Reporting Advice from The Outlaw Ocean Project: 2022 Dart Award Honoree
Digital Feature
Interview
Exemplary reporting on traumatic events requires skills that can take years of experience to master.
Ian Urbina and Joe Sexton displayed their expertise in The Secretive Prisons that Keep Migrants Out of Europe, which was named an honorable mention in this year's Dart Awards contest. An investigation and multi-media project, the piece examines the European Union's shadow immigration system that captures migrants arriving from Africa, and sends them to brutal detention centers run by militias in Libya.
L.A. Times Today: The Outlaw Ocean Podcast Exposes Criminal Activities on the High Seas
Television
Interview
When a recording of a gruesome murder of four men in the Indian Ocean landed in the hands of a former New York Times reporter, it sent him on a decade long quest for answers. What he uncovered on the high seas was a world of environmental devastation, human rights abuses and lawlessness.
Oceans of Solutions: Covering 'Blue Climate' and Ocean-Based Climate Strategies
Webinar
Panel Discussion
The Society of Environmental Journalists offered an oceans of ideas for covering climate solutions, and Ian Urbina was part of the group of experts present.
United States
Pulitzer Center
Interconnected: Reporting the Climate Crisis
Symposium
Presentation
Interconnected: Reporting the Climate Crisis featured unique and engaging event centered on the Pulitzer Center’s mission of quality journalism and education, bringing together journalists, editors, educators, students, and experts from around the world at the forefront of climate change and environmental reporting.
Ian Urbina speaks with Jake Spring from the Foreign Correspondence Podcast about the motivations, outcomes, and long, winding path from The Outlaw Ocean series in the New York Times to where this reporting is now inside its own non-profit news organization.
Brazil
Human Rights Watch
Festival of Ideas: Sea Blindness
Webinar
Interview
Ian Urbina speaks at a session in the three-day Festival of Ideas for Human Rights Watch staff about the human rights and environmental abuses at sea and how most people know very little about the harms inflicted on people and the environment far from shore.
United States
Yale Law School
E.U.’s Citizenship Apartheid: A Reconceptualization of the Mediterranean Migrant Crisis
Webinar
Panel Discussion
For the Yale Law School event, “EU’s Citizenship Apartheid,” Ian Urbina discusses The Outlaw Ocean Project’s reporting on the invisible wall that keeps migrants out of Europe.
Abel Endowed Lecture Series: A Discussion of E.U. Efforts to Build a Virtual Wall Across the Mediterranean
Webinar
Panel Discussion
Ian Urbina presents, “A Discussion of E.U. Efforts to Build a Virtual Wall Across the Mediterranean,” for Central Michigan University’s Abel Endowed Lecture Series.
Award for Human Rights Reporting Granted to Ian Urbina
Award Presentation
The 83rd Annual Overseas Press Club Award was awarded to Ian Urbina on April 21, 2022. He was honored with the Joe and Laurie Dine Award, which goes to the best international reporting in any medium dealing with human rights, for “The Secretive Prisons That Keep Migrants Out of Europe.” Appearing onstage with Urbina was Nimal Eames-Scott, who edited the investigation on behalf of the New Yorker magazine.
Rough Seas: The E.U., Libyan Jails And Migrant Human Rights Abuses
Webinar
Interview
Daily Maverick Foreign Affairs journalist Peter Fabricius in conversation with Washington-based investigative reporter and director of The Outlaw Ocean Project Ian Urbina.
Chain Reaction: Europe’s Big Secret: Funding Offshore Migrant Prisons
Podcast
Interview
Ian Urbina joins Clint Watts for the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s three-part series podcast, Chain Reaction. In this episode, Urbina discusses “The Secretive Prisons That Keep Migrants Out of Europe,” the recently published in the New Yorker covering the human rights abuses taking place in migrant detention camps in Libya and the international systems enabling the continued operation of these prisons.
Middle East Center: The Migration Crisis Off the Coast of Libya
Webinar
Interview
Ian Urbina was honored to appear in an interview with the University of Pennsylvania Middle East Center. Urbina discussed the current migration crisis in Libya, based largely off of his recent investigation in The New Yorker.
“Unsafe Passage” Awarded First Place in the Documentary Journalism Category
Award
On Thursday, 24 February 2022, a panel of experts (Bob Sacha, Corinne Chin, Ben de la Cruz, Jessica Koscielniak) led by Lynden Steele awarded first place to "Unsafe Passage" in the Documentary Journalism category.
Ian Urbina discusses the atrocities committed at sea with co-hosts Julie Sternberg and Eve Yohalem – including murder, human trafficking, and environmental devastation–and why the oceans “often get exploited more than protected.”
In conversation with Andrew Dudley, investigative journalist Ian Urbina, director of The Outlaw Ocean Project, a non-profit journalism organization based in Washington, D.C., discusses environmental and human rights concerns at sea globally.
Subcommittee on Human Rights: Ian Urbina testifies about the E.U.'s complicity in the brutal detention of migrants in Libyan prisons
Event
Testimony
On January 27th, 2022, Ian Urbina testified before the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights about E.U. complicity in the brutal detention of migrants in Libyan prisons.
GeoMundo: Ian Urbina on Libya's secretive migrant prisons
Television
Interview
Ian Urbina speaks with Francisco Belaunde, host of the program Geomundo on TV Peru about the investigation on migrants’ prisons in Libya and the role that the EU plays in this matter.
Inside Europe: Europe’s complicity in the brutal detention of migrants
Podcast
Interview
Award-winning investigative journalist Ian Urbina talks to Inside Europe’s Kate Laycock about the death of a man named Aliou Candé, and the wider context of Europe’s complicity in the brutal detention of migrants in Libyan jails.
Apple News Today: In Conversation: Inside the Secret Prisons where Migrants are Tortured and Beaten
Podcast
Interview
Ian Urbina speaks with host Shumita Basu about Libya's EU-funded shadow immigration system, the horrific conditions inside the detention centers, and being detained himself.
How Europe’s “Shadow Immigration System” Pays Libyan Militias to Jail Migrants in Brutal Conditions
Television
Interview
Ian’s speaks about how the European Union has created a shadow immigration system that captures migrants arriving from Africa before they reach Europe and sends them to brutal militia-run detention centers in Libya.
Exploring Lawlessness at Sea with Investigative Reporter Ian Urbina
Digital Video
Interview
Ian Urbina speaks with Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium, about lawlessness at sea and a recent investigation by the Outlaw Ocean Project into the secretive prisons in Libya that keep migrants out of Europe.
Ian Urbina speaks with Bianna Golodryga about his reporting for The New Yorker on Libya’s detention centers, the European Union’s alleged complicity, and being detained himself.
David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols-Goldstein welcome back Ian Urbina who was on Rising Tide’s first episode. They discuss his latest reporting for the New Yorker magazine on how thousands of climate refugees from Africa seeking to cross the Mediterranean are being seized by Libyan Militias who also kidnapped and beat Ian while he was working on this story.
The Kicker: Ian Urbina on Libya, the Outlaw Ocean Project, and the rules of engagement
Podcast
Interview
As Ian Urbina’s investigative work uncovered human rights abuses and climate destruction across the world’s oceans, he realized he needed to diversify his audience—beyond even the reach of legacy outlets like the New York Times.
All Things Considered: Secret prisons in Libya keep migrants out of Europe
Radio
Interview
Ian speaks to NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about his piece in The New Yorker about the EU’s efforts to externalize its southern border to North Africa. He headed into Libya to better understand its role in migrants’ movement toward Europe.
Global Investigative Journalism Conference: Innovative Storytelling
Webinar
Panel Discussion
Ian Urbina was invited to speak on a panel discussion on innovative storytelling at a 2021 conference hosted by the Global Investigative Journalism Network, a coalition of international investigative reporters. In this video, Ian discusses the theory behind The Outlaw Ocean Music Project, and explores how journalists can reach new audiences through a variety of unexpected mediums.
Ian Urbina granted the 2021 FilmAid Christopher Dickey Award for Journalistic Excellence
Award Presentation
On October 27, 2021, Ian Urbina attended the 2021 FilmAid Annual gala. FilmAid does incredible work, funding, training, equipping, amplifying filmmakers around the world especially in places where the craft is distinctly tough and often dangerous.
At the Gala, Ian and The Outlaw Ocean Project team were granted the 2021 FilmAid Christopher Dickey Award for Journalistic Excellence. The award was presented by a longtime supporter of investigative journalism, Mark Ruffalo. All around a really nice night.
Ian Urbina joined Christopher Ryan’s Tangentially Speaking podcast, for a riveting and impactful conversation. They spoke about The Outlaw Ocean Project, Ian’s past in anthropology, and how to be impactful to the battle happening in and around our oceans.
How overfishing, arms trafficking, human rights abuses, and illegal dumping influence our global food system
Symposium
Presentation
Ian Urbina presented virtually at Ireland’s leading gastronomy symposium, Food On The Edge. Discussing The Outlaw Ocean Project at large and the impact of at-sea criminality on the global seafood supply chain. Urbina touched on overfishing, arms trafficking, human rights abuses, and illegal dumping and how all these factors and more influence our global food system.
Wild Deep Wonder: Oceanic Crises Above And Below The Surface
Webinar
Panel Discussion
Ian Urbina of the Outlaw Ocean Project was a part of a powerful webinar called Wild Deep Yonder on October 5, 2021. This event was produced by the Kavli Foundation and the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program at NYU and was coordinated Dan Fagin. With Doug Main moderating, Ian and Helen Scales had an open discussion about a multitude of oceanic crises above and below the surface.
Ian Urbina interviewed with Aleksey Kovalev, an editor in the investigation department at the Russian magazine Meduza. The spoke about a wide variety of topics including: consumer politics, environmental pollution, illegal fishing and more. To see the full interview click below.
In the October 2021 issue, Florian Strum interviewed Ian Urbina on a multitude of topics surrounding the lawlessness happening at sea, and what can be done about it.
The Outlaw Ocean was featured in the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Exchange virtual conference on IUU Fishing in Hawaii. Ian Urbina sought to bring awareness to the ghost boats that are washing up around the East Sea. This video features the World’s Largest Illegal Fleet and a first hand look of issues surrounding these vessels.
Izzie Clarke speaks with Ian Urbina in an Ocean Matters Podcast interview. They discuss issues about lawlessness at sea and how fishing is having a huge impact on the lives of humans. Slavery, abduction and even murders are taking place on fishing fleets around the world and with these crimes are being committed far from land, they are unknown or perhaps even unthinkable to most of us.
Millenium Live: The environmental, societal and economic impact of China's Golden Lead factory in Gambia
Webinar
Interview
Alessandro Madron and Mario Portanova spoke with Ian Urbina of The Outlaw Ocean Project during a #MilleniuMLive broadcast on June 25, 2021. The interview was about the factory Golden Lead, located in Gambia. Ian spoke about the environmental, societal and economic impact this factory and many more from the Belt Road Initiative is having on underdeveloped countries.
In honor of United Nations World Oceans Day and the Decade of Ocean Science, Ocean Non-Profit Founders Ian Urbina and Bren Smith (GreenWave) come together to discuss ocean affairs and learn from one another’s creative approaches to advocate for and regenerate healthy and productive oceans.
Canada
El Diario
Carne Cruda: Lawless oceans
Podcast
Interview
The Outlaw Ocean Project was featured on Carne Cruda, a popular podcast produced by Spanish publication eldiario.es.
