The Outlaw Ocean - Long Island University

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July 19, 2015
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Late Edition
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Weather map appears on Page 22.
VOL. CLXIV . . No. 56,932
NEW YORK, SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2015
© 2015 The New York Times
$6 beyond the greater New York metropolitan area.
Cosby Detailed
Many Affairs
In Testimony
FEDERAL INQUIRY
TURNS TO A TEXT
SENT BY GUNMAN
Sex, Drugs and Deceit
Described by Actor
LINK TO ISLAMIC VERSE
By GRAHAM BOWLEY
and SYDNEY EMBER
The F.B.I. Expands Its
Investigation Into a
Trip to Jordan
He was not above seducing a
young model by showing interest
in her father’s cancer. He promised other women his mentorship
and career advice before pushing
them for sex acts. And he tried to
use financial sleight of hand to
keep his wife from finding out
about his serial philandering.
Bill Cosby admitted to all of
this and more over four days of
intense questioning 10 years ago
at a Philadelphia hotel, where he
defended himself in a deposition
for a lawsuit filed by a young
woman who accused him of drugging and molesting her.
Even as Mr. Cosby denied he
was a sexual
predator who assaulted
many
women, he presented himself in
the deposition as
an unapologetic,
cavalier playboy,
someone
who
used a combinaBill Cosby
tion of fame, apparent concern
and powerful sedatives in a calculated pursuit of young women
— a profile at odds with the popular image he so long enjoyed,
that of father figure and public
moralist.
In the deposition, which Mr.
Cosby has for years managed to
keep private but was obtained by
The New York Times, the entertainer comes across as alternately annoyed, mocking, occasionally charming and sometimes boastful, often blithely describing sexual encounters in
graphic detail.
He talked of the 19-year-old aspiring model who sent him her
poem and ended up on his sofa,
where, Mr. Cosby said, she pleasured him with lotion.
He spoke with casual disregard
about ending a relationship with
another model so he could pursue
other women. “Moving on,” was
Continued on Page 19
Men and Laws, Thrown Overboard
Crime Abounds on High Seas, and One Ship Offers a Case Study
BASIL CHILDERS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
After the Dona Liberta turned off its tracking signal last year, it reappeared as the Sea Pearl in the Gulf of Thailand.
By IAN URBINA
CHIOS, Greece — The rickety raft
made of empty oil drums and a wooden
tabletop rolled and pitched with the
waves while tied to the side of the Dona
Liberta, a 370-foot cargo ship anchored
far from land in the Atlantic Ocean off
West Africa.
“Go down!” yelled a knife-wielding
crew member, forcing two Tanzanian
stowaways overboard and onto the raft.
As angry clouds gathered on the horizon,
he cut the line.
Gambling on a better life, the stowaways had run out of luck. They had already spent nine days at sea, most of the
time hiding in the Dona Liberta’s engine
room, crouched deep in oily water. But as
they climbed down onto the slick raft, the
men, neither of whom knew how to swim,
nearly slid into the ocean before lashing
themselves together to the raft with a
rope.
As the Dona Liberta slowly disappeared, David George Mndolwa, one of
the abandoned pair, recalled thinking:
“This is the end.”
Few places on the planet are as lawless
as the high seas, where egregious crimes
are routinely committed with impunity.
Though the global economy is ever more
dependent on a fleet of more than four
THE OUTLAW OCEAN
A Scofflaw Ship
million fishing and small cargo vessels
and 100,000 large merchant ships that
haul about 90 percent of the world’s
goods, today’s maritime laws have hardly
more teeth than they did centuries ago
when history’s great empires first explored the oceans’ farthest reaches.
Murders regularly occur offshore —
thousands of seafarers, fishermen or sea
migrants die under suspicious circumstances annually, maritime officials say —
but culprits are rarely held accountable.
No one is required to report violent
crimes committed in international waters.
Through debt or coercion, tens of thousands of workers, many of them children,
are enslaved on boats every year, with
only occasional interventions. On average, a large ship sinks every four days
and between 2,000 and 6,000 seamen die
annually, typically because of avoidable
accidents linked to lax safety practices.
Ships intentionally dump more engine
oil and sludge into the oceans in the span
of three years than that spilled in the
Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez accidents combined, ocean researchers say,
and emit huge amounts of certain air pollutants, far more than all the world’s cars.
Commercial fishing, much of it illegal, has
so efficiently plundered marine stocks
that the world’s population of predatory
fish has declined by two-thirds.
The Dona Liberta has been among the
most persistent of scofflaws, offering a
case study of misconduct at sea, accordContinued on Page 10
No Hero, Trump The Long, Strange Trip to Pluto, and How NASA Nearly Missed It
Says of McCain,
By KENNETH CHANG
scientists are colorStirring Outrage ingPlanetary
in the family portrait of our
By JONATHAN MARTIN
and ALAN RAPPEPORT
AMES, Iowa — Donald J.
Trump has made his name in
politics with provocative statements, but it was not until Saturday, after the flamboyant businessman turned presidential candidate belittled Senator John McCain’s war record, that many Republicans concluded that silence
or equivocation about Mr.
Trump’s incendiary rhetoric was
inadequate.
Mr. Trump upended a Republican presidential forum here,
and the race more broadly, by
saying of the Arizona senator and
former prisoner of war: “He’s not
a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
Mr. McCain, a naval aviator,
was shot down during the Vietnam War and held prisoner for
more than five years in Hanoi, refusing early release even after
being repeatedly beaten.
Mr. Trump and Mr. McCain
have been engaged in a war of
words over the past week, since
the Arizona senator said that Mr.
Trump was riling up “crazies” in
the party with the inflammatory
remarks about illegal immigrants
from Mexico.
Yet Mr. Trump’s comments on
$5.00
solar system as close-up photographs and observations stream
back from Pluto, a world three
billion miles away with towering
mountains of ice, vast smooth
plains and many mysteries yet to
be revealed.
The flyby of Pluto last week by
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft
is rightly celebrated as a triumph
of human ingenuity, the capstone
of a mission that unfolded nearly
flawlessly.
Yet it almost did not happen,
which would have left Pluto as
just a hazy dot of light.
New Horizons overcame skeptical NASA officials, repeated
threats to its funding, laboratory
troubles that constricted the
amount of plutonium available to
power the spacecraft and an unforgiving deadline set by the
clockwork of the planets. Though
none of the obstacles packed the
drama of space-exploration crises like the Apollo 13 mission,
their number and magnitude
seemed unbelievable.
“If you wrote a novel about it, I
don’t think people would buy it,”
said S. Alan Stern, New Horizons’ principal investigator.
The story of New Horizons, the
little spacecraft that could, and
did, visit a small planet that is
now considered too small to be a
planet, started 15 years ago when
NASA called it quits on Pluto.
For a decade, concepts for
MICHAEL SOLURI
Scientists put New Horizons through a spin test in 2006 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
sending a mission there had been
studied but never done. In 2000,
the price tag for the latest incarnation, called Pluto-Kuiper Express, appeared to be getting out
of control.
“When it was canceled,” Dr.
Stern said, “the associate administrator at the time, Ed Weiler,
held a press conference and said:
‘We’re out of the Pluto business.
Jeb Bush may be leading the Republican pack when it comes to fund-raising,
but hundreds of high-level G.O.P. donors
have yet to commit to any candidate in
the crowded presidential field. PAGE 16
It’s over. It’s dead. It’s dead. It’s
dead.’ He repeated himself three
times.”
Many planetary scientists and
Pluto fans reacted in dismay, especially as it seemed to be a case
of then or never.
Pluto had reached the closest
point of its orbit to the sun in 1989
and was on the outbound trek,
turning colder. Scientists worried
that Pluto’s tenuous atmosphere
would turn to ice and fall to the
ground, making Pluto a much
less interesting place to study until it neared the sun again — two
centuries later, when they would
be long gone.
There was a second orbital
consideration. The quickest way
to Pluto is to take a left turn at JuContinued on Page 15
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — It
was a quiet spring night in East
Tennessee when a police officer
noticed the old gray Toyota Camry rolling slowly through downtown streets, swerving out of its
lane and stopping for green
lights.
Mohammod Abdulazeez — a
dark-haired 24-year-old, about
six feet tall with a sturdy wrestler’s build — was asked to step
out of the car. A second officer
who had arrived noticed, according to court records, that Mr. Abdulazeez’s eyelids were droopy,
that he smelled of alcohol and
marijuana, and that a “white
powdery substance” was dusted
around his nostrils. Mr. Abdulazeez told them that he had snorted crushed caffeine.
Less than three months after
the April 20 drunken driving arrest that followed the traffic stop,
Mr. Abdulazeez would exhort
readers of his blog to put their
NATIONAL
SUNDAY BUSINESS
MAGAZINE
Uphill Fight Against Hackers
A Shoe Merchant on a Mission
The Once and Future Hillary
Despite a stepped-up effort to protect
government computer networks, officials say that many of them remain vulPAGE 14
nerable to cyberattacks.
Tony Hsieh, the chief executive of the
online shoe retailer Zappos, has remade
the company’s culture by getting rid of
managers. But he has not yet been able
to revive the close-knit feeling that was
crucial to making Zappos a giant of
PAGE 1
e-commerce.
After decades of battling haters and the
news media, Hillary Rodham Clinton
still wants voters to meet the real her as
she campaigns for president. She has
stories of moose stew and blind dates to
tell as she goes through the messy practice of re-re-reintroducing herself to
America, Mark Leibovich writes.
New Pathway to Europe
Uncommitted G.O.P. Donors
Family Troubles
Before Killings
In Chattanooga
By RICHARD FAUSSET
and MANNY FERNANDEZ
INTERNATIONAL 4-12
NATIONAL 13-19
This article is by Timothy Williams, Michael S. Schmidt and
Kenneth Rosen.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The
F.B.I. is reviewing a text message
that the gunman who opened fire
on two military facilities here
sent to a friend hours before his
rampage, a law enforcement official said Saturday. That text,
which might provide insight into
the gunman’s motivation, included a link to an Islamic verse saying, “Whosoever shows enmity to
a friend of Mine, then I have declared war against him.”
At the same time, the bureau is
expanding its investigation into a
trip the gunman, identified as
Mohammod Abdulazeez, made to
Jordan in 2014, by dispatching
agents to the country to interview Jordanian officials about the
gunman’s contacts, the law enforcement official said.
“All indications from the interviews is that there is something different about him after he
returned home,” the official said.
“He was different, but it does not
appear that he was showing the
typical outward signs of someone
who was going to lash out violently. It does not appear from
the interviews that he was saying
a lot of anti-U.S. things to his
friends.”
A Jordanian official confirmed
on Saturday that government investigators were cooperating
with the F.B.I. But after interviewing relatives who had contact with him, they had not determined that Mr. Abdulazeez
conducted any “nefarious” activities while in Jordan.
Interviews the authorities
have conducted with the gunman’s friends in Tennessee have
shown that he liked to go to
shooting ranges. “It was more of
a hobby for him — there’s no indication that he was going there
to prepare for an attack.”
The law enforcement official
also said Saturday that the F.B.I.
started a second round of interviews with the gunman’s friends
The Balkan states have begun to rival
Italy as a preferred route for many miPAGE 6
grants seeking better lives.
A Nod From the Ayatollah
Iran’s top leader offered support for a
nuclear agreement, but said it would not
PAGE 4
end hostilities toward the U.S.
A Tiny Bank’s Legal Odyssey
After uncovering suspected mortgage
fraud and reporting it to regulators,
Abacus Federal Savings Bank found itself a target of New York State prosecutors. Three years and $10 million in legal
costs later, the bank has finally been exPAGE 1
onerated.
SPORTSSUNDAY
One Season, One Dream
A tough, cerebral coach guided players
from Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High
School in the Bronx through pain and
triumph while they pursued a New York
PAGE 1
City basketball title.
SUNDAY REVIEW
Frank Bruni
U(D5E71D)x+?!;!/!=!,
PAGE 3
July 20, 2015
Late Edition
Today, intervals of clouds and sunshine, hot, high 93. Tonight, partly
cloudy, low 76. Tomorrow, periods
of clouds and sunshine, very warm,
high 88. Weather map, Page B8.
VOL. CLXIV . . . No. 56,933
$2.50
NEW YORK, MONDAY, JULY 20, 2015
Video Captures 4 Murders,
But Killers Go Unpunished
Unarmed Men Are Gunned Down at Sea,
Where No Legal System Prevails
By IAN URBINA
SIM CHI YIN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Fighting for space on a jammed street amid construction in Yanjiao, China. The Beijing suburb will be part of a new megalopolis.
Who Advises Candidate Trump? Pain and Hope as China Molds
(A Hint: His Name Is Donald)
Its Capital Into New Supercity
By MAGGIE HABERMAN and MICHAEL BARBARO
In what passes for normal inside Donald J. Trump’s unorthodox campaign for president, he
flew from Arkansas to Iowa on
his Trump-emblazoned jet on Friday, arrived the next morning at
a candidate forum without any
prepared remarks and, wearing a
bright red tie that evoked his
days on “The Apprentice,” told
the world exactly what he
thought about Senator John McCain’s reputation as a war hero.
It was an improvised fit of
pique, roundly and vigorously denounced by his rivals all weekend, that exposed the biggest vulnerability of Mr. Trump’s campaign for president: It is built entirely around the instincts and
grievances of its unpredictable
candidate — and does not rely
on a conventional political operation that protects presidential
hopefuls from themselves. In a reaction that highlighted
the problem, Mr. Trump refused
on Sunday to apologize for de-
claring that Mr. McCain is “not a
war hero” because he was captured and instead boasted in an
interview that his talk in Iowa
had aroused “the biggest standing ovation” of the day.
The remarks about Mr. McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, ended any
qualms party officials had about
criticizing Mr. Trump for fear of
alienating his supporters and
might normally have led to days
of backpedaling and extended explanations. Even as Mr. Trump
insisted that no one was troubled
by his comments, his small group
of aides emailed one another
about how to respond to the
growing criticism.
But the word “sorry” is not in
Mr. Trump’s lexicon, and apologizing was not an option that was
discussed, people privy to the internal debate said.
In a sign of the seat-of-theContinued on Page A12
By IAN JOHNSON
YANJIAO, China — Every
morning at 5:30, Liu Desheng
joins a dozen retirees waiting for
the express bus to central Beijing
from this small city in Hebei
Province. They stand at the front
of the line but never board, instead waiting as bus after bus
pulls up, each picking up 50 people from the ever-lengthening
line behind the retirees.
Around 6:30, their adult children arrive. The line, now snaking down the street, has become
an hourlong wait. People cut in,
and a shoving match breaks out.
But the retirees have saved their
children this ordeal. When the
next bus pulls up, the young
adults take their parents’ places
at the head of the line and board
first, settling into coveted seats
for a 25-mile ride that can take up
to three hours.
“There’s not much I can contribute to the family anymore,”
Mr. Liu, 62, said as his son waved
goodbye from a bus window. “He
is exhausted every day, so if I can
help him get a bit more rest, I’ll
do it.”
The Liu family’s commuting
habit is a small but telling part of
a megacity in the making.
For decades, China’s government has tried to limit the size of
Beijing, the capital, through draconian residency permits. Now,
the government has embarked
on an ambitious plan to make
Beijing the center of a new supercity of 130 million people.
The planned megalopolis, a
metropolitan area that would be
about six times the size of New
York’s, is meant to revamp northern China’s economy and become
a laboratory for modern urban
growth.
“The supercity is the vanguard
of economic reform,” said Liu
Gang, a professor at Nankai University in Tianjin who advises local governments on regional deContinued on Page A6
SHARJAH KHALID PORT,
United Arab Emirates — The
man bobbing in the sea raises his
arms in a seeming sign of surrender before he is shot in the head.
He floats face down as his blood
stains the blue water.
A slow-motion slaughter unfolds over the next 6 minutes and
58 seconds. Three other men
floating in the ocean, some clinging to what looks like the wreckage of an overturned wooden
boat, are surrounded by several
large white tuna longliners. The
sky above is clear and blue; the
sea below, dark and choppy. As
the ships’ engines idle loudly, at
least 40 rounds are fired as the
unarmed men are methodically
picked off.
“Shoot, shoot, shoot!” commands a voice over one of the
ship’s loudspeakers as the final
man is killed. Soon after, a group
of men on deck who appear to be
crew members laugh among
themselves, then pose for selfies.
Despite dozens of witnesses on
at least four ships, those killings
remain a mystery. No one even
reported the incident — there is
no requirement to do so under
maritime law nor any clear method for mariners, who move from
port to port, to volunteer what
they know. Law enforcement officials learned of the deaths only
after a video of the killings was
found on a cellphone left in a taxi
in Fiji last year, then posted on
the Internet.
With no bodies, no identified
victims and no exact location of
where the shootings occurred, it
is unclear which, if any, government will take responsibility for
leading an investigation. Taiwanese fishing authorities, who
based on the video connected a
fishing boat from Taiwan to the
scene but learned little from the
captain, say they believe the
dead men were part of a failed pirate attack. But maritime security experts, warning that piracy
has become a convenient cover
for sometimes fatal score-settling, said it is just as likely that
the men were local fishermen in
disputed waters, mutinied crew,
castoff stowaways or thieves
caught stealing fish or bait.
“Summary execution, vigilan-
A sequence of images taken
from a video of men being
killed at sea that was found on
a cellphone left in a taxi in Fiji.
THE OUTLAW OCEAN
Killing With Impunity
tism, overzealous defense, call it
what you will,” said Klaus Luhta,
a lawyer with the International
Organization of Masters, Mates &
Pilots, a seafarers’ union. “This
boils down just the same to a case
of murder at sea and a question
of why it’s allowed to happen.”
The oceans, plied by more
ships than ever before, are also
more armed and dangerous than
any time since World War II, naval historians say. Thousands of
seamen every year are victims of
violence, with hundreds killed,
according to maritime security
officials, insurers and naval researchers. Last year in three regions alone — the western Indian
Ocean, Southeast Asia and the
Gulf of Guinea off West Africa —
more than 5,200 seafarers were
attacked by pirates and robbers
Continued on Page A8
The ‘Rageful Guy’ Who Pries A McDonald’s With Many Off-the-Menu Sales For G.O.P., Visit
By Pope Comes
Secrets From the Government
By KIM BARKER
By RAVI SOMAIYA
LOS ANGELES — When the
reporter Jason Leopold gets
ready to take on the United
States government, he psychs
himself up by listening to the
heavy metal bands Slayer and
Pantera.
Mr. Leopold describes himself
as “a pretty rageful guy.” He argued recently with staff members
at his son’s preschool because he
objected to their references to
“Indians” and they objected to
his wearing family-unfriendly
punk rock T-shirts to school
meetings.
Mr. Leopold, 45, who works for
Vice News, reserves most of his
aggression for dealing with the
government. He has revealed
about 20,000 pages of government documents, some of them
the basis for explosive news
stories. Despite his appearance
— on a recent day his T-shirt featured the band name “Sick of It
All” — his secret weapon is the
opposite of anarchic: an encyclopedic knowledge of the Freedom
of Information Act, the labyrinthine administration machine
that serves it and the kind of legal
judo often required to pry in-
SAM COMEN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Jason Leopold of Vice News.
formation from it.
His small office, just off the
kitchen in his home here, is littered with envelopes from various branches of the government
and computer disks filled with secrets. His persistence has led to
numerous revelations — some in
documents that have been released exclusively to him, and
others in documents that have
been released to multiple reporters after pressure has been
brought by Mr. Leopold.
They have included a series of
disclosures from Guantánamo
Bay; racist emails from the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department
released after the shooting death
Continued on Page B5
Some customers pour beer into
clear McCafé plastic cups and
drink it right in the open. A man
called Shamrock swills straight
vodka from a Dasani water bottle
at a table near the entrance.
The other day, a man headed
straight for the bathroom, pausing only to open his backpack and
grab a bag of heroin, known as
“dog food.” Another day, a couple
shared a McDonald’s vanilla
shake at a side table and swallowed “sticks,” the anti-anxiety
prescription drug Xanax, and
“pins,” the anti-anxiety pill Klonopin. On a recent Wednesday,
an ambulance showed up to carry
away a regular who had been
stabbed in an adjacent doorway,
leaving blood all over the sidewalk.
The Times Square of today
often seems like a theme park, a
blend of wax museums, flashy
billboards and slow-walking,
street-clogging tourists. But this
nearby McDonald’s, on Eighth
Avenue between 34th and 35th
Streets, is a throwback to a seedier era in New York, a place where
those same tourists sit amid drug
addicts looking for a fix or nodding out at tables after taking
methadone, or maybe something
With Tensions
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
HILARY SWIFT/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Nichole, a former heroin user, regularly hangs out at the McDonald’s on Eighth Avenue, near 35th Street, in Manhattan.
else.
“The tourists don’t know anything,” said Nichole, 29, a former
heroin user who lives in a shelter
and goes to the McDonald’s regularly with her boyfriend. “I love
when they walk in here and look
around and everybody is nodding
out on a table. Because they have
no idea what’s going on. They’re
like, ‘Why is everybody sleeping
in here?’”
Why there? Because within a
Details of a Deadly Crash
The driver of a pickup involved in a fatal
collision with a limousine on Long Island has pleaded not guilty to driving
while intoxicated, and prosecutors say
they expect to upgrade charges. Four
women died in the crash.
PAGE A14
INTERNATIONAL A3-10
BUSINESS DAY B1-7
U.N. to Vote on Nuclear Deal
Microsoft Shifts Its Strategy
Members of Congress are angry that
the Security Council could take action
on lifting sanctions on Iran before they
have debated the agreement. PAGE A9
Microsoft is releasing a new version of
its Windows operating system, and one
of the biggest changes is the price. It
will be free — a sign of evolving dynamPAGE B1
ics in the tech industry.
Abuzz With Russian Troops
NEW YORK A14-17
three-minute walk there are a
clinic that dispenses methadone,
the substitute opioid used to treat
heroin addiction; two outpatient
substance-abuse programs; and
a needle exchange. The neighborhood has few cheap options
for hanging out. The White Castle
allows only paying customers to
use the restroom. The management at a Subway and two Dunk-
The Russian military has largely abandoned efforts to disguise its activities
along the border with Ukraine. PAGE A4
SPORTSMONDAY D1-7
Back on Field, Sans Pinstripes
The retired Yankees outfielder Hideki
Matsui suited up for the Nippon Club’s
PAGE D1
President Cup in New York.
NATIONAL A11-13
Drones Hamper Wildfire Fight
Officials say drones operated by hobbyists seeking close-up video are posing a
danger to the low-flying aircraft being
used in fighting wildfires in California,
like an air tanker, above, during a blaze
last week near Phelan.
PAGE A11
Wary of Greek Pact’s Overhaul
Creditors have made demands to raise
taxes and cut costs, expand competition
and fight corruption, but critics worry
that none of that will help the Greek
PAGE B1
economy grow.
EDITORIAL, OP-ED A18-19
Paul Krugman
PAGE A19
WASHINGTON — In the
Reading, Ohio, neighborhood
where Speaker John A. Boehner
grew up, nearly every house had
two things on the wall: a crucifix
and a photo of the pope. “You
never ever expected to meet the
pope,” said Jerry Vanden Eynden, a lifelong friend of Mr. Boehner’s. “In all of our minds, the
pope was the closest thing to
meeting God in person here on
earth.”
When Pope Francis comes to
Capitol Hill in September, he will
be the first pontiff to address a
joint meeting of Congress, where
more than 30 percent of the members are Catholic. The visit will
fulfill a long-held dream of Mr.
Boehner, who says only his working-class roots as a bar owner’s
son are more essential to his core
than his Catholic upbringing. He
has extended offers to popes for
the last 20 years, and Francis, after taking nearly a year to consider, was the first to accept.
The pope’s visit comes with inContinued on Page A3
ARTS C1-7
What’s in a Book? Let’s Look
Dr. Seuss’s new book inspires a Seuss-ian
review from Michiko Kakutani. PAGE C1
U(D54G1D)y+%!"!#!=!\
A8
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, JULY 20, 2015
N
N
A9
U.N. Vote on Iran Deal Irks Congress
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
and DAVID E. SANGER
An employee inspected a weapon on the Resolution, a floating
armory in the Gulf of Oman. Right, security contractors often
exercise to alleviate boredom between deployments.
