S2 E6: The undisputed superpower of the seas (China Pt. 1)

·56 min·5 clips

Daniel Ayrtonong arrived at the hospital covered in bruises and ligature marks, mumbling he hadn't eaten in days after being beaten on a Chinese squid ship.

A phone call opens the trail. Jessica Reyes, an interpreter in Montevideo, is asked by a Chinese fishing company port agent to reach a hospital and translate for a deckhand. It sounds like a small job, but it puts labor, language, crisis, and distance into one port-side moment before the reporting even gets to open water. The map widens from there. Indonesian deckhands are common on Chinese fishing ships, so Jessica becomes the person people call when trouble reaches Montevideo. Offshore, the scene changes fast. From 70 miles away, one industrial squid jigger glows on the horizon like a stadium lit for a night concert. As the vessel gets closer, the fishing ground starts to feel like Urbina's weird city at sea, all lights and isolation. Getting nearer takes work. Urbina wants more than a distant look, so the team tries to board ships by starting with careful bridge-to-bridge radio calls. Ed Oh matters here because he speaks Chinese. He talks with captains about fishing, family, and time at sea, letting the suspicion drop a little at a time. The process can stretch for hours or days before radio contact turns into a closer approach. Urbina says they identify themselves as journalists and explain that they want to document work most people never see. Even distance becomes part of the reporting. They sit about a half mile away, visible but not close enough to rattle the captain. Then Urbina and Ed take the skiff, wave from line of sight, and keep a walkie-talkie where everyone can see it. The episode works because the reporting stays hands-on: radios, ports, ships, translation, and the labor behind Chinese fishing. It ends by looking ahead to mainland China, where the investigation found state-sponsored forced labor inside Chinese processing plants.

As heard by us

A careful maritime investigation that makes a distant supply chain feel immediate and human.

The piece opens in Montevideo and follows Jessica Reyes, the interpreter said to be the only one in the city who speaks Indonesian. From that hospital call, it widens into a portrait of Chinese fishing vessels, Indonesian deckhands, and a port city where death has become…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a hard look at the human cost hiding inside the Chinese seafood supply chain.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Outlaw Ocean