Sea Control: Reporting from the sea With Ian Urbina
Podcast
Interview
In this episode of the Sea Control podcast, host Walker Mills talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning author and investigative journalist Ian Urbina about his recent article in the New Yorker about fish meal and his book The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier. Ian describes his experiences reporting from the sea, the impacts of IUU fishing, sea farer abandonment and the concept of “sea blindness.”
Out On The High Seas, When News Happens No One Sees It
Digital Feature
Recent events have reminded the world of its dependence on maritime commerce. Despite occasional news coverage when calamity strikes offshore, reporting from the untamed frontier is generally scarce.
The Los Angeles Times published a long profile on the journalism of The Outlaw Ocean Project and its use of music to extend the reach of this reporting. The video had a companion article that you can read here.
The mystery of Gulf Livestock 1, a 12,000-tonne ship that disappeared without a trace. The Outlaw Ocean Project is featured on Tortoise Media’s Slow Newscast.
On this episode of Bloomberg’s Follow the Data podcast, Ian Urbina joins Melissa Wright—who oversees the Vibrant Oceans Initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ program that works to protect the ocean and those who depend on it—from climate change, pollution, and overfishing. Melissa and Ian will tell us more about how reporting at sea has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, how his team uses data from Global Fishing Watch to corroborate his work, and how you can take action to protect our ocean at home.
Ian Urbina: Investigative Journalism On The High Seas
Radio
Interview
With thousands of mariners stranded in foreign waters by the coronavirus pandemic, and congestion and chaos affecting ports worldwide, there’s no shortage of issues for The Outlaw Ocean Project to cover.
State of the World Conference: Global implications of illegal fishing
Event
Panel Discussion
The Outlaw Ocean Project participated in the 2021 State of the World conference with FIU.
United States
Ocean Elders
Dive In: Protecting the high seas
Digital Video
Interview
Ian Urbina chats with Sylvia Earle about the high seas and the need for its protection, not only for the health of the planet, but in defense of human rights.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Salty Cinema: Fishing for the future: A celebration of sustainable seafood
Doyle Hodges, executive editor of the Texas National Security Review, sits down with Ian Urbina, investigative reporter and author of, The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier, and Martina Vandenberg, president of the Human Trafficking Legal Center, to discuss issues related to piracy, kidnapping, and stowaways on the high seas.
China accounts for nearly half of the world’s fishing activity…The country’s fleet accounts for 50 to 70 percent of the squid caught in international waters. Ian Urbina explains how the fleet works….and why this raises thorny questions about the consequences of China’s ever-expanding role at sea and how it is connected to the nation’s geopolitical aspirations…It’s a fascinating conversation.”
Bribe, Swindle or Steal: The World’s Largest Illegal Fishing Fleet
Podcast
Interview
Ian Urbina discusses The Outlaw Ocean Projects latest reporting on the lawless seas. Ian has uncovered and documented a stunning story of criminality: illegal shipping, sanctions violations, devastated squid stocks and the 500 “ghost boats” that have washed up on Japanese shores with the crew dead or missing.
The Outlaw Ocean was featured on Moisés Naím’s show, Efecto Naím, to discuss the troubling illegalities faced on the Sea of Japan (East Sea) in a recent NBC investigation.
Ian Urbina announced as a National Geographic Storytelling Fellow
Award Presentation
Coverage
The National Geographic Society announced that Ian Urbina of The Outlaw Ocean Project has been selected for the 2020-2021 National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship.
Ian Urbina wrote an introduction to Reporters Without Borders RSF Albums for Press Freedom collection for 2020, which focuses this year on ocean photographer Laurent Ballesta.
Ian Urbina of The Outlaw Ocean Project was featured on the Citizen Chef Podcast with Tom Colicchio discussing supply chains associated with the fishing industry.
United States
Media Impact Funders
Taken For Granted: Looking At Our Relationship With The Planet
Forum
Panel Discussion
Ian Urbina of The Outlaw Ocean Project was featured on a panel for the 2020 Media Impact Funders Forum.