Murder at Sea:
Captured on Video,
But Killers Go Free
From Page A1
and more than 500 were taken
hostage, a database built by The
New York Times shows.
Many merchant vessels hired
private security starting in 2008
as pirates began operating across
larger expanses of the ocean, outstripping governments’ policing
capacities. Guns and guards at
sea are now so ubiquitous that a
niche industry of floating armories has emerged. The vessels —
part storage depot, part bunkhouse — are positioned in highrisk areas of international waters
and house hundreds of assault rifles, small arms and ammunition.
Guards on board wait, sometimes
for months in decrepit conditions,
for their next deployment.
Though pirate attacks on large
container ships, like that depicted
in the film “Captain Phillips,”
have dropped sharply over the
past several years, other forms of
violence remain pervasive.
Armed gangs run protection
rackets requiring ship captains to
pay for safe passage in the Bay of
Bengal near Bangladesh. Nigerian marine police officers routinely work in concert with fuel
thieves, according to maritime insurance investigators. Off the
coast of Somalia, United Nations
officials say, some pirates who
used to target bigger ships have
transitioned into “security” work
on board foreign and local fishing
“Summary execution,
vigilantism, overzealous
defense, call it what you
will.”
KLAUS LUHTA, a lawyer with the
International Organization of
Masters, Mates & Pilots.
vessels, fending off armed attacks, but also firing on rivals to
scare them away.
Provocations are common.
Countries are racing one another
to map and lay claim to untapped
oil, gas or other mineral resources deep in the ocean, sparking clashes and boat burnings.
From the Mediterranean to offshore Australia to the Black Sea,
human traffickers carrying refugees and migrants sometimes
ram competitors’ boats or deliberately sink their own ships to
get rid of their illicit passengers
or force a rescue.
Violence among fishing boats
is widespread and getting worse.
Heavily subsidized Chinese and
Taiwanese vessels are aggressively expanding their reach,
said Graham Southwick, the
president of the Fiji Tuna Boat
Owners Association. Radar advancements and the increased
use of so-called fish-aggregating
devices — floating objects that attract schools of fish — have
heightened tensions as fishermen are more prone to crowd the
same spots. “Catches shrink,
tempers fray, fighting starts,” Mr.
Southwick said. “Murder on
these boats is relatively common.”
The violent crime rate related
to fishing boats is easily 20 times
that of crimes involving tankers,
cargo ships or passenger ships,
said Charles N. Dragonette, who
Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
The Outlaw Ocean
Articles in this series examine
lawlessness on the high seas, and
how weak regulations and lax enforcement allow misconduct to go
unpunished.
ONLINE: Videos, and the first
article in the series:
nytimes.com/international
tracked seafaring attacks globally for the United States Office of
Naval Intelligence until 2012. “So
long as the victims were Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Filipino, just not European or American, the story never resonated,”
he said.
Prosecutions for crimes at sea
are rare — one former United
States Coast Guard official put it
at “less than 1 percent” — because many ships lack insurance
and captains are averse to the delays and prying that can come
with a police investigation. The
few military and law enforcement ships that patrol international waters are usually forbidden from boarding ships flying
another country’s flag unless given permission. Witnesses willing
to speak up are scarce; so is
physical evidence.
Violence at sea and on land are
handled differently, Mr. Dragonette said. “Ashore, no matter how
brutal the repression or how corrupt the local government, someone will know who the victims
are, where they were, that they
did not return,” he said. “At sea,
anonymity is the rule.”
Pirates and Robbers
The creaky wooden fishing
boat strained to cut through
eight-foot swells on a clear black
night, as its captain, who goes
only by the name Rio, spread out
a regional map.
Headed north, about 50 miles
from the Natuna Islands in the
South China Sea, he tapped his
finger on his location, widened
his eyes and contorted his face to
register fear. Then, he silently
reached over and opened a
wheelhouse compartment revealing a Glock handgun.
He had a good reason to be
armed. The waters in this region,
especially those near Indonesia,
Malaysia and Vietnam, are
among the most perilous in the
world. More than 3,100 mariners
were assaulted or kidnapped in
the area last year, according to
the Times database, consisting of
more than 6,000 crime reports.
The database includes information provided by the Office of
Naval Intelligence; two maritime
security firms, OceanusLive and
Risk Intelligence; and a research
group called Oceans Beyond Piracy. No international agency
comprehensively tracks maritime violence.
The death tolls in these attacks
are murky because follow-up investigations are rare, police reports often lack details and bodies tend to disappear at sea. But
maritime researchers estimated
that hundreds of seafarers are
killed annually in attacks. (They
caution those numbers are likely
to be undercounts because they
do not include deaths close to
shore or in some particularly
dangerous areas where deaths
are rarely reported to international authorities.)
Typical culprits included: rubber-skiff pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades, nightstalking fuel thieves, hit-and-run
bandits wielding machetes. But a
variety of other actors appear
too, and many of them are not as
they initially seem: hijackers
masquerading as marine police
officers, human traffickers posing as fishermen, security guards
moonlighting as arms dealers.
For instance, there were 10 Sri
Lankan migrants, a group that included women and children, who
were smuggled aboard a fishing
boat in 2012 near the island nation. When their demands to set a
new course for Australia were refused, the migrants attacked the
crew, killing at least two men by
throwing them overboard. Or the
three captive Burmese workers
who in 2009 escaped their Thai
trawler in the South China Sea by
leaping overboard, swimming to
a nearby yacht, killing its owner
and stealing his lifeboat.
The waters near Bangladesh illustrate why maritime violence is
frequently overlooked by the international community. In the
past five years, nearly 100 sailors
and fishermen have been killed
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BEN SOLOMON/THE NEW YORK TIMES
annually in Bangladeshi waters
— and as least as many taken
hostage — in a string of attacks
by armed gangs, according to local media and police reports.
Armed assaults have been a
problem there for two decades,
according to insurance and maritime security analysts. In 2013,
the Bangladeshi media reported
the abduction of more than 700
fishermen, 150 in September
alone. Forty were reported killed
in a single episode, many of them
with their feet and hands bound
before being thrown overboard.
These attacks were usually
conducted by the half-dozen
armed gangs that operate protection rackets in the Bay of Bengal
and the swampy inland waters
called the Sundarbans. Last year,
they engaged in gun battles with
the Bangladesh Air Force and
Coast Guard during government
raids on coastal camps and hostage ships.
Bangladesh’s former foreign
minister, Dr. Dipu Moni, reprimanded the international shipping industry and the foreign and
local news media several years
ago for defaming the country by
describing its waters as a “high
risk” zone for piracy.
“There has not been a single
incident of piracy” in years, Dr.
Moni said in a December 2011
written statement, adding that
most of the violence off the nation’s coast involved petty theft
and robberies, most often committed by “dacoits” (a term derived from the Hindi word for
bandits).
Those claims pivot on a legal
distinction between piracy, which
under international law occurs on
the high seas or in waters farther
than 12 miles from shore, and
robbery, which involves attacks
closer to land.
Insurance companies once
charged $500 for each trip to and
from the ports located in the west
of India, but increased the rate to
$150,000, given the area’s piracyprone designation, a Bangladeshi
foreign ministry official said during a news conference in December 2011. After Bangladeshi officials protested to the International Maritime Bureau, which tracks
piracy at sea, that their country
was stigmatized as a high-piracy
zone, the group amended its website to say its warning covered piracy and armed robbery.
In an interview, Mukundan
Pottengal, the director of the bureau, which is primarily funded
by shipping companies and insurers, said his organization does
not try to determine the exact location of attacks or whether they
are in national or international
waters, partly because these details are often contested by countries.
“Whether they are called pirates or robbers is a legal distinction,” he said. “It does not
change the nature of their act or
the danger to the ship or crew
when armed strangers get on
board their ship.”
On his fishing boat, Rio said
that violence is just a part of life
at sea. “You must be ready, always ready,” he said. For instance, he explained that larger,
unlicensed fishing vessels in the
area often plow through local
fishermen’s nets, not just eliminating their catch, but destroying their livelihoods.
Making a hand gesture as
though he was firing his gun in
the air, Rio revved his engine,
lurching the boat forward, showing how he charged at others in
these situations.
A wiry chain-smoker, Rio recounted the last time he used his
gun. A year earlier, he said, he
fired at a bigger ship that approached his boat late at night
without permission. Rio said he
then sped away, uncertain whether he had hit anyone on board.
Asked whether he reported the
shooting to the police, Rio crinkled his face as if he did not understand. After several silent
minutes, he asked: “Why would
anyone report that?”
Floating Armories
About 25 miles offshore from
the United Arab Emirates in the
Gulf of Oman, a half-dozen pri-
Clockwise from near right, the
Resolution at sunrise in the
Gulf of Oman, about 25 miles
offshore. Smaller boats are
used to ferry security contractors to and from their deployments. A contractor checking
his phone on his bunk.
vate security guards sat on the
upper deck of the Resolution, a
St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged floating armory. After the men traded
war stories about past encounters with pirates, the conversation soon turned to a shared concern: the growing influx of untrained hires into the booming
$13 billion-a-year security business.
“It’s like handing a bachelor a
newborn,” one guard said, describing how some of the new recruits react when given a semiautomatic weapon. Many of the
new hires lack combat experience, speak virtually no English
(despite a fluency requirement),
and do not know how to clean or
fix their weapons, said the
guards, most of whom spoke only
on the condition of anonymity for
fear they would be blacklisted
from jobs. Some of the recruits
show up to work carrying ammunition in Ziploc bags or shoe boxes.
The maritime security industry includes fewer fly-by-night
companies today than it did several years ago, according to the
guards. But the potential for mishandling attacks — with possibly
deadly consequences — has increased over the past year or so,
they argued, because the shipping industry has been cutting
costs, shifting from four-man security teams to teams of two or
three less experienced men.
The 141-foot Resolution is
among several dozen converted
cargo ships, tugboats and demining barges that have been parked
in high-risk areas of the Red Sea,
Persian Gulf and the Indian
Ocean, usually just outside national waters. The guards pay as
little as $25 per night to stay on
the ship (the charge for carrying
the men to and from client ships
is often several thousand dollars), and check their weapons
into a locked storage container
upon arrival. Then they wait,
sometimes for weeks, for their
next job.
Somali piracy spurred many
governments to encourage merchant vessels to arm themselves
or hire private security, a break
from the longstanding practice of
nations trying to maintain a near
monopoly on the use of force.
Meanwhile, growing terrorism
concerns led port officials globally to impose tighter restrictions
on weapons being carried into
national waters. Floating armories emerged as a solution.
On the Resolution, security
“team leaders,” most of them
American, British or South African military veterans, explained
what makes gun battles at sea so
different from those on land.
“Between fight or flight,” said
Cameron Mouat, a guard working for MNG Maritime, a British
company that charters the Resolution. “Out here, there’s just
fight.” There is no place to hide,
no falling back, no air support, no
ammunition drops, he said. Targets are almost always fast moving. Aim is usually wobbly because the ship constantly sways.
Some ships are the equivalent
of several football fields in length,
too big, these guards contended,
for a two- or three-man security
detail to handle, especially when
attackers arrive in multiple
boats.
Discerning threats is difficult.
Semiautomatic weapons, formerly a pirates’ telltale sign, are now
found on virtually all boats traversing dangerous waters, they
said. Smugglers, with no intention of attacking, routinely nestle
close to larger merchant ships to
hide in their radar shadow and
avoid being detected by coastal
authorities. Fishing boats also
sometimes tuck behind larger
ships because they churn up seabottom sediment that attracts
fish.
“The concern isn’t just whether a new guard will misjudge or
panic and fire too soon,” explained a South African guard.
“It’s also whether he will shoot
soon enough.” If guards hesitate
too long, he said, they miss the
chance to take preventive measures that can help avoid fatal
force, like firing warning shots,
flares or water cannons, or incapacitating an approaching boat’s
engine.
The armories themselves can
be crucibles of violence. Guards
climbing off another floating armory, the Seapol One, pulled out
their smartphones and showed
pictures of the infested, cramped,
trash-strewn cabins where eight
men bunked.
Like most floating armories,
the Seapol One, run by the Sri
Lankan firm Avant Garde Maritime Services, had no armed security of its own to police its
guests or protect against pirates
who might seek to commandeer
the arsenal. Most coastal nations
oppose the armories, though they
can do little to stop them since
they are situated in international
waters.
None of the guards interviewed knew of any fatal clashes
on the armories. But there was
no shortage of friction, they said.
A Latvian guard, weighing more
than 300 pounds and standing
well over six feet, relieved himself in the shower because he
could not fit in the bathroom
stalls. Confronted by other
guards, he refused to clean it up.
Several days earlier a heated
argument erupted between two
South African guards and their
team leader. Unpaid for nearly a
month, the men had been abandoned by their security company
and left on the Seapol with no
way to get back to port.
Kevin Thompson, a British
guard, described intense boredom and isolation, which some
guards relieved with occasional
drinks of forbidden alcohol or by
lifting weights, assisted by steroids. Describing the armories, he
said, “They’re basically psychological pressure cookers.”
Unsolved Killings
The video of the killing of the
four men speaks to a survival-ofthe-fittest brutality common at
sea, according to a dozen security
experts who reviewed the footage. They speculated that one
gunman, quite likely a private security guard, did all the shooting,
using a semiautomatic weapon.
And, they said, the four ships at
the scene were probably associated with one another, perhaps
by shared ownership. “You don’t
rob a bank in mixed company,”
one former United States Coast
Guard official explained.
Last summer, the police in the
Fijian capital of Suva closed their
investigation into the shootings.
They reasoned that the incident
did not occur in their national waters, nor did it involve their ves-
sels. Since no Fijian mariners had
been reported missing, they concluded none of their citizens were
among the victims.
When governments investigate incidents like this, their goal
is typically not to find the culprit,
said Glen Forbes from OceanusLive, the maritime risk firm. “It’s
to clear their name.”
The video, which includes people speaking Chinese, Indonesian
and
Vietnamese
languages,
shows three large vessels circling
the floating men. A banner that
says “Safety is No. 1” in Chinese
hangs in the background on the
deck of one of the ships. A fourth
vessel, which maritime records
indicate is a 725-ton Taiwaneseowned tuna longliner called Chun
I 217, passes by in the background.
Lin Yu-chih, the owner of the
Chun I 217, which remains at sea,
said that he did not know whether any of the more than a dozen
other ships he owns or operates
were present when the men were
shot. “Our captain left as soon as
possible,” Mr. Lin said, referring
to the shooting scene.
Though the date of the shooting is unknown, he said that he
believed it occurred in 2013 in the
Indian Ocean, where the Chun I
217 has been sailing for the last
five years.
Mr. Lin declined to release any
details about the crew of the
Chun I 217 or the report he said
he asked the captain to write
about the killings after the Taiwan police contacted his company. Mr. Lin, a board member of
the Taiwanese tuna longliners association, said the private security guards on his ships were provided by a Sri Lankan company,
which he declined to name. The
Taiwan prosecutor’s office, which
is looking into the matter, declined to comment.
With one of the world’s largest
tuna fleets, Taiwan’s fishing industry is among the nation’s biggest employers and most politically powerful sectors.
Two Taiwanese fishing officials
later said that the company authorized to put private security
guards on Taiwanese ships was
Avant Garde Maritime Services,
the same business that runs the
Seapol One, the armory in the
Gulf of Oman. The company declined to answer questions about
its guards or its floating armories.
Tzu-Yaw Tsay, the director of
the Taiwanese fisheries agency,
declined during an interview to
release the Chun I 217’s crew list
or captain’s name. He suggested,
though, that the men in the water
were most likely pirates who had
been rebuffed.
“We don’t know what happened,” Mr. Tsay then acknowledged. “So there’s no way for us
to say whether it’s legal.”
WASHINGTON — During the
closed-door talks in Vienna on
limiting Iran’s nuclear program,
Secretary of State John Kerry argued that the United Nations Security Council should not vote on
lifting sanctions on Iran until
Congress had a chance to review
the deal.
But he ran into a wall of opposition from Iran, Russia and even
the United States’ closest European allies, who argued successfully that Security Council action
should come first, according to
Western officials.
On Sunday, as the Obama administration submitted the Iran
nuclear agreement to Congress
for what promises to be a raucous
60-day debate, Mr. Kerry and
President Obama began grappling with the fallout of that decision, which has complicated their
efforts to secure much needed
support within their own party.
At least two senior Democrats
have joined the Republican leadership in complaining that the Security Council action, expected
Monday morning, would preempt the congressional debate.
Their concern is that it would signal the international community’s intention to dismantle the
sanctions — if Iran meets the nuclear terms of the accord — before American lawmakers have
had time to vote on it.
Asked if she thought Democratic lawmakers would support
the deal, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, told
CBS’s “Face the Nation” that
“the jury is out.”
Mr. Kerry expressed little sympathy on Sunday for congressional demands that the Security
Council delay its vote, insisting
that lawmakers will still have
ample opportunity to carry out
their review.
A provision inserted into the
agreement at the behest of American negotiators, he said, stipulates that the deal will not take
effect until 90 days after the Security Council formally endorses
the accord — giving Congress
time for action.
Mr. Kerry, a former senator
from Massachusetts, scolded
some of his erstwhile colleagues.
“It’s presumptuous of some people to suspect that France, Russia, China, Germany, Britain
ought to do what the Congress
tells them to do,” he said on
ABC’s “This Week.”
“They have a right to have a
vote” at the United Nations, Mr.
Kerry added, referring to his negotiating partners, who include
the four other permanent members of the Security Council, plus
Germany. “But we prevailed on
them to delay the implementation of that vote out of respect for
our Congress, so we wouldn’t be
jamming them.”
The congressional review,
which formally begins on Monday, will focus on an array of contentious issues, including the duration of the agreement, the
strength of inspection provisions
and the procedures for reimposing sanctions if the Iranians violate the agreement. Critics
have also complained that the
lifting of sanctions and the eventual end of an arms embargo will
empower Iran to act against
American interests around the
world.
In response, the White House
has stepped up its campaign to
argue that a congressional rebuff
would bring about the very outcome lawmakers want to avoid:
the collapse of sanctions and an
Iran on the threshold of having a
nuclear weapon.
“If Congress says ‘no’ to this
deal, then there will be no restraints on Iran,” Mr. Kerry told
“Face the Nation” on Sunday.
“There will be no sanctions left.
Our friends in this effort will
desert us.”
So far that argument has failed
to impress Republicans, who
have long pressed for tough sanctions and have viewed the idea of
the Security Council voting first
Concern that Security
Council action
expected Monday will
pre-empt debate.
as an affront to the United States’
role as the ultimate check on
Iran.
But some Democrats have also
voiced concern that the administration may be trying to box them
in by agreeing to swiftly proceed
with a Council vote that will reduce the international pressure
on Tehran.
Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, who chairs the
Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations, and Senator Benjamin
L. Cardin of Maryland, the panel’s ranking Democrat, sent a
joint letter to Mr. Obama last
week urging him to postpone the
Council vote until after Congress
has voted on the accord.
Some legal experts, including
those who have worked for Republican administrations, say
congressional fears that Security
Council action would tie the
hands of the United States are
misplaced.
The adoption of a new Security
Council resolution that lays out
the terms for lifting United Nations sanctions, and which is already circulating in draft form,
would not legally require the
United States to lifts its sanctions
on Iran, said John B. Bellinger
III, who served as the legal advis-
er for the State Department and
the National Security Council
during the administration of
George W. Bush.
“The draft resolution appears
to have been carefully crafted by
administration lawyers to avoid
imposing binding legal obligations on the United States before
Congress considers the JCPOA,”
he wrote on the Lawfare blog, using the abbreviation for the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, as
the Iran agreement is formally
known.
The Obama administration had
hoped to sidestep this highly
charged political debate by persuading its negotiating partners
in Vienna to let Congress vote
first. But the Iranians wanted to
ensure a Security Council vote as
soon as possible to get the international community behind a
road map for sanctions relief.
The Russians also wanted
speedy action at the United Nations, if only to underscore the
authority of the Council and their
own influence. For some of the
Europeans, Council action was
seen as a way to reinforce the
multilateral character of the negotiations.
When the congressional review period doubled to 60 days
after a July 9 deadline was
missed, Mr. Kerry’s hopes of persuading the United States’ negotiating partners to delay going to
the United Nations dimmed further.
The compromise American
diplomats engineered — stipulating that the “adoption date” of
the agreement would come 90
days after the Security Council
endorsement — was intended as
a way to provide time for Congress to complete its review
while accepting the allies’ argument that the adoption of the
Council resolution should be a
significant step and not an afterthought.
Even after an endorsement,
United Nations sanctions would
not be lifted until the Iranians
take the required steps under the
deal.
As strenuously as administration officials have pressed their
case, many in Congress do not
yet appear to be persuaded. On
Friday, Representative Steny H.
Hoyer of Maryland, a senior
Democrat in the House, joined
House Speaker John A. Boehner,
Republican of Ohio, in urging that
the United Nations vote be delayed.
“I believe that waiting to go to
the United Nations until such
time as Congress has acted
would be consistent with the intent and substance of the Iran
Nuclear Agreement Review Act,”
said Mr. Hoyer, the House minority whip, referring to the legislation Mr. Obama reluctantly
signed in May that will give Congress 60 days this summer to debate the Iran agreement.
World Briefing
MIDDLE EAST
Yemen: Rockets Kill Dozens of Civilians
Houthi rebel fighters fired rockets toward the southern city of Aden on Sunday, killing at least 43 people
in a residential neighborhood, health and military officials said. The attack came two days after the exiled Yemeni government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia and opposes the Houthis, declared that
Aden had been “liberated” after the Houthis and
their allies were driven from several districts. Maj.
Gen. Ahmed Saif Mohsen al-Yafae, an anti-Houthi
military commander in Aden, said there were still
small numbers of rebel fighters in the city, as well as
a larger force about six miles outside the city limits,
in an area that had been the source of the rocket fire.
Earlier on Sunday, a coalition airstrike killed at least
24 people in Yemen’s Ibb district, including a dozen
members of one extended family, said Basheer alMasqari, a resident of the neighborhood that was
SAEED AL-BATATI
bombed.
Israel: Arrests in West Bank Shooting
Israeli authorities have uncovered a network of Hamas militants suspected of involvement in a shooting that killed an Israeli man and wounded three
others in the West Bank in June, Israeli security officials said Sunday. The Shin Bet internal security
agency said that the military and the police had arrested four Palestinians this month: three residents
of the West Bank village of Silwad and an older relative from the northern West Bank who is accused of
aiding the group. Two more Palestinians, including
the man suspected of carrying out the shooting,
have been detained by the Palestinian Authority’s
security services, and the ringleader lives in Jordan,
the statement said. The Israeli man, Malakhi Rosenfeld, 26, was wounded in the attack on June 29 and
died the next day.
ISABEL KERSHNER
ASIA
South Korea: Agent’s Suicide Note
Contains Denial of Domestic Spying
A hacking specialist at the National Intelligence
Service who was found dead left a suicide note denying that his team spied on South Korean citizens’
cellphone or online communications, the police said
Sunday. The agent, identified only by his surname,
Lim, was found dead in his car near Seoul on Saturday in what appeared to have been a suicide. The po-
litical opposition is demanding an investigation into
suspicions that the spy agency intercepted the communications of South Koreans using software it
bought from an Italian company, Hacking Team. The
company was itself hacked, and internal data was
leaked online this month. The data showed that one
of the company’s clients was “South Korean Army
Unit 5163,” which is believed to be a cover address
for the intelligence service. Last week, the agency
admitted buying hacking programs from the company in 2012. But it said it only intended to bolster its
spying on North Korea. South Korean bloggers,
news outlets and opposition parties have cited Hacking Team’s leaked data to suggest that the agency
may have spied on South Koreans. “I swear that
there was no surveillance on domestic citizens and
election activities,” the agent wrote in his note,
CHOE SANG-HUN
which was released on Sunday.
