Racing Through A Rogues’ Gallery

In pursuit of the mother of all crimes offshore

By Ian Urbina

Climb aboard what is fabled as being the longest law-enforcement chase in nautical history — an epic 110-voyage from Antarctic waters to the African Gulf of Guinea, in pursuit of a fishing ship that topped Interpol’s “Most Wanted” List.

After that, hop over to a Korean squid ship carrying reporters who first filmed the largest illegal fishing fleet ever discovered — more than 800 Chinese ships violating UN sanctions and plundering North Korean waters.

The second episode of The Outlaw Ocean Podcast takes listeners on two adventures at sea with the hope of making a larger point: illegal fishing is the mother of all crimes offshore. Along the way, we hear from experts as to why this problem is so prevalent and rarely prosecuted.

Slaloming around stadium-sized icebergs, cutting through a Category-5 storm, a wily band of vigilantes chases the world’s most notorious poacher ship on a trip that ends dramatically when one ship sinks.

Then, near the North Korean sea border, a team of journalists angers a fleet of Chinese squidders by parking a drone over them for the sake of visually proving that this illegal armada is brazenly breaking UN sanctions, with deadly consequences.

Have a listen, here: