by these sorts of operations, there's no way that any domestically-operated farm could beat them out. [1] I've been reading Ian Urbina's Outlaw Ocean on a recommendation from another comment somewhere on HN. It's eye-opening, to say the least.
Ian Urbina's "The Outlaw Ocean" serie is quite the fascinating and nicely researched read - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/24/world/the-outl...
on “A Renegade Trawler, Hunted for 10,000 Miles by Vigilantes” ↗A great recent book that touches on the topic of overfishing and ecological damage to the oceans is: The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier by Ian Urbina.
on “14 nations commit to protect oceans” ↗…opening read about how abysmal conditions are for crews at sea, how slavery still is very very real today at sea, and how most fish is caught illegally by crews of slaves, I highly recommend reading The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina. It’s very sobering and after reading it, I’m absolutely not surprised that cruise lines get away with treating their staff like they did.
on “The Cruise Ship Suicides” ↗I'd like to make a book recommendation. The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina. When I read this 12 months ago, I felt it was one of the most powerful accounts of the pillages still occurring in the world's oceans, as well as the horrific conditions many fishermen…
on “The Culture of Whales” ↗To that point, see the « outlaw ocean » book by Ian Urbina: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outlaw_Ocean
on “Oldest known wild bird lays egg at 74” ↗Two other books I'd recommend are The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina, and Outside The Box by Mark Levinson (author of The Box).
on “EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear” ↗> My wife is pescatarian Not a judgment on your wife, but sharing for general awareness: I would eat land animals before eating fish again. You can read Outlaw Ocean for a quick look at how awful the seafood industry is. The seafood industry has everything from slavery, abuse, animal population decimation, and more, which is directly supported by anyone who eats seafood:…
on “How sustainable are fake meats?” ↗