EUROPE
Moldova: Joint Military Exercises Begin
About 800 troops from Moldova, the United States,
Romania, Poland and Georgia are taking part in
joint military exercises in Moldova, a former Soviet
republic that borders Ukraine. The Joint Effort 2015
exercises began Sunday and will run until July 25 at
a military base in Balti, where many ethnic Russians
live. The coordinator of the exercises, Col. Veaceslav
Rusu, said the aim of the maneuvers, among the
largest ever staged in Moldova, was to test the ability of the countries’ armed forces to cooperate. Moldova has hosted more military exercises since unrest broke out in Ukraine and Russia annexed the
Crimean Peninsula last year. It is a member of
(AP)
NATO’s Partnership for Peace program.
THE AMERICAS
Colombia: Rebels Free Captured Soldier
Colombian rebels released a soldier they had held
for nearly two weeks on Sunday, President Juan
Manuel Santos said, a day before a unilateral ceasefire declared by the group was set to start. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC,
handed over the soldier, Cristian Moscoso Rivera, to
the International Committee of the Red Cross. He
was captured during combat in southeastern Putumayo, on the border with Ecuador. The government
and the FARC have been locked in complex peace
(REUTERS)
talks since 2012.
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said asrest,
his
sonI’ll
waved cal killed
him
get
a bit
more
the
problem,
Mr.
Trump
refused
least
four
those
killings
st,
I’ll
violence,
with
hundreds
at
sea
that
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found
on
elfies.
seamen
every
year
are
victims
of
is
meant
to
revamp
northno
requirement
to
do
so
under
violence,
violence,
with
with
hundreds
hundreds
killed,
killed,
THE
OUTLAW
OCEAN
liners.
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sky
responsibility
for
leading
an
investigation.
Taimes
the
size
of
New
val
historians
say.
Thousands
of
ese
fishing
authorities,
who
seamen
every
year
are
victims
of
ant
ant
to
to
revamp
revamp
northnorthgoodbye from
bus window.
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on Page
A12of a failed
on Page
A6
on
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ent
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lsan up,
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port,
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But
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aa
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ay
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aevery
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maritime
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violence,
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to
toawanese
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maritime
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maritime
law
nor
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become
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ininaships
seamen
year
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ses
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OCEAN
ant
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conomy
conomy
and
and
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left
ataxi
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Killing
With
Impunity
based
on
the
video
connected
a
above
is
clear
fishing
authorities,
based
oncall
the
ty
experts,
warning
that
piracy
owa
they
know.
Law
enforcement
offithe
express
bus
to
central
Beijing
come
eir
parents’
places
rate
attack.
But
maritime
securiThe
Liu
family’s
commuting
ty
ty
experts,
experts,
warning
warning
that
that
piracy
piracy
ohs
if Ionly
can
were
part
of
a
failed
pifrom
a
video
of
men
being
But
maritime
securitism,
overzealous
defense,
it
found
on
a
cellphone
left
in
a
taxi
officials,
insurers
and
naval
remore
armed
and
dangerous
than
city
of
130
million
people.
reported
the
incident
—
there
is
according
to
maritime
security
officials,
officials,
insurers
insurers
and
and
naval
naval
rereod
for
mariners,
who
move
from
a
laboratory
for
modern
urban
in Fiji
last year,
then
posted on
violence,
with
hundreds
killed,
according
to
maritime
security
economy
and
become
muting
for
forwas
modern
modern
urban
urban
Killing
With
Impunity
cials
learned
ofhas
the
deaths
ndillings
from
this
small
city
in
Hebei only
gs
has
become
avideo
convenient
cover
habit
is a that
small
but
telling
part
offrom
fishing
boat
Taiwan
to
the
the
line
and
board
tism,
overzealous
defense,
call
it
ty
experts,
warning
piracy
rest,
I’ll
has
become
become
a
a
convenient
convenient
cover
cover
ut
in,
and
blue;
the
sea
what
you
will,”
said
Klaus
Luhta,
connected
a
fishing
boat
from
Taiwan
to
.
But
maritime
securiwarning
that
piracy
searchers.
Last
year
in
three
rekilled
at
sea
that
was
found
on
in
Fiji
last
year,
then
posted
on
the
Internet.
officials,
insurers
and
naval
researchers.
searchers.
Last
Last
year
year
in
in
three
three
rereno
requirement
to
do
so
under
any
time
since
World
War
II,
naport
to
port,
to
volunteer
what
A
sequence
of
images
taken
For
G.O.P.,
Visit
HNSON
growth.
The
planned
megalopolis,
a
The
‘Rageful
Guy’
Who
Pries
A
McDonald’s
With
Many
Off-the-Menu
Sales
according
to
maritime
security
officials,
insurers
and
naval
reafter
a
video
of
the
killings
was
Province.
They
stand
at
the
front
y
for
modern seats
urban for
megacity
in the
making.
aout.
part
of
for
sometimes
fatal
score-seteensinto
even
coveted
a lawyer
withwestern
the International
has
become
aacall
convenient
cover
for
sometimes
sometimes
fatal
fatal
score-setscore-setscene
but
learned
little
from
the
what
you
will,”
said
Klaus
Luhta,
warning
that
piracy
a taxi
convenient
cover
THE
OUTLAW
OCEAN
gions
alone
—from
the
Indian of
With
no
bodies,
no identified
below,
dark
and
choppy.
As
the
ships’
engines
the
scene
but
learned
little
the
captain,
searchers.
Last
year
in
three
retism,
overzealous
defense,
itlaw
gions
gions
alone
alone
—
—
the
the
western
western
Indian
Indian
found
on
aaday,
cellphone
left
ininamen
taxi
they
Law
enforcement
offiofthe
the
line
but
never
board,
the
Internet.
maritime
nor
any
clear
methMc“The
supercity
isknow.
the
vanguard
officials,
insurers
and
naval
researchers.
Last
year
in
three
reval
historians
say.of
Thousands
a
cellphone
left
in
a
taxi
in
Fiji.
For
decades,
China’s
governmetropolitan
area
that
would
be
rcity
city
is
is
the
vanguard
vanguard
smes
exhausted
every
so
if
I
can
from
video
of
being
sted
on
mmuting
Organization
Masters,
Mates &
tling,
said
it
is
just
as
likely
that
de
that
can
take
up
By
Pope
Comes
for
sometimes
fatal
score-settling,
tling,
said
said
it
it
is
is
just
just
as
as
likely
likely
that
that
here
is
tism,
overzealous
defense,
call
it
Secrets
From
the
Government
e
a
convenient
cover
fatal
score-setcaptain,
say
they
believe
the
victims
and
no
exact
location
of
a
lawyer
with
the
International
Ocean,
Southeast
Asia
and
their
in
Fiji
last
year,
then
posted
on
stead
waiting
as
bus
after
bus
gions
alone
—
the
western
Indian
what
you
will,”
said
Klaus
Luhta,
Killing
With
Impunity
Ocean,
Ocean,
Southeast
Southeast
Asia
Asia
and
and
the
the
By KIM
BARKER
esicials
learned
of
the
deaths
only
searchers.
Last
year
inare
three
rement
has
tried
towho
limit
the
size
of weresay
gions
alone
—
the
western
Indian
ofthe
economic
reform,”
said
Liu
od
for
mariners,
move
from
idle
loudly,
at
least
40
rounds
fired
as
the
they
believe
theit dead
men
were
part the
of of
a
Pilots,
a seafarers’
union.
“This
grcity
part
of the
With
nosea
bodies,
no
identified
is
vanguard
seamen
every
year
are
victims
reform,”
reform,”
said
said
Liu
Liu
help
him
get
a
bit
more
rest,
I’ll
the
men
local
fishermen
in
about
six
times
the
size
of
New
what
you
will,”
said
Klaus
Luhta,
tling,
said
it
is
just
as
likely
that
the
men
men
were
were
local
local
fishermen
fishermen
in
in
where
the
shootings
occurred,
killed
at
that
was
found
on
imes
fatal
score-sett
is
just
as
likely
that
under
overnpullsthe
each picking
up
peoInternet.
Some
customers
pourwere
beer
into
Gulf ofboils
Guinea
off
West
Africa
—
dead
men
part
of
aWest
failed
piWith
Tensions
Organization
of
Masters,
Mates
& the
any
Ocean,
Southeast
Asia
and
aup,
lawyer
with
the50
International
Gulf
Gulf
of
of
Guinea
Guinea
off
offmutinied
West
Africa
Africa
—
—violence,
n
theat
Beijing,
the
capital,
through
draafter
a
video
of
the
killings
was
down
just
the
same
to
a
case
gions
alone
—
the
western
Indian
Ocean,
Southeast
Asia
and
the
Gang,
a
professor
at
Nankai
Uniport
to
port,
to
volunteer
what
N
reform,”
said
Liu
essor
essor
at
Nankai
Nankai
UniUnia
lawyer
with
the
International
do
it.”
entified
clear
McCafé
plastic
cups
and
victims
and
no
exact
location
of
disputed
waters,
crew,
with
hundreds
killed,
t
much
I
can
conunarmed
men
are
methodically
picked
failed
pirate
attack.
maritime
security
exis unclear
which,
if any,
govern-But
the
men
local
fishermen
in in off.
disputed
disputed
waters,
waters,
mutinied
mutinied
crew,
crew,
By RAVI
SOMAIYA
York’s,
is
meant
toin
revamp
northple as
from
the
ever-lengthening
itout
islocal
just
likely
that
With
no
bodies,
no
identified
ere
fishermen
in
than
5,200at seafarers
were
methsize
of
conian
residency
permits.
Now,
aOrganization
cellphone
left
awere
taxi
in
Gulf
of
Guinea
off
West
Africa
— more
ofGulf
Masters,
Mates
&Fiji.
drink
itloright
the
open.
man
of
murder
sea and a question
more
more
than
than
5,200
5,200
seafarers
seafarers
were
were
rate
attack.
But
securiTHE
OUTLAW
OCEAN
Pilots,
aswills
seafarers’
union.
“This
found
on
aLaw
cellphone
left
in
aAoffitaxi
governOcean,
Southeast
Asia
and
the
of
Guinea
off
West
Africa
—
young
versity
in
Tianjin
who
advises
Organization
of
Masters,
Mates
&maritime
essor
at
Nankai
Unithey
know.
enforcement
njin
njin
who
who
advises
advises
loloLOS
ANGELES
— no
When
the
ment
will
take
responsibility
for call itto maritime
ation
of
castoff
stowaways
or
thieves
The
Liu
family’s
commuting
family
anymore,”
line
behind
the
retirees.
according
security
where
the
shootings
occurred,
it
called
Shamrock
straight
disputed
waters,
mutinied
crew,
castoff
castoff
stowaways
stowaways
or
or
thieves
thieves
victims
and
exact
location
of
austed
every
day,
so
if
I
can
tism,
overzealous
defense,
ere
local
fishermen
in
r
of
aters,
mutinied
crew,
By
JENNIFER
STEINHAUER
ern
China’s
economy
and
become
“Shoot,
shoot,
shoot!”
commands
a
voice
perts,
warning
that
piracy
has
become
a
convethe
government
has
embarked
attacked
by
pirates
and
robbers
of
why
it’s
allowed
to
happen.”
reporter
Jason
Leopold
gets
e size
of
more
than
were
Pilots,
alo-seafarers’
union.
“This
attacked
attacked
by
by 5,200
pirates
pirates
and
and
robbers
robbers
eh
from
in5,200
Fiji
last
year,
then
posted
onthe
draPilots,
aofvodka
seafarers’
union.
“This
Gulf
of
Guinea
off
West
Africa
more
than
seafarers
were
from
a—
Dasani
water
bottle
ty
experts,
warning
that
piracy
boils
down
just
same
to
a case
cal
governments
on
regional
deleading
anseafarers
investigation.
places
anjin
who
advises
ents
ents
on
on
regional
regional
dedeKilling
With
Impunity
6:30,
their
adult
chilurred,
itmutinied
caught
stealing
fish
or
bait.
cials
learned
the
deaths
only
habit
is
aAround
small
but
part
of
id
his
waved
where
the
shootings
occurred,
itfish
ready
take
ontelling
the
United
WASHINGTON
In rethe
castoff
stowaways
or
caught
caught
stealing
stealing
fish
or
or
bait.
bait.
andasdraofficials,
insurers
and
you
will,”
saidTaiwanKlaus
Luhta,
on
an
ambitious
plan
toentrance.
make
unclear
which,
if
any,
governwaters,
crew,
atthieves
ajust
table
near the
owaways
ortolaboratory
thieves
The
oceans,
pliednaval
by— more
him
get
ason
bit
more
rest,
I’ll
ugh
ais
for
modern
urban
boils
down
the
same
toat
aa
case
attacked
bywhat
pirates
and
robbers
boils
down
just
the
same
to
apirates
case
States
government,
he
psychs
over
one
of
the
ship’s
loudspeakers
as
the
final
the
Internet.
nient
cover
for
sometimes
fatal
score-settling,
more
than
5,200
seafarers
were
attacked
by
and
robbers
Reading,
Ohio, neighborhood
ese
fishing
authorities,
who Continued
what
Now,
dren
arrive.
The
line,
now
snakhas
become
convenient
cover
The
other
day,
a
man
headed
of
murder
sea
and
a
question
is
unclear
which,
if
any,
governents
on
regional
deboard
governa
bus
window.
“He
Continued
on
Page
A6
“Summary
execution,
vigilanon
Page
A8
a
megacity
in
the
making.
ays
after
a
video
of
the
killings
was
caught
stealing
fish
or
bait.
Beijing
the
center
of
a
new
superships
than
ever
before,
are
also
ued
ed
on
on
Page
Page
A6
A6
himself
up
by
listening
to
the
“Summary
“Summary
execution,
execution,
vigilanvigilanContinued
Continued
on
on
Page
Page
A8
A8
a
lawyer
with
the
International
where
Speaker
John
A.
Boehner
owaways
or
thieves
ling
fish
or
bait.
s.
Now,
murder
at sea
and
a question
in three
rement
will
take
responsibility
for
straight
forno
the
bathroom,
paus- based on the video connected
ofmetal
murder
at
sea
and aafter,
question
THE
OUTLAW
OCEAN
a thatLast
growth.
attacked
by
pirates
and
robbers
With
no
bodies,
identified
ing
down
the
street,
has
become
heavy
bands
Slayer
and
ment
will
take
responsibility
for
grew
nearly
every house
had
nt
offiman
is
killed.
Soon
aofof
group
of
men
on
deck
said
itPage
is just
as searchers.
likely
the year
men
were
local
arked
exility
for
of
why
it’s
to happen.”
for
sometimes
fatal
more
andup,dangerous
than
only
to open
his
backpack
and
city
130
million
people.
For
decades,
China’s
governseats
ued
on
Page
A6
found
on
a
cellphone
left
in
aallowed
taxi
“Summary
execution,
vigilanContinued
onscore-setmbarked
of
why
it’sing
allowed
to
happen.”
Organization
of
Masters,
Mates
& armed
aling
fish
or
bait.
Pantera.
ry
execution,
vigilanContinued
on
Page
A8
twowestern
things on the wall:
a crucifix
fishing
boat
from A8
Taiwan
to the
of
why
it’s
allowed
to
happen.”
gions
alone
—
the
Indian
leading
an
investigation.
Taiwanan
hourlong
wait.
People
cut
in,
Liu
family’s
commuting
grab
a
bag
of
heroin,
known
as
leading
an
investigation.
Taiwanvictims
and
no
exact
location
of
“The
supercity
is
the
vanguard
tism,
overzealous
defense,
call
it
mp
Mr.
Leopold
describes
himself
any
time
since
World
War
II,
naThe
planned
megalopolis,
a
Killing
With
Impunity
Taiwanand
a
photo
of
the
pope.
“You
sry
only
oke
make
The
oceans,
plied
by
more
ment
has
tried
to
limit
the
size
of
make
The
oceans,
plied
by
more
tling,
said
it
is
just
as
likely
that
“dog
food.” Another
day, a couple
who
appear
toplied
beContinued
crew
members
laugh
among
fishermen
in disputed
waters,
mutinied
crew,
up
Pilots,
a seafarers’
union.
in
Fijimore
last
year,
posted
on
execution,
vigilanon
Page
A8then
but learned
little
from
the “This
andas a
shoving
match
out.
“a
pretty
rageful
guy.”part
Hebreaks
ar- authorities,
The
oceans,
by
ese
fishing
authorities,
who
never
ever Thousands
expected
to meet
the
Ocean,
Southeast
Asia
and
the
where
the
shootings
occurred,
itscene
is
awho
small
but
telling
ofdraese
fishing
who
val
historians
say.
of
bled
shared
a before,
McDonald’s
vanilla
metropolitan
area
that
wouldare
be
what
you
will,”
said
Klaus
Luhta,
w
ships
ever
also
,ssuperof
economic
reform,”
said
Liuthan
gued
recently
with staff
members
Beijing,
the
capital,
through
pope,” said Jerry Vanden Eynwas
captain,
say
they
believe
the
boils
down
just
the
same
to
a
case
superships
before,
are
also
But
the
retirees
have
saved
their
the
fishermen
in
the
Internet.
shake
at amen
sidethan
tablewere
andever
swal-local
based
on
the
video
connected
a
themselves,
then
pose
for
selfies.
castoff
stowaways
or
thieves
caught
stealing
ships
than
ever
before,
are
also
Jason
Leopold
of
Vice
News.
at
his
son’s
preschool
because
he
seamen
every
year
are
victims
of
oup
isabout
unclear
which,
if size
any,
den,West
a lifelong friend
of Mr. Boehsix armed
times
the
ofgovernNewthan
acity
in
the
making.
Gulf
of
Guinea
off
Africa
—
based
on
the
video
connected
a
more
and
dangerous
lowed
“sticks,”
the
anti-anxiety
ected
a
a
lawyer
with
the
International
dead
were part
of aand
failedapionian
residency
Now,
objected
to
their
references
to
children
this
ordeal.
When
Gang,
apermits.
professor
atthe
Nankai
Uniofmen
murder
at
sea
question
fishing
boat
from
Taiwan
to
the
acontaxi
ner’s. hundreds
“In all of our minds,
the
more
armed
and
than
disputed
waters,
mutinied
crew,
With
no
bodies,
no
identified
violence, with
killed,
more
armed
and
than
prescription
drug
Xanax,
and
n
her
York’s,
isthe
meant
to at
revamp
northment
will
take
responsibility
any
time
since
World
War
II,for
na- dangerous
and
they objected
to dangerous
Despite
dozens
of
witnesses
on
least
four
fish
or
bait.
a “Indians”
pope
was the closest were
thing to
more
than
5,200
seafarers
decades,
China’s
governformation
from
it.
attack.
But
maritime
securifishing
boat
from
Taiwan
to
npolis,
to government
the
next
bus
pulls
up,
the
young
tism,
overzealous
defense,
call
it
“pins,” the anti-anxiety pill Klo- rate
Organization
of
Masters,
Mates
&
but
learned
little
from
the
he
has
embarked
of
why
it’s
allowed
to
happen.”
hisscene
wearing
family-unfriendly
versity
in
Tianjin
who
advises
loaccording
to
maritime
security
the
ted
on
meeting
God
in
person
here
on
any
time
since
World
War
II, naern
China’s
economy
become
His small
office,
just
off
the
any
time
sinceofof
World
War
II, navictims
and
no
exact
location
val
historians
say.
Thousands
castoff
stowaways
or
thieves
more,”
lis,
aadults
nopin.
On
aand
recent
Wednesday,
would
be
leading
an
investigation.
Taiwanty
experts,
warning
that
piracy
punk
rock
T-shirts
school of
take
their
places
oman
the
has
tried
to
limit
thetoparents’
size
captain,
say
they
believe
the
attacked
by pirates
robbers
earth.” and
kitchen
in
his
home
here, the
is lit- an ambulance showed up to carry
scene
but
learned
little
from
Pilots,
a
seafarers’
union.
“This
what
you
will,”
said
Klaus
Luhta,
on
ambitious
plan
tosay.
make
The
oceans,
plied
by
more
officials,
insurers
and naval
rea
laboratory
for
modern
urban
meetings.
seamen
every
year
are
victims
of
val
historians
Thousands
of
cal
governments
on
regional
deof
New
where
the
occurred,
itsay.
When Pope Francis comes to
val
historians
Thousands
of
with
envelopes
from shootings
vari- away
ese
fishing
authorities,
has become
a convenient
cover searchers. Last
caught
stealing
fish
ora bait.
atcapital,
the
head
of
the
line
and
board
waved
uld
be
a regular
who hadwho
been
dead
men
were
part
oftered
a
failed
piMr.
Leopold,
45,
who
works
for
the
threehereg,
the
through
draBeijing
the
center
of
amost
new
superships
thanheroin
ever
before,
are
also
Nichole,
former
user,
regularly
hangs
the Mc- Capitolyear
boils
down
just
the
same
toout
a atcase
Hill in in
September,
will
ousare
branches
of
the government
captain,
say
they
believe
the
tve
growth.
a
lawyer
with
International
violence,
with in hundreds
killed,
stabbed
an adjacent doorway,
p in
northseamen
every
year
victims
Vice
News,
reserves
of
his the
for
sometimes
fatal
score-setfirst,
settling
into
based
on
the
video
connected
ayear
is
unclear
which,
if“Summary
any,
governrate
attack.
Butcoveted
maritime
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seamen
every
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victims
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be the
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andseats
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HILARY SWIFT/THE NEW YORK TIMES
have dropped sharply over the handled differently, Mr. Dragonpast several years, other forms of ette said. “Ashore, no matter how
brutal the repression or how corviolence remain pervasive.
rupt the local
government,
some“Summary
execution,
vigilantism,
overzealinto
“security” work on board foreign and local
Armed
gangs run
protection
one
will
know
who
the
victims
rackets
requiring
ship
captains
to
ous defense, call it what you will,” said Klaus
fishing vessels, fending off armed attacks, but
pay for safe passage in the Bay of are, where they were, that they
Luhta,
a
lawyer
with
the
International
Organifiring on rivals to scare them away.
“At sea,
Bengal near Bangladesh. Nigeri- did not return,” he said. also
zation
of police
Masters,
Mates
& Pilots,
a seafarers’
Provocations are common. Countries are
anonymity
is the rule.”
an marine
officers
routinely work“This
in concert
with just
fuel the same to a case
union.
boils down
racing one another to map and lay claim to unthieves,
according
to maritime
in- Pirates
andit’s
Robbers
of
murder
at sea
and a question
of why
altapped oil,
gas orinother
mineralwaters
resources
deep
annually
Bangladeshi
not try
to determine
surance investigators. Off the
lowed
to
happen.”
in
the
ocean,
sparking
clashes
and
boat
burn—
and
as
least
as
many
taken
cation
of attacks or w
The
creaky
wooden
fishing
coast of Somalia, United Nations
hostage
— in a string of attacks
are in
national or i
strained
to cut ings.
through
Thesay,
oceans,
moreboat
ships
than ever
officials
some plied
piratesbywho
From
the Mediterranean
to offshore
Ausby armed gangs, according to lo- waters, partly becau
eight-foot
swells
on
a
clear
black
used
to
target
bigger
ships
have
before, are also more armed and dangerous than tralia to cal
themedia
Black
Sea, human traffickers
carand police reports.
tails are often contes
transitioned into “security” work night, as its captain, who goes
any
timeforeign
sinceand
World
War II,only
naval
historians
rying
migrants
sometimes
Armedand
assaults
have been
a tries. ram
by the
name Rio, spread
outrefugees
on board
local fishing
problem
thereorfordeliberately
two decades, sink
say. Thousands of seamen every
yearmap.
are vica regional
competitors’
boats
their they ar
“Whether
according
to
insurance
and
marirates
Headed
north,
about
50
miles
tims of violence, own ships to get rid of their illicit passengersororrobbers is
from the Natuna Islands in the time security analysts. In 2013, tinction,” he said. “
with hundreds
force a rescue.
