A Lawless FrontierThe high seas are a realm in dire need of investigative journalism

More than 50M people work offshore.
Roughly 80% of the goods we consume reach us by way of the sea.
At least 50% of the air we breathe comes from the oceans.

And yet, this realm is largely overlooked by most news outlets because it is too costly, too dangerous and too time consuming to report on.

Select Reporting

The Secretive Prisons that Keep Migrants Out of Europe

The Secretive Prisons that Keep Migrants Out of Europe

Tired of migrants arriving from Africa, the E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that captures them before they reach its shores, and sends them to brutal Libyan detention centers run by militias.

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The Smell of Money

The Smell of Money

In the small coastal country, an exploding industry has led to big economic promises, and a steep environmental price.

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The Deadly Secret of China’s Invisible Armada

The Deadly Secret of China’s Invisible Armada

Desperate North Korean fishermen are washing ashore as skeletons because of the world’s largest illegal fleet.

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A Distinct Approach

We partner with dozens of outlets around the world to translate and disseminate our reporting as broadly as possible.

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  • The Economist
  • The New Yorker
  • NBC News
  • Christian Science Monitor
  • Los Angeles Times
  • Yahoo! News
  • NPR
  • MSNBC
  • CNN
  • Columbia Journalism Review
  • Democracy Now
  • Crooked
  • Radio Kingston
  • KCRW
  • The Guardian
  • Alqatiba
  • UDN
  • Yahoo! Taiwan
  • El Diario
  • El País
  • Meduza
  • AD
  • El Sol de Mexico
  • Rock101
  • Millenium Magazine
  • Caravan India
  • Expreso
  • Cerosetenta
  • El Desconcierto
  • Clarín
  • Twala
The Outlaw Ocean Institute
The Outlaw Ocean Institute
The Outlaw Ocean Institute