South China Sea, he tapped his the Bangladeshi media reported change the nature of
“Summary execution,
killed,onaccording
Violence
among offishing
boats
is widethe abduction
more than
700 the
finger
his location, widened
danger to the s
fishermen,
in September
and contorted
face to and
when armed strang
to eyes
maritime
se- hisspread
getting150
worse.
Heavily subsidized
vigilantism, overzealous his
were reported killed board their ship.”
register
Then, he Chinese
silently alone.
curity fear.
officials,
and Forty
Taiwanese
vessels are aggresdefense, call it what you reached
over and opened a in a single episode, many of them
On his fishing bo
insurers
and
sively
expanding
their
reach,
said that
Graham
with
their
feet
and
hands
bound
wheelhouse
compartment
revealviolence is just
will.”
before
thrown overboard.
naval
researchSouthwick,
thebeing
president
of the Fiji Tuna
Boat
ing
a Glock
handgun.
at sea.
“You must b
KLAUS LUHTA, a lawyer with the
These attacks
wereadvancements
usually ways and
He had
a good
reason
to be Association.
ready,” he sa
ers.
Last
year
Owners
Radar
International Organization of
armed. The waters in this region, conducted by the half-dozen stance, he explained
in three regions
the increased use of so-called fish-aggregating
especially those near Indonesia, armed gangs that operate protec- unlicensed fishing ve
Masters, Mates & Pilots.
alone
—
the
devices
objects
attractarea
schools
tionfloating
rackets in
the Baythat
of Bengal
Malaysia and Vietnam,
are —
often plow th
and
the
swampy
inland
waters
among
the
most
perilous
in
the
western Indian
of fish — have heightened tensions as
fisher- nets, no
fishermen’s
Sundarbans.
Lastthe
year,same
world.
than 3,100 mariners
inating
their catch,
Ocean, Southeast Asia and the
GulfMore
of Guinea
men are called
morethe
prone
to crowd
spots.
were assaulted or kidnapped in they engaged in gun battles with ing their livelihoods.
off West Africa — more thanthe5,200
seafarers
“Catches
shrink,
tempers
starts,”
Bangladesh
Air fray,
Forcefighting
and
area last
year, according
to the
Making a hand
vessels, fending off armed atwere
attacked
by
pirates
and
robbers
and
more
Coast
Guard
during
government
Mr.
Southwick
said.
“Murder
on
these
boats
is was firing
the
Times
database,
consisting
of
though he
tacks, but also firing on rivals to
raids
on
coastal
camps
and
hosmore
than
6,000
crime
reports.
the
air,
Rio revved
than
500 were
relatively common.”
scare them
away. taken hostage, a database built
tage ships.
The
database
includes
inforlurching
the boat for
areTimes
common.
byProvocations
The New York
shows.
The violent
crime rate related to fishing
Bangladesh’s former foreign ing how he charged
mation provided by the Office of
Countries
racing onevessels
another hired private secuManyare
merchant
boats is easily
20 Dr.
times
that
of crimes
minister,
Dipu
Moni,
repri- involving
Naval Intelligence; two maritime
these situations.
to map and lay claim to untapped
the international
ship- ships,
security
firms,
OceanusLive
and manded
rity
starting
in
2008
as
pirates
began
operating
tankers,
cargo
ships
or
passenger
saidchain-smo
A wiry
oil, gas or other mineral reping
industry
and
the
foreign
and
Risk
Intelligence;
and
a
research
counted
the last time
across
larger
expanses
of the ocean, outstripCharles N. Dragonette, who tracked seafaring
sources deep
in the
ocean, sparkgroup called Oceans Beyond Pi- local news media several years gun. A year earlier,
ing clashes
and boatpolicing
burnings.capacities. Guns and
ping
governments’
for the the
United
States
Office of
ago for defaming
country
by fired
racy. No international attacks
agency globally
at a bigger sh
From
the
Mediterranean
to
offguards at sea are now so ubiquitous
that a niche
2012.
as thehis boat l
describing itsuntil
waters
as a “So
“highlong
comprehensively
tracksNaval
mari- Intelligence
proached
shore Australia to the Black Sea, time violence.
risk” zone
for piracy. Malay, Vietnamese,
industry
of floating
armories
victims were
Indonesian,
without permission.
human traffickers
carrying
refu- has emerged. The
“There has not been a single then sped away, unce
The death tolls in these attacks
vessels
part storage
depot,are
part
bunkhouse
Filipino, just not European or American, the
gees and—migrants
sometimes
murky because follow-up in- incident of piracy” in years, Dr. er he had hit anyone o
ramare
competitors’
boats
delib- vestigations
—
positioned
in or
high-risk
areas of internastoryre-never
resonated,”
he said. 2011
Moni
said in a December
are rare, police
Asked whether he
erately sink their own ships to ports often lack details and bod- written statement, adding that
tional
waters and house hundreds of assault
Prosecutions for crimes at sea are rare —
get rid of their illicit passengers ies tend to disappear at sea. But most of the violence off the na- shooting to the polic
kled
his face as if he
rifles,
arms and ammunition. Guards on
one former United States Coast Guard
official
or forcesmall
a rescue.
maritime researchers estimated tion’s coast involved petty theft derstand. After se
board
wait,
sometimes
for months
in decrepit
put are
it at “less
than 1 percent”
—combecause many
Violence
among
fishing boats
and robberies,
most often
that hundreds
of seafarers
minutes, he asked: “
is widespreadfor
andtheir
getting
worse.
conditions,
next
deployment.
insurance
and captains
are averse
to
mitted
by “dacoits”
(a term dekilled annually in attacks.ships
(Theylack
Heavily subsidized Chinese and caution those numbers are likely rived from the Hindi word for anyone report that?”
Though pirate attacks on large container
the delays and prying that can come with a poTaiwanese vessels are aggres- to be undercounts because they bandits).
ships,
like
that
depicted
in
the
film
“Captain
lice investigation.
The few military and law ensively expanding their reach, do not include deaths close
to
Those claims pivot on a legal Floating Armorie
said
Graham
Southwick,
the
Phillips,” have dropped sharply
over
past particularly
forcement
ships that
patrol
international
waters
shore
or the
in some
distinction
between
piracy,
which
About 25 miles of
presidentyears,
of the Fiji
Tuna
Boat ofdangerous
where are
deaths
under
international
law boarding
occurs on ships
several
other
forms
violence areas
remain
usually
forbidden
from
fly- Arab Em
the United
Owners Association. Radar ad- are rarely reported to interna- the high seas or in waters farther
Gulf
of
Oman, a ha
pervasive.
ing another country’s flag unless given permisvancements and the increased tional authorities.)
Armed
gangs
run protectionTypical
rackets
requirsion.
Witnesses
to speak
up are scarce;
use of
so-called
fish-aggregating
culprits
included:
rubrobbery, willing
which involves
attacks
devices
—
floating
objects
that
ating ship captains to pay for safe
passage
inarmed
the with
so rockis physical
ber-skiff
pirates
closerevidence.
to land.
tract of
schools
of near
fish —
have et-propelled
nightInsurance
companies
oncehandled difBay
Bengal
Bangladesh.
Nigeriangrenades,
maViolence
at sea and
on land are
heightened tensions as fisher- stalking fuel thieves, hit-and-run charged $500 for each trip to and
rine
police
routinely
work wielding
in concert
ferently, Mr. Dragonette said. “Ashore, no matmen are
more officers
prone to crowd
the bandits
machetes. But a from the ports located in the west
with
thieves,
according
maritime
insurhow brutal
the
orrate
how
same fuel
spots.
“Catches
shrink, tovariety
of other actors ter
appear
of India,
butrepression
increased the
to corrupt the
tempers
fray,
fighting
starts,”
Mr.
too,
and
many
of
them
are
not
as
ance investigators. Off the coast of Somalia,
$150,000, given
the area’s
piracylocal government,
someone
will
know who the
Southwick said. “Murder on they initially seem: hijackers prone designation, a Bangladeshi
United
Nations officials say, some pirates who
victims
are,
where
they
were,
that
they did not
these boats is relatively com- masquerading as marine police foreign ministry official said durused
transitioned
return,”
“Atconference
sea, anonymity
is the rule.”
mon.” to target bigger ships have
officers,
human traffickers
pos- he
ingsaid.
a news
in DecemThe violent crime rate related ing as fishermen, security guards ber 2011. After Bangladeshi offito fishing boats is easily 20 times moonlighting as arms dealers.
cials protested to the Internation-
At
have
ersh
curiV
U.N.
Mon
By MICHAE
and
DAVID
emp
WASHINGTO
closed-door
tal
Thei
limiting Iran’s
Secretary
of Sta
nal
gued that the U
curity Council
ty’ss
lifting sanction
Congress had a
sanc
the deal.
But he ran int
clea
tion from Iran,
the United Stat
fore
pean allies,
who
fully that Secur
lution, a floating
had
should
come
fi
contractors often
Western official
ents.
As
On Sunday,
a
ministration su
nuclearcrat
agreem
for what promis
60-day the
debate,
President Oba
pling with
the fa
stein
sion, which has
efforts CBS
to secu
support within t
At least
two
“the
have joined the
ership in compla
M
curity Council
attacks globMonday morn
States Office of
path
empt the
cong
until 2012. “So
Their concern is
ms were Indod
nal theal
interna
tnamese, Fility’s intention
pean or AmeriCoun
sanctions
— if I
er resonated,”
clear terms of
fore American
that
crimes at sea
had time to vote
ormer United
Asked
if she
amp
d official put it
cratic lawmake
ercent” — bethe deal,
Sena
ack insurance
their
stein, Democrat
verse to the deCBS’s “Face
hat can come
At
stigation. The
“the jury is out.”
law enforceMr. Kerry exp
agre
patrol internapathy on Sunda
usually forbidal demands th
g ships flying
Councilican
delay i
lag unless givthat lawmaker
nesses willing
ample ulate
opportun
scarce; so is
their review.
Nxxx,2015-07-20,A,008,Sc-4C,E1
effec
A provision
nd on land are
agreement at th
y, Mr. Dragoncuri
ican negotiator
no matter how
ulates that the
on or how corthe90 d
effect until
rnment, somecurity Council f
o the victims
the accord
—
time
ere, that they
time for action.
A8
N
said. “At sea,
Mr. Kerry,
a
M
le.”
from Massach
some offrom
his ers
bbers
found on virtually all boats tra- A Latvian guard, weighing more sels. Since no Fijian mariners had “It’s presumptu
annually in Bangladeshi waters not try to determine the exact lo- vate security guards sat on the little as $25 per night to stay on
versing dangerous waters, they than 300 pounds and standing been reported missing, they con- ple to suspect
ooden fishing — and as least as many taken cation of attacks or whether they upper deck of the Resolution, a the ship (the charge for carrying
som
said.
Smugglers, with no intenships
well over
six feet, relieved
cluded none of their citizens were sia, China, G
cut through hostage — in a string of attacks are in national or international St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged float- the men to and from clientSecurity
contractors
often
exercise
tohim-alleviate
ought to do wh
tion of attacking, routinely nestle self in the shower because he among the victims.
n a clear black by armed gangs, according to lo- waters, partly because these de- ing armory. After the men traded is often several thousand dol“It’s
on byvirtually
allaboutboats
traAcheck
Latvian
guard, close
weighing
more
sels.
no Fijian
mariners
hadtells them
to
lars), and
their weapons
to larger merchant
ships to could
past encounnot fitSince
in the bathroom
tailsfound
are often contested
coun- war stories
ain, who goes cal media and police reports.
governments investiboredom
between
deployments.
Left,
anWhen
employee
hide in their radar shadow and stalls. Confronted by other gate incidents like this, their goal ABC’s “This We
ters with pirates, the conversa- into a locked storage container
Armed assaults have been a tries.
Rio, spread out
ple
versing
dangerous
waters,
they
than
300
pounds
and
standing
avoid being detected by coastal guards,
he refused
to clean it up. missing,
problem there for two decades,
“They
have a
been
reported
con“Whether they are called pition soon turned to a shared con- upon arrival. Then they wait,
is typically not to they
find the culprit,
a weapon
Resolution,
their
authorities.
Fishing boats on
also the
Several
days earlier a heated a
bout 50 miles according to insurance and marirates or robbers is a legal dis- cern: the growing influx of un- sometimes for weeks, forinspected
saidfloating
Glen Forbes from Oceanus- vote” at the Un
sia,
next job.well over six feet,
sometimes
tuck behind
larger argument
hires intono
the booming
eruptednone
between of
two their
said.
Smugglers,
intenIslands in the time security analysts. In 2013, tinction,”
he said.
“It does not trainedwith
relieved
himcluded
citizens
were
Live, the maritime
risk firm.
“It’s Kerry added, re
ships the
because Gulf
they churn of
up seaSomali piracy spurredarmory
many
South African guards and their to clear their name.”
he tapped his the Bangladeshi media reported change the nature of their act or $13 billion-a-year security busigotiating partn
in
Oman.
ough
bottom because
sediment that attracts
governments
to encourage
mer- shower
tion, widened the abduction of more than 700 the tion
team
leader. Unpaid
for nearly
a
danger toof
the attacking,
ship or crew ness. routinely nestle
other
self
in
the
he
among
the
victims.
The video, which includes peo- the four
fish.
rted his face to fishermen, 150 in September when armed strangers get on
“It’s like handing a bachelor a chant vessels to arm themselves
month, the men had been aban- ple speaking Chinese, Indonesian bers of the Secu
or hire private
security,
a breakfit in “The
n, he silently alone. Forty were reported killed board
concern
isn’t just wheth- doned by their security company and
one guardships
said, de- to
their ship.”to larger newborn,”
tells
“But
close
merchant
could
not
the
bathroom
Vietnamese investilanguages, Germany.
When
governments
d opened a in a single episode, many of them
er a new guard will misjudge or and left on the Seapol with no shows three large vessels circling them to delay
On his fishing boat, Rio said scribing how some of the new re- from the longstanding practice of
rtment reveal- with their feet and hands bound that hide
nations trying
to maintain Confronted
a near
panic andby
fire too other
soon,” exway to get back to port.
cruits react shadow
when given a semiviolence is in
just atheir
part of life radar
vote
ABC
and
stalls.
the floating
men.their
A banner goal
that tion of that
gateThompson,
incidents
this,
n.
plained a South African guard.
Kevin
a British like
at sea. “You must be ready, al- automatic weapon. Many of the monopoly on the use of force.
says “Safety is No. 1” in Chinese our Congress, s
These attacks were usually ways ready,” he said. For in- new hires lack combat experi- Meanwhile, growing terrorism
reason to be
“It’s also whether he will shoot guard, described intense borejamming them.”
avoid
being
detected
by
coastal
guards,
he
refused
to
clean
it
up.
hangs
in
the
background
on
the
“T
isandtypically
not
the waculprit,
in this region, conducted by the half-dozen stance, he explained that larger, ence, speak virtually no English concerns led port officials glob- He soon
enough.”
guards hesitate
dom
isolation,
whicharmed.
some to find
had
a Ifgood
reason
to be
The
deck of one
of the ships.
A fourth
ear Indonesia, armed gangs that operate protec- unlicensed fishing vessels in the (despite a fluency requirement), ally to impose tighter restrictions
too long, he said, they miss the guards relieved with occasional
vessel, which maritime records
Fishing
boats
also
vote
Several
days
earlier
a
heated
Vietnam, are tion rackets in the Bay of Bengal areaauthorities.
on
weapons
being
carried
into
chance
to
take
preventive
measand
do
not
know
how
to
clean
or
often plow through local
drinks
of forbidden
alcohol
or by
said
Glen
Forbes
from Oceanusindicate is a 725-ton Taiwanesein this
those
erilous in the and the swampy inland waters fishermen’s nets, not just elim- fix their weapons, said the national waters. Floating ters
armorures thatregion,
can help avoid especially
fatal lifting weights, assisted
by ster- near Indoneowned tuna longliner called Chun
sometimes
tuck
larger
argument
erupted
3,100 mariners called the Sundarbans. Last year, inating
as a solution.
force,between
like firing warningtwo
shots, oids.
guards,behind
most of whom spoke
only ies emerged
their catch, but destroyDescribing
the armories,
he
Live,
the
maritime
risk firm. “It’s Kerr
kidnapped in they engaged in gun battles with ing their livelihoods.
flares or water cannons, or inca- said, “They’re basically psycho- I 217, passes by in the backon the condition of anonymity for
On the Resolution, security
sia, Malaysia
andtheir
Vietnam,
are
among
ground. the most
ships
because
up seaSouthmostAfrican
guards
, according to the Bangladesh Air Force and
gotia
pacitating anand
approaching
boat’s logical
fear theychurn
would be blacklisted
“team leaders,”
of them
pressure
cookers.”
Making
a hand
gesture as they
to
clear
their
name.”
Lin Yu-chih, the owner of the
e, consisting of Coast Guard during government though he was firing his gun in from jobs. Some of the recruits American, British or South Afriengine.
MIDDLE EAS
Chun I mariners
217, which remains at sea,
raids on coastal camps and hos- the bottom
sediment
attracts
me reports.
veterans,
explained
work carrying
ammu- can military
team
leader.
Unpaid
for
nearly
a Unsolved
The
armories
themselves
can
air, Rio revved his
engine, show up tothat
the
perilous
in
the
world.
More
than
3,100
Killings
The
video,
which
includes
peosaid
that
he
did
not
know
whethncludes infor- tage ships.
lurching the boat forward, show- nition in Ziploc bags or shoe box- what makes gun battles at sea so
Rock
Bangladesh’s former foreign ing how
y the Office of
differentmonth,
from those on land.
fish.
climbing been
off another abanfloating arThe video of the killing of the er any of the more than a dozen Yemen:
he charged at others in es.
the
men
had
bers
other ships
heIndonesian
owns last
or operates
speaking
were
assaulted
or outkidnapped
in Chinese,
the
area
two maritime minister, Dr. Dipu Moni, repri- these situations.
mory, the Seapol One, pulled
fourple
men speaks
to a survival-of“Between fight or flight,”
said
The maritime security indusHouthi rebel figh
eanusLive and manded the international shiptheir smartphones
and showed the-fittest brutality common at were present when the men were ern cityGerm
Camerondoned
Mouat, a guard
workincludes fewer
fly-by-night
A wiry“The
chain-smoker,
Rio re- try isn’t
concern
just
whethby
their
security
company
of Aden
left as soon as
and a research ping industry and the foreign and counted the last time he used his companies today than it did sev- ing for MNG Maritime, a British
languages,
pictures of the infested, cramped, sea,and
according to aVietnamese
dozen security shot. “Our captain
in a residential n
to eight
theexperts
Times
database, consistns Beyond Pi- local news media several years gun.er
trash-strewn cabins
where no
who reviewed the foot- possible,” Mr. Lin said, referring
companyand
that charters
Resoyears ago,
according to the or
A year
he eralwill
a earlier,
newhe said,
guard
misjudge
lefttheyear,
on theaccording
Seapol
with
them
ficials said.
The
tional agency ago for defaming the country by fired at a bigger ship that ap- guards. But the potential for mis- lution. “Out here, there’s just
shooting scene. circling
men bunked.
age.shows
They speculated
that large
one to thevessels
three
describing
its
waters
as
a
“high
tracks mariThough the date of the shoot- iled Yemeni gov
fight.” There
is noto
place
to
hide,
quite likelyreports.
a private seattackssoon,”
— with possibly
Like most
floating armories,
proached
his boat and
late at night
ing
of to
more
than
6,000gunman,
crime
panic
firehandling
too
exway
get
back
port.
tion
and o
guard,floating
did all the shooting,
ing is A
unknown,
he said thatthat
he di Arabia
the Seapol One, run by the Sri curity
without permission. Rio said he deadly consequences — has in- no falling back, no air support, no
the
men.
banner
“There has not been a single then sped away, uncertain wheth- creased over the past year or so, ammunition drops, he said. Tarn these attacks
firm Avant Garde Mari- using a semiautomatic weapon. believed it occurred in 2013 in the Aden had been
a South
African guard.
Kevin
Thompson,
a hadBritish
e follow-up in- incident of piracy” in years, Dr. er heplained
our
TheLankan
database
always fast movthe four ships at Indian Ocean,
they argued, because the ship- gets are almost
time
Services,
no armedincludes
se- And, they said, information
were
whereChinese
the Chun I their allies
had hit anyone on board.
says “Safety
is No. 1”providin
in a December inspected
2011
are, police re- Moni
Ansaidemployee
a
weapon
Resolution,
floating
Aim is usually wobbly bepingthe
industry
has been cutting aing.
curity of its own to police its the scene were probably associ- 217 has been sailing for the last Gen. Ahmed Sa
Asked whether
he reported theon
“It’s
also whether he will shoot
intense
boretails and bod- written statement, adding that shooting
ship constantly described
sways.
guests
or protect against
pirates ated with one another, perhaps five years.
to the police, Rio crin- costs, shifting from four-man se- cause theguard,
militaryjamm
comma
ed
by
the
Office
of
Naval
Intelligence;
two
marihangs
in
the
background
on
the
of the violence
off
the naar at sea. But most
armory
in
the
Gulf
of
Oman.
Right,
security
contractors
often
who might seek to commandeer by shared ownership. “You don’t
Some ships are the equivalent
kled his face as if he did not un- curity teams to teams of two or
Mr. Lin declined to release any small numbers o
soon
If guards
ers estimated tion’s coast involved petty theft derstand.
dom
and
isolation,
which
some
less experiencedhesitate
men.
the arsenal.
Most coastal
nations rob a bank in mixed company,” details about the crew of the
of several
football fields
in length,
Afterenough.”
several silent three
a larger force ab
robberies, most
com- minutes,
seafarers are and
of one
of the
A Infourth
exercise
tooften
alleviate
boredom
between
deployments.
Pirates
and
Robbers
onedeck
former United
States Coast
oppose the armories,
though they OceanusLive
The
141-foot Resolution is too big, these guards contended,
he asked: “Why
would
Chun ships.
I 217
or the report
he said in an area that h
time
security
firms,
and
Risk
attacks. (They mitted by “dacoits” (a term de- anyone
too
long,
he
said,
they
miss
the
guards
relieved
with
occasional
Guard
official
explained.
can
do
little
to
stop
them
since
for
a
twoor
three-man
security
among
several
dozen
converted
report that?”
he asked the captain to write Earlier on Sund
bers are likely rived from the Hindi word for
vessel,
records
they are situated in international
Last
summer, thewhich
police in the maritime
cargo ships, tugboats and demin- detail to handle, especially when
about the killings after
the Taibecause they bandits).
24 people in Yem
chance
to takefishing
preventive
The creaky
wooden
boat
telligence;
and aorresearch
called
Oceans
waters.
attackersdrinks
arrive in of
multiple
Suva closed their
ing
barges that have
beenmeasparkedstrained
forbidden
alcohol
by Fijian capital ofgroup
wan police contacted
his compaeaths close to
Those claims pivot on a legal Floating Armories
into theis
shootings.
in high-risk areas of the Red Sea, boats.
None of the guards inter- investigation
indicate
a
725-ton
ny. Mr. Lin, aTaiwaneseboard member of members of one
e particularly distinction between piracy, which
ures
that
help
fatal
About
25 miles
offshore can
from Persian
Gulf avoid
and the Indian
Discerning
threats is
difficult.
viewed knew of by
any fatal
clashes They reasoned that the incident the Taiwanese tuna longliners as- Masqari, a resi
lifting
weights,
assisted
stertointernational
cut law
through
eight-foot
swells
on
clear
blackweapons, formerBeyondon Piracy.
Nowasinternational
comwhere deaths under
occurs on the United
Arab Emirates in the
Ocean, usually
just a
outside
na- Semiautomatic
didowned
not occur in their
nationallongliner
wa-agency
the armories. But there
tuna
called
sociation, said
the private Chun
securi- bombed.
ed to interna- the high seas or in waters farther Gulfforce,
of Oman, a half-dozen
pritional warning
telltaleDescribing
sign, are now
waters. The guards shots,
pay as ly a pirates’
no shortage
of friction, they he
said. ters, nor did it involve their ves- ty guards on his ships were prolike firing
oids.
the
armories,
Israel: Arres
night,
as attacks
its captain,
who
goes
only
by
the
name
prehensively
tracks
maritime
violence.
vided byin
a Sri Lankan
company,
I
217,
passes
by
the
backincluded: rubrobbery,
which involves
flares or water cannons, or inca- said, “They’re basically psychowhich he declined to name. The Israeli authoriti
med with rockcloser to land.
Taiwan prosecutor’s office, which mas militants su
ground.
nades, nightInsurance
companies
once
Rio, spread outpacitating
a regional
map.
The
death tolls in these attacksis looking
are intomurky
an approaching
boat’s logical pressure
cookers.”
the matter, de- ing that killed a
es, hit-and-run charged $500 for each trip to and
clined
to comment.
achetes. But a from the ports located in the west
Lin Yu-chih,are
the
owner
oflargest
theothers in the We
engine.
With one
of the world’s
actors appear of India, but increased
the rate to north,
Headed
about
50
miles
from
the
Nabecause
follow-up
investigations
rare,
pocials said
Sund
MID
tuna remains
fleets, Taiwan’s fishing
inhem are not as $150,000, given the area’s piracyChun
I
217,
which
at
sea,
agency said tha
The
armories
themselves
can
em: hijackers prone designation, a Bangladeshi
dustry is among the nation’s bigrested
four
Pale
tuna
Islands
in the South China Sea, he tapped
liceKillings
reports often lack said
details
and
bodies
Unsolved
marine police foreign
employers and
most politiministry official
said durthat he
didgest
not
knowtend
wheth-of the West Ban
affickers posing a news conference in Decemcally powerful sectors.
tive
from
the
no
ecurity guards ber 2011. After Bangladeshi offiTwo Taiwanese fishing officials
his finger on his
location,
widened
his eyes
to disappear
atofsea.
maritime
researchers
er any
of the more
a dozen
Yem
group
ms dealers.
cials protested to the Internationlater saidthan
that the company
au- aiding the
climbing
off another
floating
ar- and
The video
of the killing
the But
re were 10 Sri al Maritime Bureau, which tracks
thorized to put private security the man suspe
other
he owns
orkilled
operates
a group that inpiracy
at sea, that their country
contorted
his face
fear.
Then,
si- menestimated
hundreds
of ships
seafarers
guardsare
on Taiwanese
ships was have been deta
mory, to
theregister
Seapol One,
pulled
out hefour
speaks to a that
survival-ofchildren, who was stigmatized as a high-piracy
service
Avant Garde Maritime Services, securityHou
oard a fishing zone, the group amended its webwere
present
when
men
were
the samethe
business
that runs
the the statement sa
their
smartphones
and
showed
the-fittest
brutality
common
at
over and
opened
a attacks
wheelhouse
annually in attacks. (They caution Seapol
those
the island na- site lently
to say its warningreached
covered piOne, the numarmory in the feld, 26,ern
was woc
mands to set a racy and armed robbery.
tracked
seafaring
globsoonde-asdied the next da
Gulf of left
Oman. as
The company
pictures of the infested, cramped, sea, according to a dozen security shot. “Our captain
tralia were reIn an interview,
From Mukundan
Page A1 revealing
clined to answer questions
about
compartment
handgun.
in a
bers
are likely
tofootbe undercounts
they
allyaforGlock
the United
States Office of
s attacked the Pottengal,
the director of the buits guards
or its floating
armorpossible,” Mr. because
Lin
said,
referring
trash-strewn
cabins
where
eight
experts
who
reviewed
the
st two men by reau, which is primarily funded
ASIA
ies.
Naval
Intelligence
until
2012.
“So
ficia
rboard. Or the
andby shipping
more companies
than 500
and inwere taken
Tzu-Yaw
Tsay,
the
director
of
to
the
shooting
scene.
men bunked.
age. They speculated that one
mese workers surers, said his organization does
the Taiwanese fisheries agency, South Korea
hostage, a database built by The long as the victims were Indoped their Thai
iled
declined
during
an
interview
to
Though
the
date
of
the
shooth China Sea by
gunman,
quite
likely
a
private
seLike most
armories, Filinesian,floating
Malay, Vietnamese,
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL MOND
a:
deo,
Free
CMYK
Murder at Sea:
Captured on Video,
But Killers Go Free
New Clockwise
York Times
from nearshows.
right, the
swimming to
release the Chun I 217’s crew list
Contains De
do not include deaths close to shore or in some
particularly dangerous areas where deaths are
rarely reported to international authorities.)
Typical culprits included: rubber-skiff pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades,
night-stalking fuel thieves, hit-and-run bandits
wielding machetes. But a variety of other actors appear too, and many of them are not as
they initially seem: hijackers masquerading as
marine police officers, human traffickers posing as fishermen, security guards moonlighting as arms dealers.
For instance, there were 10 Sri Lankan migrants, a group that included women and children, who were smuggled aboard a fishing boat
in 2012 near the island nation. When their demands to set a new course for Australia were refused, the migrants attacked the crew, killing at
least two men by throwing them overboard. Or
the three captive Burmese workers who in 2009
escaped their Thai trawler in the South China
Sea by leaping overboard, swimming to a nearby
yacht, killing its owner and stealing his lifeboat.
The waters near Bangladesh illustrate why
maritime violence is frequently overlooked by
the international community. In the past five
years, nearly 100 sailors and fishermen have
been killed annually in Bangladeshi waters
— and as least as many taken hostage — in a
string of attacks by armed gangs, according to
local media and police reports.
Armed assaults have been a problem there
for two decades, according to insurance and
maritime security analysts. In 2013, the Bangladeshi media reported the abduction of more
than 700 fishermen, 150 in September alone.
Forty were reported killed in a single episode,
many of them with their feet and hands bound
These attacks were usually conducted by the
half-dozen armed gangs that operate protection
rackets in the Bay of Bengal and the swampy
inland waters called the Sundarbans. Last year,
they engaged in gun battles with the Bangladesh
Air Force and Coast Guard during government
raids on coastal camps and hostage ships.
Bangladesh’s former foreign minister, Dr.
Dipu Moni, reprimanded the international
shipping industry and the foreign and local
news media several years ago for defaming
the country by describing its waters as a “high
“There has not been a single incident of
piracy” in years, Dr. Moni said in a December
2011 written statement, adding that most of the
violence off the nation’s coast involved petty
theft and robberies, most often committed by
“dacoits” (a term derived from the Hindi word
for bandits).
Those claims pivot on a legal distinction between piracy, which under international law occurs on the high seas or in waters farther than
12 miles from shore, and robbery, which involves
attacks closer to land.
Insurance companies once charged $500
for each trip to and from the ports located in the
west of India, but increased the rate to $150,000,
given the area’s piracy-prone designation, a
Bangladeshi foreign ministry official said during
a news conference in December 2011. After Bangladeshi officials protested to the International
Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy at sea,
that their country was stigmatized as a high-piracy zone, the group amended its website to say
its warning covered piracy and armed robbery.
In an interview, Mukundan Pottengal, the
director of the bureau, which is primarily funded by shipping companies and insurers, said
his organization does not try to determine the
exact location of attacks or whether they are in
national or international waters, partly because
these details are often contested by countries.
“Whether they are called pirates or robbers is a legal distinction,” he said. “It does not
change the nature of their act or the danger to
the ship or crew when armed strangers get on
board their ship.”
On his fishing boat, Rio said that violence is
just a part of life at sea. “You must be ready, always ready,” he said. For instance, he explained
that larger, unlicensed fishing vessels in the
area often plow through local fishermen’s nets,
not just eliminating their catch, but destroying
their livelihoods.
Making a hand gesture as though he was
firing his gun in the air, Rio revved his engine,
lurching the boat forward, showing how he
charged at others in these situations.
A wiry chain-smoker, Rio recounted the last
time he used his gun. A year earlier, he said, he
fired at a bigger ship that approached his boat
late at night without permission. Rio said he
then sped away, uncertain whether he had hit
anyone on board.
ime
try
includes
fewer
local
news
media
several
years
manded
the
international
shipping
industry
and
the
foreign
and
ans
Pind
aBeyond
research
and
guards.
But
the
potentia
companies
today
than
itM
eral
years
ago,
A
wiry
chain-smoker,
Rio
re“Between
fight
or acco
fligh
The
maritime
security
indusfired
at
a
bigger
ship
that
counted
the
last
time
he
used
his
media
several
years
Moni,
reprigun.
A
year
earlier,
he
said,
he
ernational
shipand
the
foreign
and
these
situations.
Cameron
Mouat,
a
company
tha
ing
forfly-by-nig
MNG
try
includes
fewer
fly-by-night
companies
today
than
itguard
did
several
years
ago,
according
tothe
“less
than
1 percent”
—
beA counted
wiry
chain-smoker,
Rio
rethe
lastearlier,
time
he
used
his
gun.
A
year
he
said,
he
“Between
fight
or
flight,”
said
The
maritime
security
indusCameron
Mouat,
aapworkcompany
that
charters
Resotry eral
includes
fewer
fly-by-night
sea are
now
so ubiquitous
that
a atlast
years
ago,
according
to
the
ing
for
MNG
Maritime,
athe
British
companies
today
than
it
did
sevthese
situations.
arkoysLive
offA
chain-smoker,
Rio
reurnings.
gun.
A
year
earlier,
he
said,
he
counted
the
time
he
used
his
plained
aracy.
South
African
guard.
Kevin
Thompson,
a
British
our
Congress,
so
weaccording
wouldn
cause
many
ships
lack insurance
niche
industry
of
floating
armorping
industry
and
the
foreign
and
describing
its
waters
asRio
a
“high
Risk
Intelligence;
and
awiry
research
local
news
media
several
years
comprehensively
tracks
mariago
for
defaming
the
country
by
group
called
Oceans
Beyond
PiNo
international
agency
says
“Safety
is
No.
1”
in
Chinese
manded
the
international
shipand
companies
today
than
it
did
se
ago
for
defaming
the
country
by
ping
industry
and
the
foreign
and
local
news
media
several
years
ational
agency
Beyond
Pia
research
handling
attacks
—
with
eral
years
ago,
guards.
But
the
pote
counted
the
last
time
he
used
his
Cameron
Mouat,
a
guar
try
includes
fewer
fly-by-night
proached
his
boat
late
at
night
gun.
A
year
earlier,
he
said,
he
ming
the
country
by
shipd
the
foreign
and
fired
at
a
bigger
ship
that
apmedia
several
years
ing
for
MNG
Marit
lution.
“Out
company
that
c
companies
today
than
it
did
several
years
ago,
according
to
the
guards.
But
the
potential
for
misand
captains
are
averse
towiry
the
de- try
A
chain-smoker,
recounted
the
last
time
he
used
his
gun.
A
year
earlier,
he
said,
he
fired
at
a
bigger
ship
that
apies
has
emerged.
The
vessels
—
Cameron
Mouat,
a
guard
workincludes
fewer
fly-by-night
ing
for
MNG
Maritime,
a
British
lution.
“Out
here,
there’s
just
companies
today
than
it
did
sevguards.
But
the
potential
for
miscompany
that
charters
the
Resoeral
years
ago,
according
to
the
A
wiry
chain-smoker,
Rio
rengs.
Sea,
counted
the
last
time
he
used
his
fired
at
a
bigger
ship
that
apnsgroup
to
offgun.
Ashoot
year
earlier,
he
said,
he
“It’sracy.
also
whether
he
willpart
guard,
described
intense
borelayslocal
and
prying
that
can
come
jamming
them.”
part and
storage
depot, foreign
bunknews
media
several
years
risk”
zone
for
piracy.
called
Oceans
Beyond
Piago
for
defaming
the
country
by
time
describing
its
waters
as
asaid,
“high
No
international
agency
comprehensively
tracks
mariping
industry
the
and
rch
hangs
innight
the
background
on
the
describing
its
waters
as
asaid,
“high
local
news
media
several
years
eral
years
ago,
according
to
t
ago
for
defaming
the
by
tracks
marifound
onthe
virtually
all
boats
traA
Latvian
guard,
weighing
more
ional
agency
sels
eyond
Pideadly
consequences
guards.
But
the
potential
handling
attacks
——
gun.
A
year
earlier,
he
said,
he
ing
for
MNG
Maritime,
a
companies
today
than
it
did
sevsia
waters
as
aviolence.
“high
e
foreign
and
without
permission.
Rio
said
he
fired
at
a
bigger
ship
that
apseveral
years
ming
the
country
by
proached
his
boat
late
at
night
with a country
police
investigation.
Thethe
company
that
char
fight.”
There
lution.
“Out
h
eral
years
ago,
according
to
the
guards.
But
the
potential
for
mishandling
attacks
—
with
possibly
counted
last
time
he
used
his
house
— are
positioned
in highgun.
A
year
earlier,
he
he
fired
at
a
bigger
ship
that
approached
his
boat
late
at
ing
for
MNG
Maritime,
a
British
companies
today
than
it
did
sevcompany
that
charters
the
Resofight.”
There
is
no
place
to
hide,
eral
years
ago,
according
to
the
lution.
“Out
here,
there’s
just
handling
attacks
—
with
possibly
guards.
But
potential
for
miscounted
the
last
time
he
used
his
offgun.
A
year
earlier,
he
he
refuproached
his
boat
late
at
night
ack
Sea,
fired
at
a
bigger
ship
that
apsoon
enough.”
If
guards
hesitate
dom
and
isolation,
which
fewago
military
law enforcerisk
areas
of international
waters attacks
for
defaming
the
country
by
racy.
No
international
agency
describing
its
waters
assome
a
risk”
zone
piracy.
“There
has
not
been
a“high
single
comprehensively
tracks
maritime
violence.
The
death
tolls
in
these
local
news
media
several
years
Pirisk”
zone
for
piracy.
ago
for
defaming
the
country
by
describing
its
waters
assaid,
aand
“high
guards.
But
the
potential
for
m
deck
of
ofcompany
the
ships.
A
fourth
marilsimes
agency
versing
dangerous
waters,
they
than
300
pounds
and
standing
creased
over
the
yp
handling
—past
with
bee
deadly
consequence
fired
at
aone
bigger
ship
that
apcompany
that
charters
th
ships
that
patrol
internaeral
years
ago,
according
to
the
rgtracks
piracy.
everal
years
then
sped
away,
uncertain
wheththe
country
his
boat
late
atRio
night
waters
as
aby
“high
without
permission.
said
he
lution.
“Out
here
no
falling
bac
fight.”
There
is
guards.
But
the
potential
mishandling
attacks
—
with
possibly
deadly
consequences
—
has
in-attacks
gun.
A
year
earlier,
he
said,
he
and fired
house
hundreds
ofa
assault
ri- menthe
fired
atguards.
afor
bigger
ship
that
approached
his
boat
late
atproached
night
without
permission.
Rio
said
he
that
charters
the
Resoeral
years
ago,
according
to
the
lution.
“Out
here,
there’s
just
no
falling
back,
no
air
support,
no
But
the
potential
for
misfight.”
There
isfor
no
place
to
hide,
deadly
consequences
—
has
inhandling
attacks
—
with
possibly
gun.
Aarms
year
earlier,
he
Sea,
at
bigger
ship
that
apwithout
permission.
Rio
said
he
proached
his
boat
at
night
ing
refutoo
long,
he
said,
they
miss
the
guards
relieved
with
occasional
tional
waters
arelate
usually
forbidfles,
small
and
ammunition.
describing
its
waters
as
a
“high
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
shooting
the
shipping
industry
has
been
cutting
costs,
comprehensively
tracks
maririsk”
zone
for
piracy.
time
violence.
incident
of
piracy”
in
years,
Dr.
are
murky
because
follow-up
in“There
has
not
been
a—
single
The
death
tolls
in
these
attacks
ago
for
defaming
the
country
by
ncy
describing
its
waters
as
a
“high
risk”
zone
for
piracy.
handling
attacks
—
with
possib
ks
marihas
not
been
a
single
said.
Smugglers,
with
no
intenin
these
attacks
well
over
six
feet,
relieved
himvessel,
which
maritime
records
they
argued,
because
deadly
consequences
—
creased
over
the
pa
proached
his
boat
late
at
night
den from
boarding
ships
flying
clud
lution.
“Out
here,
ther
e
country
by
guards.
But
the
potential
for
misaters
as
a
“high
er
he
had
hit
anyone
on
board.
without
permission.
Rio
said
he
r
piracy.
then
sped
away,
uncertain
wheths
not
been
a
single
fight.”
There
is
no
Guards“There
on board wait, sometimes
ammunition
no
falling
back,
handling
attacks
—
with
possibly
deadly
consequences
—
has
increased
over
the
past
year
or
so,
fired
at
a
bigger
ship
that
approached
his
boat
late
at
night
without
permission.
Rio
said
he
then
sped
away,
uncertain
whethlution.
“Out
here,
there’s
just
guards.
But
the
potential
for
misfight.”
There
is
no
place
to
hide,
ammunition
drops,
he
said.
Tarhandling
attacks
with
possibly
no
falling
back,
no
air
support,
no
creased
over
the
past
year
or
so,
deadlyorconsequences
— has infired
atthen
a bigger
ship
that
approached
hispermission.
boat
late
at
night
sped
away,
uncertain
whethefudelibwithout
Rio
said
hein
metimes
chance
toare
take
preventive
measanother
country’s
flag
unless
givdrinks
of
forbidden
by
for months in
decrepit conditions,
risk”
zone
for
piracy.
time
Moni
said
apiracy”
December
2011
“There
has
not
been
ain
single
vestigations
are
rare,
police
reincident
of
years,
Dr.
The
death
tolls
in
these
attacks
murky
because
follow-up
indescribing
its
as
a
“high
arizone
for
piracy.
deadly
consequences
—
has
incident
of
piracy”
in
Dr.
“There
has
not
been
ayears,
single
se
follow-up
inattacks
tion
of
attacking,
nestle
en
permission.
Witnesses
willing
self
in
the
shower
because
he
ping
industry
has
bee
creased
over
the
past
yea
they
argued,
becau
toarisk”
the
police,
Rio
crinkled
his
face
as
ifalcohol
he
did
indicate
is
a
725-ton
Taiwanesewithout
permission.
Rio
said
he
shifting
from
four-man
security
teams
to
teams
fight.”
There
is back,
no
place
sthese
as
aviolence.
“high
acy.
handling
attacks
—
with
possibly
for
theirwaters
next
deployment.
amo
then
sped
away,
uncertain
whethiracy”
in
years,
Dr.
erdeadly
he
had
hit
anyone
on
board.
no
falling
no
not
been
single
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
gets
are
almo
ammunition
dra
consequences
—
has
increased
over
past
year
or
so,
they
argued,
because
the
shipproached
his
boat
late
at
night
without
permission.
Rio
said
heroutinely
then
sped
away,
uncertain
whether
he
had
hit
anyone
onpossibly
board.
fight.”
There
isthe
no
place
to
hide,
no
falling
back,
no
air
support,
no
attacks
—
with
gets
are
almost
always
fast
movammunition
drops,
he
said.
Tardeadly
consequences
—
has
inthey
argued,
because
the
shipcreased
over
the
past
year
or
so,
proached
his
boat
at
night
without
permission.
Rio
said
he
er
he
had
hit
anyone
board.
mes
then
sped
away,
uncertain
ps
to
or
delibures
that
can
help
avoid
fatal
tolate
speak
up
areon
scarce;
so whethis handling
lifting
weights,
assisted
by
sterThough
pirate
attacks
on
large
“There
has
not
been
a
single
The
death
tolls
in
these
attacks
written
statement,
adding
that
incident
of
piracy”
in
years,
Dr.
ports
often
lack
details
and
bodMoni
said
in
a
December
2011
are
murky
because
investigations
are
rare,
police
rerisk”
zone
for
piracy.
creased
over
the
past
year
or
s
Moni
said
in
a
December
2011
“There
has
not
been
a
single
physical
evidence.
incident
of
piracy”
in
years,
Dr.
rare,
police
refollow-up
inse
attacks
close
to
larger
merchant
ships
to
costs,
shifting
from
fou
they
argued,
because
th
could
not
fit
in
the
bathroom
ping
industry
has
then
sped
away,
uncertain
whethcontainer
ships,
likefollow-up
that
depicted
no
falling
back,
no
air
sup
owned
tuna
longliner
called
Chun
deadly
consequences
—
has
iner
he
had
hit
anyone
on
board.
n
a
December
2011
ot
been
a
single
piracy”
in
years,
Dr.
ammunition
drops
shooting
to
the
police,
Rio
crining.
Aim
is
gets
are
almost
creased
over
the
past
year
or
so,
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
they
argued,
because
the
shipping
industry
has
been
cutting
W
without
permission.
Rio
said
he
then
sped
away,
uncertain
whether
he
had
hit
anyone
on
board.
no
falling
back,
no
air
support,
no
ammunition
drops,
he
said.
Taring.
Aim
is
usually
wobbly
bedeadly
consequences
—
has
inAsked
whether
he
reported
the
gets
are
almost
always
fast
movcreased
over
the
past
year
or
so,
ping
industry
has
been
cutting
they
argued,
because
the
shipnot
understand.
After
several
silent
minutes,
he
of
two
or
three
less
experienced
men.
without
permission.
Rio
said
he
then
sped
away,
uncertain
whether
he
had
hit
anyone
on
board.
libngers
ships
to
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
force,
like
firing
warning
shots,
Violence
at
sea
and
on
land
are
in the film “Captain Phillips,”
oids.
Describing
the
armories,
he
incident
ofDragonpiracy”
in
years,
Dr.
are
murky
because
follow-up
inmost
of
the
violence
off
the
naies
tend
to
disappear
ata
sea.
But
Moni
said
in
a
December
2011
written
statement,
adding
that
vestigations
are
rare,
police
reports
often
lack
details
and
bod“There
has
not
been
single
cks
handled
differently,
Mr.
written
statement,
adding
that
they
argued,
because
the
sh
incident
of
piracy”
in
years,
Dr.
Moni
said
in
December
2011
details
and
bodre,
police
reow-up
incurity
teams
to
teams
have
dropped
sharply
over
the
ping
industry
has
been
hide
in
their
radar
shadow
and
stalls.
Confronted
by
other
costs,
shifting
from
er
he
had
hit
anyone
on
board.
W
ammunition
drops,
he
sa
creased
over
the
past
year
or
so,
ement,
adding
that
een
a
single
y”
in
years,
Dr.
I
217,
passes
by
in
the
backn
a
December
2011
gets
are
almost
alw
kled
his
face
as
if
he
did
not
uncause
ship
ing.
Aim
is
us
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
they
argued,
because
shipshooting
to
the
police,
Rio
crinping
industry
has
been
cutting
costs,
shifting
from
four-man
sethen
sped
away,
uncertain
whethgate
er
had
hit
anyone
on
board.
ammunition
drops,
he
said.fast
Tarare almost
always
movcause
the ship
constantly
sways.
creased
over
the
past
year
or
so,
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
shooting
toindustry
the
police,
Rio
crining.
Aim
is is
usually
wobbly
bethey
argued,
because
the
shipcosts,
shifting
from
four-man
se-gets
ping
has
been
cutting
then
sped
away,
uncertain
whether
he
had
anyone
onhe
board.
to
shooting
to
the
police,
Rio
crinsaid.
“Ashore,
no
matter
howhe
ssengers
Asked
whether
reported
the
flares
orasked:
water
cannons,
orhit
incapast
several
years,
other
forms
of anyone
said,
“They’re
basically
psycho“Why
would
report
that?”
The
141-foot
Resolution
among
several
Moni
said
in
ahit
December
2011
vestigations
are
rare,
police
retion’s
coast
involved
petty
theft
maritime
researchers
estimated
written
statement,
adding
that
most
of
the
violence
off
the
naports
often
lack
details
and
bodies
tend
toremain
disappear
atette
sea.
But
incident
ofwritten
piracy”
in
years,
Dr.
brutal
the repression
or
how
corinmost
of
the
violence
off
the
naMoni
said
in
aanyone
December
2011
statement,
adding
that
ping
industry
has
been
cutti
pear
at
sea.
But
tails
and
bodpolice
reviolence
pervasive.
three
less
experienced
m
costs,
shifting
from
fouravoid
being
detected
bygets
coastal
curity
teams
team
guards,
he
refused
to
clean
it Some
up.
gets
are
almost
always
fa
clos
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
they
argued,
because
the
shipviolence
off
the
nain
years,
Dr.
December
2011
ement,
adding
that
ing.
Aim
is to
usuall
derstand.
After
several
silent
cause
the
ship
c
shooting
to
the
police,
Rio
cringround.
ping
industry
has
been
cutting
kled
his
face
as
if the
he
did
not
uncosts,
shifting
from
four-man
security
teams
to
teams
of
two
or
er
he
had
anyone
on
board.
ship
is
ty
are
almost
always
fast
moving.
Aim
is
usually
wobbly
beAsked
whether
heas
reported
the
they
argued,
because
the
shipshooting
to
the
police,
Rio
crinkled
his
face
if to
he
did
not
uncause
ship
constantly
sways.
ping
industry
has
been
cutting
curity
teams
teams
of
two
or
Some
ships
are
the
equivalent
costs,
shifting
from
four-man
seer
he
had
hit
on
board.
rupt
the
local
government,
someers
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
kled
face
as
if
he
did
not
unshooting
to
the
police,
Rio
crinArmed
gangs
runhis
protection
boats
pacitating
an
approaching
boat’s
logical
pressure
cookers.”
written
statement,
adding
that
ports
often
lack
details
and
bodand
robberies,
most
often
comthat
hundreds
ofcoast
seafarers
are
most
of
the
violence
off
the
nation’s
coast
involved
petty
theft
ies
tend
to
disappear
at
sea.
But
maritime
estimated
one
will
know
who
the
victims
dozen
converted
cargo
ships,
tugboats
and
demMoni
said
in
aresearchers
2011
rerackets
requiring
ship
captains
toadding
tion’s
involved
petty
theft
written
statement,
that
most
ofDecember
the
violence
off
the
nahers
estimated
costs,
shifting
from
four-man
s
ar
atadding
sea.
But
and
bodcurity
teams
to
teams
of
authorities.
Fishing
boats
also
three
less
experience
The
141-foot
Resol
ing.
Aim
is
usually
wob
involved
petty
theft
cember
2011
shooting
to
the
police,
Rio
crinSeveral
days
earlier
a
heated
ping
industry
has
been
cutting
nt,
that
limit
violence
off
the
nacause
the
ship
cons
minutes,
he
asked:
“Why
would
kled
his
face
as
if
he
did
not
uncosts,
shifting
from
four-man
sederstand.
After
several
silent
curity
teams
to
teams
of
two
or
three
less
experienced
men.
of
several
foo
Some
ships
a
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
Lin
Yu-chih,
the
owner
of
the
ing.
Aim
is
usually
wobbly
because
the
ship
constantly
sways.
shooting
to
the
police,
Rio
crinsaid
ping
industry
has
been
cutting
kled
his
face
as
if
he
did
not
understand.
After
several
silent
costs,
shifting
from
four-man
sethree
less
experienced
men.
of
several
football
fields
in
length,
curity
teams
to
teams
of
two
or
Some
ships
are
the
equivalent
are,
where
they
were,
that
they
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
pay
for
safe
passage
in
the
Bay
of
shooting
to
the
police,
Rio
crinderstand.
After
several
silent
kled
face
asreturn,”
ifare
he
did
not
unorse.
ng
boats
engine.
most
of
the
violence
off the
naies
tend
to
disappear
at
sea.
But
MIDDLE
EAST
by
“dacoits”
(a
term
dekilled
annually
in
attacks.
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tion’s
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researchers
estimated
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hemitted
said.
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Bengal
near
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ftence
seafarers
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ers
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c
cause
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s,
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R
adding
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nakled
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seargument
erupted
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Secr
anyone
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derstand.
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curity
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ining
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three
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these
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orthat
Some
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three
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ofasked:
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isteams
an marine
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routineshooting
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crinkled
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asAfter
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unminutes,
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derstand.
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oats
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gmaritime
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tion’s
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rived
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the
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caution
those
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term
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ly
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concert
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mitted
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seafarers
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acoits”
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dee
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olved
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derstand.
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es,
comcurity
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Some
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South
African
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minutes,
heup
asked:
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would
anyone
report
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three
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men.
ofships,
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afootball
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toofor
big,
these
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converted
kled
his
face
as
if
he
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not
understand.
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silent
curity
teams
to
teams
of
two
or
minutes,
he
asked:
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would
anyone
report
that?”
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ships
are
the
equivalent
said
that
he
did
not
know
wheththree
less
experienced
men.
of
several
football
fields
in
length,
for
a
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security
too
big,
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inamong
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cfg
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kled
his
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anyone
report
that?”
About
25
miles
offshore
from
the
United
areas
of
the
Red
Sea,
Persian
Gulf
and
the
Indiminutes,
he
asked:
“Why
would
rse.
gresPirates
and
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nese
and
be
crucibles
of
violence.
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found on virtually all bo
in Bangladeshi
waters
notword
try
to determine
the exact lo- vate security guards sat on the little as $25 per night to stay on
and
robberies,
most
often
comthat
hundreds
of
seafarers
are
bandits).
to
be
undercounts
because
they
mitted
by annually
“dacoits”
(a
term
derived
from
the
Hindi
for
killed
annually
in
attacks.
caution
those
numbers
are
likely
surance
investigators.
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the(They
tion’s
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involved
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ted
rived
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and
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term
dembers
are
likely
ttacks.
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arers
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141-foot
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bottom
sediment
that
attracts
ing
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bee
among
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dozen
co
the
Hindi
word
for
d
petty
theft
most
often
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ships,
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dacoits”
(a
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deminutes,
he
asked:
“Why
would
three
less
experienced
men.
of
several
football
fields
in
team
leader.
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for
nearly
a
anyone
report
that?”
too
big,
these
guar
curi
detail
to
hand
for
a
twoor
th
upper
deck
of
the
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versing
dangerous
water
the
ship
(the
charge
for
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—
and
as
least
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many
taken
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141-foot
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is
cation
of
attacks
or
whether
they
among
several
dozen
converted
cargo
ships,
tugboats
and
deminderstand.
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several
silent
The
wooden
fishing
minutes,
he
asked:
“Why
would
three
less
experienced
men.
anyone
report
that?”
coast
of
Somalia,
United
Nations
of
several
football
fields
in
length,
too
big,
these
guards
contended,
detail
to
handle,
especially
when
for
a
twoor
three-man
security
er
any
of
the
more
than
a
dozen
The
141-foot
Resolution
is
cargo
ships,
and
deminYemen:
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Kill Do
among
several
dozen
converted
derstand.
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several
silent
minutes,
he
asked:
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would
T
anyone
report
that?”
and
each,
aggresclimbing
off
another
floating
arThe
video
ofhostage
the
killing
of
the
St. KittsArmories
and Nevis-flagged
float- the men to
said. Smugglers, with no
and from client ships
— (a
in
a string
of attacks
are
in
national
or Floating
international
Arab
Emirates
in
the
Gulf
of
Oman,
a
half-dozen
boat
strained
to by
cut
through
an
Ocean,
usually
just
outside
national
waters.
mitted
“dacoits”
term
dekilled
annually
in
attacks.
(They
do
not
include
deaths
close
to
rived
from
the
Hindi
word
for
officials
say,
some
pirates
who
those
numbers
are
likely
bandits).
to
be
undercounts
because
they
Those
claims
pivot
on
a tugboats
legal
and
robberies,
most
often
combandits).
mitted
by
“dacoits”
(a
term
desare
because
they
rived
from
the
Hindi
word
for
ers
are
likely
(They
among
several
dozen
convert
tks.
often
comin
high-risk
areas
of
the
fish.
cargo
ships,
tugboats
and
its”
(acaution
term
dethe
Hindi
word
for
ing
barges
that
have
anyone
report
that?”
too
big,
these
guards
con
month,
the
men
had
been
abanThe
141-foot
Resolution
is
by The
armed
gangs,
according
to lo- would
isthree-man
often
several
thousand
doltion
of attacking,
routinely
ing
armory.
After
the
men
traded
for
adetail
twoor
three
attackers
a
to
handle
waters,
partly
because
these
deeight-foot
swells
on a clear anyone
black he
liftin
among
several
dozen
converted
cargo
ships,
tugboats
and
demining
barges
that
have
been
parked
minutes,
asked:
“Why
used
to target bigger
ships
have that?”
report
that?”
too
big,
these
guards
contended,
for
adetail
twoorhandle,
security
attackers
arrive
in
multiple
141-foot
Resolution
is
to
especially
when
among
several
dozen
converted
ing
barges
that
have
been
parked
cargo
ships,
tugboats
and
deminother
ships
he
owns
or
operates
minutes,
he
asked:
“Why
would
anyone
report
ple
resthe
rdeaths
reach,
Floating
Armories
mory,
the
Seapol
One,
pulled
out
four
men
speaks
to
a
survival-ofcal
media
and
police
reports.
lars),
and
check
their
weapons
close
to
larger
merchant
s
war
stories
about
past
encountails
are
often
contested
by
counFloating
Armories
night,
as
its
captain,
who
goes
rived
from
the
Hindi
word
for
caution
those
numbers
are
likely
transitioned
into
“security”
work
shore
or
in
some
particularly
bandits).
to
be
undercounts
because
they
do
not
include
deaths
close
to
distinction
between
piracy,
which
Floating
Armories
Those
claims
pivot
onconcern
a legal
Houthi
rebel
fighters
fired
roc
mitted
“dacoits”
(a
term
dehey
close
to
rived
from
the
Hindi
word
for
bandits).
because
they
are
likely
Those
claims
pivot
on
aon
legal
private
security
guards
sat
the
upper
deck
The
guards
pay
as
little
as
$25
per
night
to
stay
cargo
ships,
tugboats
and
dem
(a pivot
term
deHindi
word
for
About
25
miles
offshore
Persian
Gulf
and
th
ing
barges
that
have
been
in
high-risk
areas
of
ms
on
aby
legal
for
awhen
twoor
three-man
“The
isn’t
just
whethintoand
a from
locked
storage
container
hide
in
their
radar
shad
ters
with
pirates,
the
conversadoned
by
their
security
company
among
several
dozen
converted
Armed
assaults
have been
a tries.
Rio,
spread
out
detail
to
handle,
es
boats.
attackers
arr
cargo
ships,
tugboats
demining
barges
that
have
been
parked
in
high-risk
areas
of
the
Red
Sea,
anyone
report
that?”
on board foreign
and local that?”
fishing only by the name
Con
for
a
twoor
three-man
security
detail
to
handle,
especially
boats.
among
several
dozen
converted
attackers
arrive
in
multiple
cargo
ships,
tugboats
and
deminin
high-risk
areas
of
the
Red
Sea,
ing
barges
that
have
been
parked
were
present
when
the
men
were
anyone
report
and
ach,
Boat
ck,
the
Floating
Armories
their
smartphones
and
showed
the-fittest
brutality
common
at
avoid being detected by
problem there
for twolaw
decades,
a regional
map. under
“Whether
they are called pition soon turned to a shared con- upon arrival. Then they wait,
Floating
Armories
bandits).
to
be
undercounts
because
they
dangerous
areas
where
deaths
do
not
include
deaths
close
to
shore
or
in
some
particularly
international
occurs
on
Those
claims
pivot
on
a
legal
distinction
between
piracy,
which
Floating
Armories
rived
from
the
Hindi
word
for
kely
me
particularly
aths
close
ause
they
distinction
between
piracy,
which
Those About
claims
pivot
on
aabout
legal
ern
city
of
Aden
on
Sunday,
kR
barges
that
have
been
park
ndi
word
for
United
Arab
Emirates
ining
the
Ocean,
usually
just
ou
in
high-risk
areas
of
the
About
25
miles
offshore
Persian
Gulf
and
etween
piracy,
sometimes
forfrom
weeks,
for
their
authorities.
Fishing
boa
detail
to
handle,
especial
cern:
the
growing
influxand
offor
unaccording
to insuranceer
and marims
pivot
ontobandits).
awhich
legal
amiles
new
guard
will
misjudge
or
rates
or
robbers
is the
athe
legal
discargo
ships,
tugboats
and
deminHeaded
north,
50 milesNevis-flagged
left
on
the
Seapol
with
no
attackers
arrive
boats.
ing
barges
that
have
been
parked
About
25
offshore
from
in
high-risk
areas
of
the
Red
Sea,
Persian
Gulf
and
the
Indian
the
d
of
the
Resolution,
ainternaSt.
Kitts
and
on
the
ship
(the
charge
carrying
the
men
toDiscerning
detail
to
handle,
especially
when
attackers
arrive
in
multiple
boats.
cargo
ships,
tugboats
and
demining
barges
that
have
been
parked
25
miles
offshore
from
Persian
Gulf
and
Indian
Discerning
threats
is
difficult.
in
high-risk
areas
of
the
Red
Sea,
shot.
“Our
captain
left
asbooming
soon
as
Floating
the
rhey
adna
Boat
sho
pictures
ofdangerous
the
infested,
cramped,
next
job.
sea,
according
to
a
dozen
security
analysts.
In
2013,
sometimes tuck behind
trained hires
into the
from the
Natuna
Islands
in
the time
tinction,”
he said.
“It
does Armories
not
Floating
Armories
do
not
include
deaths
close
to
are
rarely
reported
to
Those
claims
pivot
on
asecurity
legal
shore
orwhich
in
some
particularly
areas
where
deaths
the
high
seas
or
inmedia
waters
farther
distinction
between
piracy,
which
under
international
law
occurs
on
Floating
Armories
bandits).
where
deaths
particularly
close
to
under
international
law
occurs
Those
claims
pivot
on
a
legal
distinction
between
piracy,
which
in
high-risk
areas
of
the
Red
Se
of
Oman,
a
half-dozen
priAbout
25
miles
offshore
from
tional
waters.
The
guar
Persian
Gulf
and
the
Bangladeshi
reported
in
a
residential
neighborhood,
ships
because
they
churn
$13
billion-a-year
security
busiational
law
occurs
on
the
United
Arab
Emirates
the
Ocean,
usually
just
pivot
on
a
legal
Somali
piracy
spurred
many
etween
piracy,
South
China
Sea,
he tappedon
his the the
attackers
arrive
in
change
the nature
ofGulf
their
act
or
panic
and
fire
too
soon,”
exing
barges
that
have
been
parked
way
to
get
back
to
port.
boats.
in
high-risk
areas
of
the
Red
Sea,
About
25
miles
offshore
from
United
Arab
Emirates
in
the
Persian
Gulf
and
the
Indian
Semiautomat
Discerning
t
Ocean,
usually
just
outside
naattackers
arrive
in
multiple
boats.
Bu
ing
barges
that
have
been
parked
in
high-risk
areas
of
the
Red
Sea,
the
United
Arab
Emirates
in
the
Semiautomatic
weapons,
formerOcean,
usually
just
outside
naAbout
25
miles
offshore
from
Persian
and
theclient
Indian
threats
difficult.
“Summary
execution,
possible,”
Mr.
Linships
said,Discerning
referring
oat
eased
floating
armory.
After
the
men
traded
war
stoadar
theArmories
abduction
of more
than foot700 Gulf
is
often
several
thousand
bottom sediment the
that
ness.
governments
to encourageis
mertrash-strewn
cabins
where
eight
finger
on his under
location,
widened
the and
danger
to from
the ship or crew
experts
who
reviewed
the
Floating
shore
or
indistinction
some
particularly
tional
authorities.)
distinction
between
piracy,
which
areas
where
are
rarely
reported
tolegal
internathan
12high
miles
from
shore,
and
international
law
occurs
on
Floating
Armories
the
seas
or
in
waters
farther
to
Those
claims
pivot
on
adeaths
ted
toadinternawhere
deaths
articularly
the
high
seas
or
in
waters
farther
between
piracy,
which
under
international
occurs
About
25
miles
offshore
from
Persian
Gulf
and
Indi
fishermen,
150ofmiles
in Oman,
September
fish.
chant
vessels
to priarm
themselves
the
United
Arab
Emirates
in
the
hislaw
eyes
contorted
hison
face toAbout
Ocean,
usually
justcame
outs
“It’s
like
handing
a bachelor
a The
or
in
waters
farther
ot
on
adangerous
legal
when
armed
strangers
get
on
een
piracy,
which
Gulf
ofnaOman,
aand
half-dozen
tional
waters.
The
gt
ational
law
occurs
on
boats.
plained
athe
South
African
guard.
inin
high-risk
areas
of
the
Red
Sea,
vigilantism,
overzealous
ficials
said.
The
attack
25
offshore
from
Kevin
Thompson,
anow
British
Persian
Gulf
the
Indian
Discerning
threa
the
United
Arab
Emirates
the
Gulf
aand
half-dozen
prily
a the
pirates’
Semiautomatic
Ocean,
usually
just
outside
national
waters.
guards
pay
as
boats.
in
high-risk
areas
of
Red
Sea,
tion
About
25 Oman,
miles
offshore
from
Persian
Gulf
the
Indian
Discerning
is
difficult.
Gulf
of
aand
half-dozen
prily
a
pirates’
telltale
sign,
are
tional
waters.
The
guards
pay
as
the
United
Arab
Emirates
in
the
Semiautomatic
weapons,
formerOcean,
usually
just
outside
to
the
shooting
scene.
alone.
Forty were
reported
killed
adating
hire
private
security,
a break
register
fear.
Then,
he silently
ncreased
“The concern isn’t
just
newborn,”
one
guard
said,
de- orthreats
board
their
ship.”
men
bunked.
age.
They
speculated
that
one
say
dangerous
areas
where
deaths
under
international
law
occurs
on
are
rarely
reported
to
international
authorities.)
Typical
culprits
included:
rubrobbery,
which
involves
attacks
the
high
seas
or
in
waters
farther
than
12
miles
from
shore,
and
ries
about
past
encounters
with
pirates,
the
condollars),
and
check
their
weapons
into
a
locked
arly
distinction
between
which
) orto
d
internadeaths
than
12
miles
from
shore,
and
under
international
law
occurs
on
the
high
seas
or
in
waters
farther
defense,
call
itpiracy,
what
you
in
a
single
episode,
many
of
them
the
United
Arab
Emirates
in
the
Ocean,
usually
just
outside
n
reached
over
and
opened
a
from
the
longstanding
practice
of
er
a
new
guard
will
misju
scribing
how
some
of
the
new
rees
from
shore,
and
piracy,
which
Gulf
of
Oman,
a
half-dozen
pritional
waters.
The
guards
On
his
fishing
boat,
Rio
said
nal
law
occurs
on
sre
in
waters
farther
About
25
miles
offshore
from
“It’s
also
whether
he
will
shoot
Persian
Gulf
and
the
Indian
Discerning
threats
is
the
United
Arab
Emirates
in
the
wea
usually
just
outside
naGulf
of
Oman,
asehalf-dozen
pri-Ocean,
ly
a
pirates’whic
tel
guard,
described
intense
boretional
waters.
The
guards
pay
asSemiautomatic
iled
Yemeni
government,
About
25
miles
offshore
from
Persian
Gulf
and
the
Indian
Discerning
threats
is
theculprits
United
Arab
Emirates
in
the
Semiautomatic
weapons,
formerOcean,
usually
naGulf
ofincluded:
Oman,
arubhalf-dozen
prilygiven
a pirates’
telltale
sign,
now
tional
waters.
The
guards
pay
as
with
their
feeta
and
hands
bound
wheelhouse
compartment
revealnations
trying
todifficult.
maintain
a nearare
panic and fire the
too
soo
cruits
react
when
a semised
at
at-Like
that just
violence
isoutside
just
a part of life
regating
Though
the
date
of
the
shootgunman,
quite
likely
private
most
floating
armories,
han
will.”
are
rarely
reported
to
internathe
high
seas
or
in
waters
farther
tional
authorities.)
ber-skiff
pirates
armed
with
rockcloser
to
land.
than
12
miles
from
shore,
and
Typical
robbery,
which
involves
attacks
aths
under
international
law
occurs
oses
internaincluded:
rubrobbery,
which
involves
attacks
the
high
seas
or
in
waters
farther
than
12
miles
from
shore,
and
before
being
thrown
overboard.
ing
aon
Glock
handgun.
monopoly
onpay
the Semiautomatic
use
ofthey
force.ly a
plained
a South
African
automatic
weapon.
Many
of
the
Gulf
of
a
half-dozen
pritional
waters.
The
guards
pay
at sea.
“You must
be Oman,
ready,
al- usually
ch
involves
attacks
aw
occurs
on
in
waters
farther
from
shore,
and
versation
soon
turned
to
a
shared
concern:
the
storage
container
upon
arrival.
Then
wait,
the
United
Arab
Emirates
in
the
weapons,
Ocean,
just
outside
nasoon
enough.”
If
guards
hesitate
Gulf
of
Oman,
a
half-dozen
pripirates’
telltale
tional
waters.
The
guards
as
dom
and
isolation,
which
some
the
United
Arab
inreason
the
Semiautomatic
formerusually
naGulf
Oman,
aHethan
half-dozen
ly
a said
pirates’
telltale
sign,
are now
waters.
The
guards
pay
KLAUS
LUHTA,of
a lawyer
with theEmirates
pean
Arabia
and opposes
the
These
attacks
were
usuallyjust
Meanwhile,
growing
terrorism
had a good
topribe Ocean,
“It’s also whether
he wiH
new
hires
combat experiways outside
ready,”
heis
said.unknown,
For in- as
ing
shave
that
atcurity
guard,
did
all
the
shooting,
ing
helack
thatweapons,
he leddi
theinvolves
Seapol
One,
run
by
the
Sri
tional
authorities.)
dec
12
miles
from
and
et-propelled
grenades,
nightTypical
culprits
included:
rubrobbery,
which
involves
attacks
ber-skiff
pirates
armed
with
rockcloser
totional
land.
Insurance
companies
once
rnathe
high
seas
or
inOrganization
waters
rmed
with
rockcloser
to
land.
ncluded:
rubthan
12
miles
from
shore,
and
robbery,
which
involves
attacks
International
of farther
conducted
the too
half-dozen
concernsas
port ly
officials
globarmed.
The
waters
in this
region,
soon enough.” sign,
If guards h
ence,
speak
virtually
no English pay
stance,
he explained
that they
larger,
.aters
farther
rom
shore,
and
ich
attacks
Gulf
of
Oman,
abyshore,
half-dozen
pria
pirates’
telltale
tional
waters.
The
guards
long,
he
said,
miss
therequirement),
guards
relieved
with
occasional
Gulf
of
Oman,
a
half-dozen
prily
a
telltale
are
now
tional
waters.
The
guards
pay
growing
influx
untrained
hires
into
boomsometimes
for
weeks,
for
their
next
job.
armedthe
gangs
that
operate
protecespecially
those near
Indonesia,
ally tosign,
impose
tighter
restrictions
too
long, he said,fully
they m
(despite
apirates’
fluency
Masters,
Mates
& Pilots.of
unlicensed
fishing
vesselsas
in
the
atAden
had
been
“liberated”
sher—
have
using
a
semiautomatic
weapon.
Lankan
firm
Avant
Garde
Maribelieved
it
occurred
in
2013
in
the
Typical
culprits
included:
rubrobbery,
which
involves
attacks
ves
stalking
fuel
thieves,
hit-and-run
ber-skiff
pirates
armed
withcompanies
rocktoInsurance
et-propelled
grenades,
nightcharged
$500
for
triparea
to
and
companies
once
than
12
miles
from
shore,
andattacks
enades,
nightmed
with
rockded:
rubrobbery,
which
involves
closer
to land.
tion
rackets
in theeach
Bay
of Bengal
Malaysia
andcloser
Vietnam,
areland.
Insurance
once
chance to take preventive
not know how to clean or on weapons being carried into
plow through
local and do measm
shore,
and
involves
attacks
d.
companies
once
chance
tooften
take
preventive
drinks
of forbidden
alcohol
orthatbycan from
among the most perilous in the and the swampy inland waters fishermen’s nets, not just elim- fix their weapons, said
Floating armorhelp
avo
shou
the national
ave
dubthe
sves,
fisherAnd,
they
said,
the
four
at
ing
$13
billion-a-year
security
business.
time
Services,
had
no
armed
seSomali
piracy
many
governments
their
allies
were ures
driven
Indian
Ocean,
wherespurred
the Chun
I waters.
ber-skiff
pirates
armed
with
rockcloser
land.
bandits
wielding
machetes.
But
atrip
et-propelled
grenades,
nightstalking
fuel
thieves,
hit-and-run
indi
from
the called
ports
located
in
west
Insurance
companies
once
charged
$500
forships
each
trip
to
andhelp
robbery,
which
involves
attacks
the
Sundarbans.
Last
year,the
hit-and-run
ades,
nightwith
rockworld.
More
thanto
3,100
mariners
closer
to
land.
force, like firing warning
guards, most of whom spoke only ies emerged as a solution.
charged
$500
for
each
to
and
Insurance
companies
once
inating
their
catch,
but destroy-avoid
olves
attacks
for
each
trip
to
and
companies
once
ures
that
can
fatal
lifting
weights,
assisted
by
sterthey engaged in gun battles with ing their livelihoods.
were
assaulted
or
kidnapped
in
flares
or
water
cannons,
on
the
condition
of
anonymity
for
On
the
Resolution,
security
Wes
herhrink,
rowd
the
the
scene
were
probably
associcurity
of
its
own
to
police
grenades,
nightvariety
of
other
actors
appear
has
been
sailing
thevessels
last
stalking
fuel
thieves,
hit-and-run
companies
once
bandits
wielding
machetes.
But
aofaccording
India,
but
increased
the
rate
to
charged
for
each
trip
and
own
from
the
ports
located
in
the217
Gen.
Ahmed
Saifpacitating
Mohsen
al
ockthe
Air
Force
and to
closer
toto
land.
the area
last
year,
to$500
machetes.
But
aInsurance
s,
hit-and-run
nightan approaching
they would for
“team leaders,”
of them themfrom
the
ports
located
in
the
west
“It’s
like
handing
aInsurance
bachelor
a Bangladesh
newborn,”
companies
once
charged
$500
forat-its
each
trip
to
and
to
encourage
merchant
tomostarm
Making
awest
hand
gesture
as fear
vessels,
fending
off
armed
set-propelled
located
in
the
west
ompanies
once
0s,
for
each
trip
and
force,
like
firing
warning
shots,be blacklisted
Describing
the
the Times database, consisting of Coast Guard during government
engine. he
British or South
Afri-armories,
recruits American,
though he was firing his gun in from jobs. Some of the oids.
On
tacks,of
but hit-and-run
also
firing
on
rivals
to But
”the
Mr.
shrink,
ated
with
one
another,
perhaps
guests
or
protect
against
pirates
stalking
fuel
thieves,
too,
and
many
of
them
are
not
as
bandits
wielding
machetes.
a
variety
other
actors
appear
charged
$500
for
each
trip
to
and
$150,000,
given
the
area’s
piracyfive
years.
from
the
ports
located
in
the
west
of
India,
increased
the
rate
to
raids
onbut
coastal
camps
and
hosmore
than
6,000
crime
reports.
ghtI
2
actors
appear
can
military
veterans,
explained
show
up
to
work
carrying
ammuInsurance
companies
once
achetes.
But
a
t-and-run
The
armories
themselv
the
air,
Rio
revved
his
engine,
military
commander
in
Aden
of
India,
but
increased
rate
to
charged
$500
for
each
trip
to
and
from
the
ports
located
in
the
west
scare
them
away.
ncreased
the
rate
to
anies
once
each
trip
tothe
and
ts
located
in
west
flares
or
water
cannons,
orin Ziploc
incaone
guard
said,
describing
how
ofthe
the
selves
or showhirenition
private
a gun
break
from
the
said,
“They’re
basically
psychotage ships.
The database includes
infor- some
makes
battles
at sea
so
bags orsecurity,
shoe
box- what
be crucibles of violence.
lurching
the boat forward,
Provocations
are But
common.
mini
ink,
onBut
arts,”
Mr.
by
shared
ownership.
don’t
bandits
machetes.
athe
who
might
seek
to
commandeer
they
initially
seem:
hijackers
variety
of
other
actors
appear
too,
and
many
of
them
are
not
as
from
the
ports
located
in“You
west
prone
designation,
apacitating
Bangladeshi
of
India,
increased
the
rate
Bangladesh’s
former
foreign
$150,000,
given
the
area’s
piracymation
provided
by
the
Office
ofbut
run
different from
those on land.
Mr.
Lin
to
release
any
climbing
off another
floa
them
are
not
as
gro
charged
$500
for
each
trip
and
ctors
appear
tes.
awielding
ing howto
he charged
at
othersdeclined
in es.
$150,000,
given
area’s
piracyfrom
the
ports
located
in
the
west
ofCountries
India,
but
increased
the
rate
to
are
racing
one
anotherto
small
numbers
of
rebel
fighter
en
the
area’s
piracych
trip
to
and
cated
in
the
west
increased
the
rate
to
an approaching
minister, Dr. Dipu Moni, repri- these situations.
pressure
cookers.”
Naval Intelligence;
two maritime
mory, the Seapol One, pu
“Between
fight
or flight,”
said
The boat’s
maritime security
indusnew
recruits
react
when
given
a and
semiautomatic
longstanding
practice
oflogical
nations
trying
to mainto
map
and lay
claim
to untapped
nucl
Mr.
comrder
on
ofrate
other
actors
appear
apiracybank
in
mixed
company,”
masquerading
as
marine
police
the
arsenal.
Most
coastal
nations
too,
and
many
of
them
are
not
as
they
initially
seem:
hijackers
of
India,
but
increased
the
rate
manded
the
international
shipforeign
ministry
official
said
dursecurity
firms,$150,000,
OceanusLive
given
the
area’s
piracyprone
designation,
a to
Bangladeshi
ut
aappear
their smartphones andL
Cameron Mouat, a guard workfly-by-night
eem:
hijackers
from
the
ports
in
the
em
are
not
as
svariety
A wiry
chain-smoker, about
Rio re- try includes
details
the fewer
crew
of
the
prone
designation,
arob
Bangladeshi
of
India,
but
increased
the
rate
to
$150,000,
given
the
area’s
oil,
gaslocated
or other
mineral
re- west
ation,
a
Bangladeshi
ed
in
the
west
eased
the
to
en
the
area’s
piracya
larger
force
about
engine.
and counted the last time he used his companies today than it did sev- ing for MNG
Risk Intelligence; and a research ping industry and the foreign
picturessix
of the miles
infested, cr
Maritime,
a British
sources
deep
in
the
ocean,
sparkon
for
w
ly
comtoo,
and
many
of
them
are
not
as
officers,
human
traffickers
posone
former
States
Coast
oppose
the
armories,
though
they
they
initially
seem:
hijackers
masquerading
as
marine
police
localcombat
news
media
several
years
$150,000,
given
the
area’s
piracygroup
called
Oceans
Beyond
Pi-United
ing
a
news
conference
in
Decemprone
designation,
a
Bangladeshi
weapon.
Many
of
the
new
hires
lack
exforeign
ministry
official
said
durtain
a
near
monopoly
on
the
use
of
force.
Meantrash-strewn
cabins
wher
ear
company
that
charters
the
Resoeral
years
ago,
according
to
the
marine
police
gun.
A
year
earlier,
he
said,
he
m:
hijackers
are
not
as
of
India,
but
increased
the
rate
to
foreign
ministry
official
said
dur$150,000,
given
the
area’s
piracyprone
designation,
a
Bangladeshi
Chun
I
217
or
the
report
he
said
Chu
ing clashes and boat burnings.
trythe
official
said dured
rate
to
he
area’s
piracynation,
a Bangladeshi
by fired
racy. No international agency ago for defaming the country
The
armories
men bunked.
here,
anthere’s
areajustthat had
been the
so
the potential for mis- lution. “Outin
at a bigger shipthemselves
that ap- guards. But can
From the Mediterranean
to offguards
om60-d
they
initially
seem:
hijackers
lated
ing
as
fishermen,
security
describing
itsconference
waters
as a “high
comprehensively
tracks
marimasquerading
as
marine
police
Guard
official
explained.
officers,
human
traffickers
poscan
do
little
to
stop
them
since
prone
designation,
a
Bangladeshi
Unsolved
ber
2011.
After
Bangladeshi
offiforeign
ministry
official
said
during
a
news
in
Decemfight.” There is Killings
no place to hide,
handling
attacks — withto
possibly
Like most floating
ar
tstry
as
proached
his boat
late at night
traffickers
posmarine
police
hijackers
$150,000,
given
the
area’s
piracying
a
news
conference
in
Decemprone
designation,
a
Bangladeshi
foreign
ministry
official
said
durshore
Australia
to
the
Black
Sea,
he
asked
the
captain
write
said
onference
in
Decemrea’s
piracyspeak virtually
(despite
n, a Bangladeshi
while,
growing
terrorism
ledonnoport
ofofficialperience,
said durrisk” zone
for piracy. be a
time violence.no English
no falling back,
no air support,
crucibles
of violence.
Guards
consequences — has in- concerns
the Seapol
One, run by
without permission.
Rio said he deadly
Earlier
Sunday,
a coalition
human
traffickers carrying
refumasquerading
as
marine
police
Pres
“There
hasto
notsaid
been
aInternationsingle
imes
moonlighting
as
arms
dealers.
The
death
tolls
in
these
attacks
eaffickers
related
officers,
human
traffickers
posing
as
fishermen,
security
guards
foreign
ministry
official
durthey
are
situated
in
international
cials
protested
the
ing
a ber
news
conference
in
Decemcreased over the past year or so, ammunition drops, he said. Tarsummer,
the
police
in
the
Lankan firm Avant
Gard
2011.
After
Bangladeshi
offikers
then spedabout
away,
uncertain
whethsecurity
guards
posne
police
prone
designation,
a Bangladeshi
ber
2011.
After
Bangladeshi
offiforeign
official
said
during
aministry
conference
inLast
Decemgees
andnews
migrants
sometimes
the
killings
after
theThe
Taier
Bangladeshi
offiBangladeshi
official
said
dura
onference
in
Decemincident of piracy”
in climbing
years,
Dr. er he
are murky
because
follow-up
in- know
gets
are almost always
fast movthey argued,
because
the shiptime
Services,
hader
no arm
off
another
arvideo
of
the
killing
of
the
had
hit anyone
on
board. floating
fluency
requirement),
and
do
not
how
to
ficials
globally
to
impose
tighter
restrictions
ram
competitors’
boats
or
delib24
people
in
Yemen’s
Ibb
dist
Moni
said
in in
a December
2011Internationvestigations
are
rare,
police
re- of
officers,
human
traffickers
posted
kers,
pling
ing
as
fishermen,
security
guards
20
times
moonlighting
as
arms
dealers.
ing
a
news
conference
DecemFor
instance,
there
were
10
Sri
ing.
Aim
is
usually
wobbly
beping
industry
has
been
cutting
waters.
al
Maritime
Bureau,
which
tracks
curity
of
its
own
to
po
ber
2011.
After
Bangladeshi
officials
protested
to
the
Fijian
capital
Suva
closed
their
lice
Asked
whether
he
reported
the
rms
dealers.
curity
guards
kers
posforeign
ministry
official
said
durcials
the
Internationing aber
news
conference
in
Decem2011.
offierately
sinkprotested
theirAfter
own ships Bangladeshi
totoports
d toBangladeshi
the
cial
said
durwan
police
contacted
his
comparence
inInternationDecemer
offioth
that
often lack details and bod- written statement, adding
cause
the
ship
constantly
sways.
costs,
shifting
from
four-man
seguests
or
protect
against
shootingSeapol
to the police, One,
Rio crin- pulled out
mory,
the
four men
speaks
to awaters.
get rid
of their
illicit passengers
most
of the
violence
off
the
naies ber
tend
to disappear
atAfter
sea.
But
clean
or
fix
their
weapons,
said
the
most
weapons
national
ing
as
fishermen,
security
guards
members
ofsurvival-ofonewhoextended
fa
mes
moonlighting
as
arms
dealers.
hips,
tankers,
Lankan
migrants,
group
that
in2011.
Bangladeshi
officurity teams tocarried
teams of two or into
sion
might seek to
comm
Some ships
are the equivalent
piracy
atguards,
sea,
their
country
For
instance,
were
10
Sri
cials
protested
tothat
the
International
Maritime
Bureau,
which
tracks
kledon
his face
as if he did not un- being
posinvestigation
into
the
shootings.
None
of
the
guards
interms
dealers.
ty
guards
ing
a
news
conference
in
Decemhere
were
10
Sri
al
Maritime
Bureau,
which
tracks
ber
2011.
Bangladeshi
officials
protested
to
the
Internationor
force
a After
rescue. a there
Bureau,
which
tracks
ce
in
DecemBangladeshi
offied
to
the
Internationa showed
board
member
theft smartphones
maritime
researchers
estimated tion’s coast involved petty
wer
three
less experienced
men.
the arsenal.
Most coastal
of of
several football
fields in length, common
derstand.ny.
After Mr.
several Lin,
silent
their
and
the-fittest
brutality
atarmories,
Violence among fishing boats that hundreds of seafarers are and robberies, most often
commoonlighting
as
arms
dealers.
oppose the
thou
too
big,
these
guards
contended,
ers,
cluded
women
and
children,
who
cials
protested
to
the
Internationwho
The
141-foot
Resolution
is
er
ships,
For
instance,
there
were
10
Sri
Lankan
migrants,
athe
group
that
was
stigmatized
asthat
a high-piracy
effor
minutes,
he asked: “Whyarmories
would
al
Maritime
Bureau,
which
tracks
piracy
atbyanonymsea,
their
country
rds
Masqari,
a
resident
of
the
n
They
reasoned
that
the
incident
viewed
knew
of
fatal
clashes
ealers.
ber
2011.
After
Bangladeshi
offiathe
group
that
inre
were
10
Sri
piracy
atgetting
sea,
that
theirincountry
cials
to
Internationalprotested
Maritime
Bureau,
which
of
whom
spoke
only
on
the
condition
of
isany
widespread
and
worse.
Floating
emerged
as
a
solution.
a,
that
their
country
gladeshi
offio
InternationBureau,
which
tracks
“dacoits” (a term de- anyone
killed
annually
intracks
attacks. (They mitted
the
Taiwanese
tuna
ascan do little to stop
them
for a two- or three-man
sho
severallongliners
dozen converted
report
thethat?”
infested, among
cramped,
sea, according
to asecurity
dozen security
Heavily subsidized Chinese and caution those numbers are likely rived from the Hindipictures
word
for
they are situated supp
in intern
For
there
were
10aggresSri
cargo ships, tugboats and demin- detail to handle, especially when
were
smuggled
aboard
athat
fishing
al
Maritime
Bureau,
which
tracks
ips,
Lankan
migrants,
aBureau,
group
included
women
and
children,
who
zone,
the
group
amended
its of
webwho
piracy
at
sea,
that
their
country
was
stigmatized
as
a
high-piracy
did
not
occur
in
their
national
waon
the
armories.
But
there
was
cials
protested
to
the
Internationd
children,
who
group
that
inere
10
Sri
was
stigmatized
as
a
high-piracy
Taiwanese
vessels
are
al
Maritime
which
tracks
piracy
at
sea,
that
their
country
bombed.
bandits).
to
be
undercounts
because
they
zed
as
ainstance,
high-piracy
eette,
Internationeau,
which
tracks
a,
that
their
country
waters.
attackers
arrive
in
multiple
sociation,
said
the
private
securiing
barges
that
have
been
parked
ity
for
fear
they
blacklisted
from
jobs.
On
thewhere
Resolution,
security
“team
leaders,”
pos
trash-strewn
cabins
eight experts
who
reviewed
the None
footsively
expanding
their would
reach, do notbe
Armories
include deaths
close
Those
claims
on
a covered
legal Floating
in high-risk areas of the Red Sea, boats.
of the guards
Lankan
migrants,
aat
group
that
inin
2012
near
the
island
naat
sea,
that
country
cluded
women
and
children,
who
who
were
smuggled
aboard
aapiracy
fishing
site
to tosay
itstheir
warning
was
stigmatized
aspivota
high-piracy
zone,
the
group
amended
itspiwebSri
no
shortage
ofwebfriction,
they
said.
ters,
nor
did
it
involve
ves-About
al
Maritime
Bureau,
which
tracks
At
board
ainfishing
children,
who
up
that
said
Graham
Southwick,
the
zone,
the
group
amended
itsparticularly
webpiracy
sea,
that
their
country
was
stigmatized
as
high-piracy
shore
or in some
distinction
betweentheir
piracy, which
amended
its
which
tracks
at
their
country
zed
as
aboat
high-piracy
d
re25 miles
offshore from
Gulf and the
Indian proDiscerning threats
is difficult.
viewed
knew of any
ty
guards
on Persian
his usually
ships
were
tofatal
th
men
bunked.
age.
They
speculated
that
one
president
of therecruits
Fiji Tuna Boat dangerous
Some
of
the
show
up
to
work
carrying
areas
where
deaths
most
of
them
American,
British
or
South
African
under
international
law
occurs
on
the
United
Arab
Emirates
in
the
Semiautomatic
weapons,
formerOcean,
just
outside
naon
the
armories.
But
the
cluded
women
and
children,
who
tion.
When
their
demands
to
set
a
was
stigmatized
as
a
high-piracy
were
smuggled
aboard
a
fishing
boat
in
2012
near
the
island
naracy
and
armed
robbery.
zone,
the
group
amended
its
website
to
say
its
warning
covered
pitdren,
inpiracy
at
sea,
that
their
country
rbuted
the
island
naOwners
Association.
Radar
adoard
a
fishing
who
have
site
to
say
its
warning
covered
piwas
stigmatized
as
a
high-piracy
zone,
the
group
amended
its
webIsrael:
Arrests
in
West
B
are
rarely
reported
to
internathe
high
seas
or
in
waters
farther
warning
piheir
as
a country
high-piracy
up
amended
its webGulf of Oman,
a half-dozen
pri-Sri
tionalLankan
waters. The guards
pay as ly a pirates’ telltale sign, are now
no shortage of friction, T
th
recovered
vided
by
a
company,
vancements and the increased tional authorities.)
gunman,
quite
likely
a
private
semost
floating armories,
than 12 miles from shore,Like
and
were
smuggled
aboard
a
fishing
new
course
for
Australia
were
rezone,
the
group
amended
its
webboat
in
2012
near
the
island
nation.
When
their
demands
to
set
a
site
to
say
its
warning
covered
piracy
and
armed
robbery.
ammunition
in
Ziploc
bags
or
shoe
boxes.
In
an
interview,
Mukundan
who
was
stigmatized
as
a
high-piracy
use
of
so-called
fish-aggregating
emands
to
set
a
island
naa
fishing
racy
and
armed
robbery.
zone,
the
group
amended
its
website
to
say
its
warning
covered
piersh
Typical
culprits
included:
rubrobbery,
which
involves
attacks
ed
robbery.
ahe
high-piracy
amended
its
webwarning
covered
pirewhich
The
devices — floating objects that at- ber-skiff pirates armed with rockcloser to land.
Israeli
authorities
have uncov
curity
guard,
did all
the shooting,
ing
the of
Seapol
One, he
rundeclined
by the to
Sriname.
boat
in
2012
near
the
island
fused,
the
migrants
the
site
say
its
warning
covered
pition.
When
demands
to
set
a to
new
course
for
Australia
were
reracy
and
armed
robbery.
Pottengal,
theincludes
director
the buIn
an
interview,
Mukundan
hing
tract
schools
ofarmed
fishattacked
— nahave
zone,
the
group
amended
its
webustralia
were
remands
to
set
asite
sland
natotheir
say
its
warning
covered
piracy
and
robbery.
et-propelled
grenades,
nightIn
an
interview,
Mukundan
curi
Insurance
companies once
nded
its
webrning
covered
piThe
maritime
security
industry
med
robbery.
erview,
Mukundan
heightened tensions as fisher- stalking fuel thieves, hit-and-run charged $500 for each Lankan
Taiwan
prosecutor’s
office,
which
using
a
semiautomatic
weapon.
firm
Avant
Garde
Maribeli
trip to and
mas
militants
suspected
of
in
tion.
When
their
demands
to
setwere
adirector
crew,
killing
at
least
two
men
racy
and
armed
robbery.
new
course
for
Australia
refused,
the
migrants
attacked
the
reau,
isthe
primarily
In
an
interview,
Pottengal,
director
of the bunamen
are
more
prone
tocovered
crowd
the
site
to
say
its
pi-by
nts
attacked
the
ralia
were
reds
to
set
aMukundan
bandits
wielding
Butwhich
a from
racy
and
armed
robbery.
the ports
located
in Mukundan
the west funded
Pottengal,
the
ofmachetes.
the
buInwarning
an
interview,
Mukundan
Mon
g
covered
pirobbery.
e
director
of
the
buterview,
same
spots. “Catches shrink,
fewer
fly-by-night
companies
than
it
did
variety of other actors today
appear of India,
is
looking
into
the
matter,
debut increased
the
rate to Services,
And,
they
said,
the
four
ships
at
time
had
no
armed
seInd
ing
that
killed
an
Israeli
ma
new
course
for
Australia
were
rethrowing
them
overboard.
Or
the
fused,
the
migrants
attacked
the
crew,
killing
at
least
two
men
an
interview,
Mukundan
by
shipping
companies
andbuinPottengal,
the
director
of the
reau,
which
isarea’s
primarily
funded
tempers
fighting
starts,”
Mr.
aprimarily
racy
and
armed
robbery.
ast
two
men
by
the
aet
were
retoo,
andIn
many
of
them
are
not as $150,000,
given
the
piracyreau,
which
is
primarily
funded
In
an fray,
interview,
Mukundan
Pottengal,
the
director
of by
the
buemp
bery.
is
funded
iew,
Mukundan
eattacked
director
of
the
buSouthwick said. “Murder on they initially seem: hijackers prone designation, a Bangladeshi
clined
to comment.
associcurity
ofdoes
its
own
to police its the scene were
217
several
years
ago,
according
toby
the
guards.
But
fused,
the
migrants
attacked
the
three
captive
Burmese
workers
crew,
killing
at
least
two
men
by
throwing
them
overboard.
Or
the
Pottengal,
the
director
of
the
buothersprobably
in the West
Bank inThei
Jun
surers,
said
organization
these
boats
is relatively
comreau,
which
ishis
primarily
funded
shipping
companies
and
inremasquerading
as
marine
police
Or
the
terboard.
two
men
by
acked
the
foreign
ministry
official
said durIn
an
interview,
Mukundan
by
shipping
companies
and
inPottengal,
the
director
of
the
bureau,
which
is
primarily
funded
companies
and
inMukundan
rector
of
the
buis
primarily
funded
mon.”
officers, human traffickers posing a news conference guests
in Decemated
with cials
one another,
perhaps
or
protect
against
pirates
With
one
of
the
world’s
largest
five
ermese
crew,
killing
at
least
two
men
by
who
in
2009
escaped
their
Thai
throwing
them
overboard.
Or
the
three
captive
Burmese
workers
reau,
which
is
primarily
funded
The
violent
crime
rate
related
by
shipping
companies
and
insurers,
said
his
organization
does
the
ing
as
fishermen,
security
guards
ber
2011.
After
Bangladeshi
offiworkers
board.
Or
the
o
men
by
Pottengal,
the
director
of
the
busaid
Sunday.
The
Shin
the
potential
for
mishandling
attacks
— with
surers,
said
his
organization
does
reau,
which
is
primarily
funded
by
shipping
companies
and innal
his
organization
does
or
of the funded
buprimarily
companies
and
infishing boats is easily 20 times moonlighting as arms dealers.
cials protested to the Internationby shared
whoinmight
seekfleets,
to commandeer
Taiwan’s fishing
in- ownership. “You don’t
mine
M
throwing
them
overboard.
Or
the
and
trawler
the
South
China
Sea
byThai
three
captive
workers
who
intothat
2009
escaped
their
byand
shipping
companies
of Burmese
crimes
involving
tankers,
For
instance,
there
were 10 said
Sri
surers,
his organization
doestuna
byorganization
al Maritime
Bureau, and
which tracks
aped
Thai
mese
workers
rd.
Ortheir
the
reau,
which
is
primarily
funded
by
shipping
companies
in-does
surers,
said
his
organization
agency said that the military
arily
funded
mpanies
and
in-in
his
does
possibly
deadly
cargo ships
or passengerconsequences
ships, Lankan migrants, a group —
that in-has
piracy increased
at sea, that their
country
rob biga bank in mixed company,” ty’s
the
arsenal.
Most
coastal
nations
dustry
among
the nation’s
Clockwise
from
near
right,
the is
three
captive
Burmese
workers
leaping
overboard,
swimming
to does
deta
and
who
in
2009
escaped
their
trawler
theN.his
South
China
Sea
by
surers,
his
does
cluded
women
andsaid
children,
who organization
saidin
Charles
Dragonette,
who
xed
enwas stigmatized
as a high-piracy
the
th
China
Sea
by
their
Thai
eeas,
workers
by
shipping
companies
andThai
insurers,
said
organization
nies
and
inrganization
does
sancm
four
Palestinians
were smuggled aboard a fishing zone, the group amended its webover
the
past
year
or
so,
they
argued,
because
one
formerrested
United
States
Coast this
oppose
thegest
armories,
theymost
politiwho
in
2009
escaped
their
Thai
adoes
nearby
yacht,
killing
its
owner
Clockwise
the thoughand
nd
trawler
in
the
South
China
Sea
leaping
overboard,
swimming
totheright,
boatby
in 2012
near
island na-Resolution
Chu
site to say its warningfrom
covered
pi- near right,
d
lax
enkers
at
sunrise
in
theemployers
Clockwise
near
the
d,
swimming
to
Sea
by
heir
Thai
oChina
go
surers,
said
his
does
Susan
C.organization
Beachy contributed re- from
se
from
near
right,
the
nization
clea
tion. When their demands to set a racy and armed robbery.
of
the
West
Bank
village
of
Sil
search.
Guard
official
explained.
can
do
little
to
stop
them
since
trawler
in
the
South
China
Sea
by
Clockwise
from
near
right,
the
and
stealing
his
lifeboat.
cally
powerful
sectors.
new
course
for Australia
were the
releaping
overboard,
swimming
to
a
nearby
yacht,
killing
its
owner
In
anOman,
interview,
Mukundan
he
enThai
Clockwise
from
near
right,
Resolution
at
sunrise
in
the
killing
its
owner
swimming
to
na
Sea
by
uct
to
go
Gulf
of
about
25
miles
at sunrise in the
se from
right,
the Resolution
ution
at near
sunrise
in the
fore
fused, the migrants attacked the Pottengal, the director of the butive
from
the
northern
West
they
are
situated
in
international
Last
summer,
the
police
in
the
Clockwise
from
near
right,
the
leaping
overboard,
swimming
to
crew,
killing
at
least
two
men
by
aat
nearby
yacht,
killing
owner
reau, which is primarily
funded
andwaters
stealing
hisBangladesh
lifeboat.
The
near
ilTwo
Taiwanese fishing officials
aOman,
by its
at
sunrise
in25
the
Clockwise
from
near
right,
the
aboB
feboat.
ing
owner
mming
to
go
Resolution
at sunrise
inOrResolution
the
rom
near
right,
the
Gulf
of Oman,
about
miles
offshore.
Smaller
boats
are
Gulf
ofits
Oman,
about
25
miles
lution
sunrise
in Outlaw
the
throwing
them overboard.
the
by shipping companies
and inhad
about
25why
miles
The
Ocean
aiding
the
group.
Two
more
waters.
Fijian
capital
of
Suva
closed
their
three
captive
Burmese
workers
a
nearby
yacht,
killing
its
owner
surers,
said
his
organization
does
and
stealing
his
lifeboat.
lustrate
maritime
violence
is
The
waters
near
Bangladesh
ilClockwise
from
near
right,
the
Resolution
at
sunrise
in
the
toat
later said
company auits
owner
wan
rOman,
Bangladesh
ilfirst
Gulf
ofto
Oman,
about
25contracmiles
mgboat.
near
right,
the
Resolution
at sunrise
in25
the
Articles
in this series
examine
Gulf
of
Oman,
about
miles
on
sunrise
in25the
offshore.
Smaller
boats
are that the
who
in 2009 escaped
their
Thai are
used
ferry security
offshore.
Smaller
boats
about
miles
As
ore.
Smaller
boats
are
lawlessness
onmaritime
the
high seas,by
and violence
trawler
in the South
China Sea by
investigation
shootings.
None
ofthorized
the guards
inter- security
and
stealing
his
lifeboat.
the into
manthe
suspected
of carry
frequently
overlooked
the
The
near
Bangladesh
il-inlustrate
why
is
ner
.the
to put private
time
violence
is
Bangladesh
il-waters
Resolution
at
sunrise
in
the
Gulf
of
Oman,
about
25
miles
ny.
first
Clockwise
from
near
right,
the
leaping
overboard,
swimming
to used
offshore.
Smaller
boats
are
at
sunrise
in
the
Gulf
Oman,
25
miles
how weak of
regulations
and lax en-about
offshore.
Smaller
boats
are
an,
about
25
miles
to
ferry
security
contraccrat
tors
to
and
from
their
deployused
to
ferry
security
contrachore.
Smaller
boats
are
ferry
security
contraca
nearby
yacht,
killing
its
owner
Theywas
reasoned
incident
viewed
Resolution at sunrise
in the knew of any fatal clashes
forcement
allow
misconduct
toilgo In
The
waters
near
Bangladesh
ternational
community.
the hisinlustrate
why
maritime
violence
is
frequently
overlooked
by
have that
beenthe
detained
by the
oked
by
the
me
violence
isingladesh
ilguards on Taiwanese ships
theP
rst
Gulf
of
Oman,
about
25
miles
offshore.
boats
are
and stealing
lifeboat.
Gulf
of Oman,
about
25 milescontracunpunished.
used
toSmaller
ferry
security
about
25
miles
offshore.
Smaller
boats
are
used
to
security
Smaller
boats
are
to
and
from
their
deployments.
A
contractor
tors
toferry
and
from
deploysecurity
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military veterans, explained what makes gun
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“Between fight or flight,” said Cameron
Mouat, a guard working for MNG Maritime, a
British company that charters the Resolution.
“Out here, there’s just fight.” There is no place to
hide, no falling back, no air support, no ammunition drops, he said. Targets are almost always
fast moving. Aim is usually wobbly because the
ship constantly sways.
Some ships are the equivalent of several
football fields in length, too big, these guards
contended, for a two- or three-man security detail to handle, especially when attackers arrive
in multiple boats.
Discerning threats is difficult. Semiautomatic weapons, formerly a pirates’ telltale sign,
are now found on virtually all boats traversing
dangerous waters, they said. Smugglers, with
no intention of attacking, routinely nestle close
to larger merchant ships to hide in their radar
shadow and avoid being detected by coastal
authorities. Fishing boats also sometimes tuck
behind larger ships because they churn up seabottom sediment that attracts fish.
“The concern isn’t just whether a new guard
will misjudge or panic and fire too soon,” explained a South African guard. “It’s also whether he will shoot soon enough.” If guards hesitate
too long, he said, they miss the chance to take
preventive measures that can help avoid fatal
force, like firing warning shots, flares or water cannons, or incapacitating an approaching
boat’s engine.
The armories themselves can be crucibles
of violence. Guards climbing off another floating armory, the Seapol One, pulled out their
smartphones and showed pictures of the infested, cramped, trash-strewn cabins where eight
men bunked.
Like most floating armories, the Seapol
One, run by the Sri Lankan firm Avant Garde
Maritime Services, had no armed security of its
own to police its guests or protect against pirates who might seek to commandeer the arsenal. Most coastal nations oppose the armories,
though they can do little to stop them since they
are situated in international waters.
None of the guards interviewed knew of
any fatal clashes on the armories. But there
was no shortage of friction, they said. A Latvian guard, weighing more than 300 pounds and
standing well over six feet, relieved himself in
the shower because he could not fit in the bathroom stalls. Confronted by other guards, he refused to clean it up.
Several days earlier a heated argument
erupted between two South African guards and
their team leader. Unpaid for nearly a month,
the men had been abandoned by their security
company and left on the Seapol with no way to
get back to port.
Kevin Thompson, a British guard, described
intense boredom and isolation, which some
guards relieved with occasional drinks of forbidden alcohol or by lifting weights, assisted by steroids. Describing the armories, he said, “They’re
basically psychological pressure cookers.”
Unsolved Killings
The video of the killing of the four men
speaks to a survival-of-the-fittest brutality
common at sea, according to a dozen security
experts who reviewed the footage. They speculated that one gunman, quite likely a private
security guard, did all the shooting, using a
semiautomatic weapon. And, they said, the
four ships at the scene were probably associated with one another, perhaps by shared ownership. “You don’t rob a bank in mixed company,”
one former United States Coast Guard official
explained.
Last summer, the police in the Fijian capital
of Suva closed their investigation into the shootings. They reasoned that the incident did not occur in their national waters, nor did it involve
their vessels. Since no Fijian mariners had been
reported missing, they concluded none of their
citizens were among the victims.
When governments investigate incidents
like this, their goal is typically not to find the
culprit, said Glen Forbes from OceanusLive, the
maritime risk firm. “It’s to clear their name.”
The video, which includes people speaking
Chinese, Indonesian and Vietnamese languages, shows three large vessels circling the floating men. A banner that says “Safety is No. 1” in
Chinese hangs in the background on the deck
of one of the ships. A fourth vessel, which maritime records indicate is a 725-ton Taiwaneseowned tuna longliner called Chun I 217, passes
by in the background.
Lin Yu-chih, the owner of the Chun I 217,
which remains at sea, said that he did not know
whether any of the more than a dozen other ships
he owns or operates were present when the men
were shot. “Our captain left as soon as possible,”
Mr. Lin said, referring to the shooting scene.
Though the date of the shooting is unknown,
he said that he believed it occurred in 2013 in the
Indian Ocean, where the Chun I 217 has been
sailing for the last five years.
Mr. Lin declined to release any details about
the crew of the Chun I 217 or the report he said
he asked the captain to write about the killings
after the Taiwan police contacted his company.
Mr. Lin, a board member of the Taiwanese tuna
longliners association, said the private security guards on his ships were provided by a Sri
Lankan company, which he declined to name.
The Taiwan prosecutor’s office, which is looking
into the matter, declined to comment.
Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
With one of the world’s largest tuna fleets,
Taiwan’s fishing industry is among the nation’s biggest employers and most politically
powerful sectors.
Two Taiwanese fishing officials later said
that the company authorized to put private security guards on Taiwanese ships was Avant
Garde Maritime Services, the same business
that runs the Seapol One, the armory in the Gulf
of Oman. The company declined to answer questions about its guards or its floating armories.
Tzu-Yaw Tsay, the director of the Taiwanese
fisheries agency, declined during an interview
to release the Chun I 217’s crew list or captain’s
name. He suggested, though, that the men in
the water were most likely pirates who had
been rebuffed.
“We don’t know what happened,” Mr. Tsay
then acknowledged. “So there’s no way for us to
say whether it’s legal.”
July 27, 2015
Late Edition
Today, more clouds than sun, a
shower or thunderstorm in the
evening, high 83. Tonight, clearing,
low 74. Tomorrow, mostly sunny,
VOL. CLXIV . . . No. 56,940
$2.50
Texas County’s Racial Past
Seen as Prelude to a Death
Rights Battles Divided Prairie View Long
Before Sandra Bland’s Traffic Stop
This article is by Sharon
LaFraniere, Richard A. Oppel Jr.
and David Montgomery.
PRAIRIE VIEW, Tex. — When
Sandra Bland enrolled in 2005 at
Prairie View A&M University,
the historically black institution
founded here almost 140 years
ago, its students were still waging a civil rights war that had
ended elsewhere decades before:
a legal battle, against white Waller County officials, for the right
to vote in the place they lived.
It took years and a federal
court order, but the students won.
When Ms. Bland returned here
the morning of July 9, driving 16
hours from Chicago to interview
for a job at her alma mater, the
Justice Department had abandoned its court-ordered oversight
of students’ voter registration,
the campus had its own polling
place, and the county had, in one
key respect, passed a racial milestone.
Four days later, Ms. Bland was
dead in a county jail cell after a
routine traffic stop by a state
trooper escalated into a physical
confrontation not 500 yards from
the university’s entrance. And
any talk of milestones gave way
to questions about whether the
county’s checkered history of
race relations had set the stage
for a tragedy that the authorities
acknowledge might never have
happened had they followed their
own rules.
Prairie View now joins a list of
places — Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore, Cleveland, New York and
others — where African-Americans have died after encounters
with the police, and where assumptions about progress in race
relations have been challenged, if
not dashed. But here, in a county
where most blacks and whites
are still buried in separate cemeteries, those assumptions have
been especially shaky.
“The caste system still exists
here,” said LaVaughn Mosley, a
former counselor at Prairie View
A&M who had been friends with
Ms. Bland since her undergraduate days. “There is a whole race
of people here who are treated
like second-class citizens.”
Local officials mostly disagree.
“We are not a bunch of backwoods, red-necked racists,” said
County Judge Carbett J. Duhon
III, the region’s chief executive
officer, who is known as Trey and
is white. “Far from it.”
Some African-American elected officials also insist that the
vestiges of racism are being addressed.
“It’s not the Waller County of
the ’60s and ’70s,” said Mayor Michael S. Wolfe Sr., the third black
mayor of Hempstead, the county
seat. “Things have changed tremendously.”
But at a time when deaths of
African-Americans after confrontations with law enforcement already have the nation on tenterhooks, the county’s legacy of racial disparities has only catalyzed
suspicions about almost everything that happened to Ms.
Bland, a 28-year-old aspiring researcher who had proclaimed
solidarity with the movement
against racial bias in law enforcement.
Here and across the country,
her last days — from the moment
the trooper pulled her over on
July 10 for failing to signal a lane
change to her death by hanging
in the jail, ruled a suicide — are
being exhaustively parsed for evContinued on Page A12
ADAM DEAN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
The crew on a Thai fishing boat in the South China Sea included two dozen Cambodian boys, some as young as 15.
Forced Labor for Cheap Fish
‘Sea Slaves’ Endure Danger and Debt Trawling for Pet Food
By IAN URBINA
SONGKHLA, Thailand — Lang Long’s
ordeal began in the back of a truck. After
watching his younger siblings go hungry
because their family’s rice patch in Cambodia could not provide for everyone, he
accepted a trafficker’s offer to travel
across the Thai border for a construction
job.
It was his chance to start over. But when
he arrived, Mr. Long was kept for days by
armed men in a room near the port at
Samut Prakan, more than a dozen miles
southeast of Bangkok. He was then herded
with six other migrants up a gangway onto
a shoddy wooden ship. It was the start of
three brutal years in captivity at sea.
“I cried,” said Mr. Long, 30, recounting
how he was resold twice between fishing
boats. After repeated escape attempts, one
captain shackled him by the neck whenever other boats neared.
Mr. Long’s crews trawled primarily for
forage fish, which are small and cheaply
priced. Much of this catch comes from the
waters off Thailand, where Mr. Long was
held, and is sold to the United States, typically for canned cat and dog food or feed
for poultry, pigs and farm-raised fish that
Americans consume.
The misery endured by Mr. Long, who
THE OUTLAW OCEAN
Kidnappings and Servitude
was eventually rescued by an aid group, is
not uncommon in the maritime world. Labor abuse at sea can be so severe that the
boys and men who are its victims might as
well be captives from a bygone era. In interviews, those who fled recounted horrific violence: the sick cast overboard, the
defiant beheaded, the insubordinate
sealed for days below deck in a dark, fetid
fishing hold.
The harsh practices have intensified in
recent years, a review of hundreds of accounts from escaped deckhands provided
to police, immigration and human rights
workers shows. That is because of lax
maritime labor laws and an insatiable global demand for seafood even as fishing
stocks are depleted.
Shipping records, customs data and dozens of interviews with government and
maritime officials point to a greater reliance on long-haul fishing, in which vessels
stay at sea, sometimes for years, far from
the reach of authorities. With rising fuel
prices and fewer fish close to shore, fisheries experts predict that more boats will resort to venturing out farther, exacerbating
the potential for mistreatment.
“Life at sea is cheap,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights
Watch’s Asia division. “And conditions out
Trail of Frustration on Aging Northeast Corridor G.O.P. Rethinks
TAMIR KALIFA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Mourners joined hands to pray near a memorial in Prairie
View, Tex., where Sandra Bland was pulled over by the police.
Raising Floor for Wages Pushes
Economy Into the Unknown
By NOAM SCHEIBER
WASHINGTON — The fight
for a $15 minimum wage has
gained momentum in New York,
California and other places
around the country in recent
months. But as a national strategy to raise incomes at the bottom of the pay scale, it faces major obstacles, both political and
economic.
In many states, particularly
those governed by Republicans
in the South and the Midwest,
there is little chance of raising the
minimum wage above the federal
level, which has stood at $7.25
since 2009. Congressional Democrats have introduced a proposal
to raise the minimum wage to $12
by 2020, but Republicans typically argue that raising the wage
floor costs jobs and hurts the
very people it is intended to help.
Even where the proposals are
politically viable, the economic
challenge could prove daunting.
That is because the sheer magnitude of the recent minimum wage
increases sets up an economics
experiment the country has rarely if ever seen before.
“There could be quite large
shares of workers affected, and
research doesn’t have a lot to say
about that,” said Jared Bernstein,
a former White House economist
now at the Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities who generally
favors higher minimum wages.
“We can’t assume that because
the proposal is out of sample it’s
going to blow up. But we have to
be less certain about the outcome.”
A number of researchers have
found that modestly higher minimum wages can raise incomes
for low-wage workers without reducing the number of jobs in an
By EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS
and DAVID W. CHEN
In Maryland, a century-old rail
tunnel needed emergency repairs this winter because of soil
erosion from leaks, causing widespread train delays.
In Connecticut, an aging swing
bridge failed to close twice last
summer, stopping train service
and stranding passengers.
And last week, New Jersey
Transit riders had a truly torturous experience. There were major delays on four days because of
problems with overhead electrical wires and a power substation,
leaving thousands of commuters
stalled for hours. One frustrated
rider, responding to yet another
New Jersey Transit Twitter post
announcing a problem, replied:
“Just easier to alert us when
there aren’t delays.”
These troubles have become
all too common on the Northeast
Corridor, the nation’s busiest rail
sector, which stretches from
Washington to Boston and carries about 750,000 riders each day
on Amtrak and several commuter rail lines. The corridor’s ridership has doubled in the last 30
years even as its old and overloaded infrastructure of tracks,
power lines, bridges and tunnels
has begun to wear out. And with
Amtrak and local transit agencies
struggling for funding, many fear
the disruptions will continue to
Ending a Ban on Gay Leaders
The Boy Scouts of America is expected
to end its ban on openly gay leaders. But
some groups, like Mormon and Catholic
churches, could still restrict leadership
PAGE A10
of the troops they sponsor.
cidents.”
In a sign of the problems
plaguing New Jersey Transit, the
agency preemptively announced
on Sunday that its Monday morning service would be delayed because of “power issues” and repairs on Amtrak’s overhead power lines. Commuters’ tickets into
Manhattan would be cross-honContinued on Page A16
MATT ROTH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel in Maryland, opened in
1873, is among the choke points on the Northeast Corridor.
The Way It Talks
About Abortion
By JEREMY W. PETERS
WASHINGTON — Rick Perry’s voice softens when he talks
about the joy he gets from looking at his iPad and seeing “that
20-week picture of my first
grandbaby.” Marco Rubio says
ultrasounds of his sons and
daughters reinforced how “they
were children — and they were
our children.” Rand Paul recalls
watching fetuses suck their
thumbs. And Chris Christie says
the ultrasound of his first daughter changed his views on abortion.
If they seem to be reading from
the same script, they are.
With help from a well-funded,
well-researched and invigorated
anti-abortion movement, Republican politicians have refined how
they are talking about pregnancy
and abortion rights, choosing
their words in a way they hope
puts Democrats on the defensive.
The goal, social conservatives
say, is to shift the debate away
from the “war on women” paradigm that has proved so harmful
to their party’s image.
Democrats were jolted by the
latest and perhaps most disruptive effort yet in this line of attack
INTERNATIONAL A3-9
BUSINESS DAY B1-6
SPORTSMONDAY D1-6
ARTS C1-6
Obama Gives Some Tough Love
A Record Penalty for Chrysler
New Hall of Famer Hails Roots
A Dark Case Resonating Anew
Before departing his father’s homeland,
President Obama challenged Kenya to
tackle corruption, ethnic division and
discrimination against women. PAGE A4
Federal regulators levied a $105 million
fine against Fiat Chrysler for failing to
complete 23 safety recalls, signaling
their most aggressive crackdown yet on
PAGE B1
auto safety.
As Pedro Martinez, below, was inducted
into the Baseball Hall of Fame with
Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson and John
Smoltz, he honored his Dominican heritPAGE D1
age and his adopted country.
The film “37” puts fresh eyes on the killing of Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed
and sexually assaulted in 1964. PAGE C1
Assad Acknowledges Strains
NATIONAL A10-13
worsen in the years ahead.
“We’re seeing two trends converging in an extraordinary
way,” said Thomas Wright, president of the Regional Plan Association, a research and advocacy
group. “Ridership is hitting alltime highs on the Northeast Corridor at the same time that the
system is just too brittle and does
not have the ability to withstand
heat waves, storms and other in-
President Bashar al-Assad said the Syrian Army faced a manpower shortage
PAGE A4
and had ceded some regions.
NEW YORK A14-17
Export-Import Bank Revived
A Senate vote to reauthorize the bank
handed conservative Republicans a defeat and set the stage for a showdown in
PAGE B1
the House.
A Meadow Grows in Brooklyn
The Flow of Red Envelopes
Brooklyn Bridge Park is set to open two
new sections next month, with landscapes and education centers. PAGE A14
Netflix has kept its waning but still lucrative DVD-by-mail service profitable
by continually streamlining it. PAGE B1
Even His Hologram Is Banned
A virtual performance by Chief Keef
PAGE C1
was shut down by the police.
Charles M. Blow
PAGE A19
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A9
Hauling in fish at night. A labor
shortage in the Thai fishing industry
is primarily filled by using migrants,
mostly from Cambodia and Myanmar. The living quarters on the
boats, far left, where crew members
sleep perhaps two hours between
shifts, are often cramped and hot.
‘Sea Slaves’ Put in Peril
In Forced Labor for Cheap Fish
From Page A1
there keep getting worse.”
While forced labor exists throughout
the world, nowhere is the problem more
pronounced than here in the South China Sea, especially in the Thai fishing
fleet, which faces an annual shortage of
about 50,000 mariners, based on United
Nations estimates. The shortfall is primarily filled by using migrants, mostly
from Cambodia and Myanmar.
Many of them, like Mr. Long, are
lured across the border by traffickers
only to become so-called sea slaves in
floating labor camps. Often they are
beaten for the smallest transgressions,
like stitching a torn net too slowly or
mistakenly placing a mackerel into a
bucket for herring, according to a United Nations survey of about 50 Cambodian men and boys sold to Thai fishing
boats. Of those interviewed in the 2009
survey, 29 said they had witnessed their
captain or other officers kill a worker.
The migrants, who are relatively invisible because most are undocumented, disappear beyond the horizon on
“ghost ships” — unregistered vessels
that the Thai government does not
know exist.
They usually do not speak the language of their Thai captains, do not
know how to swim, and have never seen
the sea before being whisked from
shore, according to interviews in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. These
interviews, in port or on fishing boats at
sea, were conducted with more than
three dozen current deckhands or former crew members.
Government intervention is rare.
While United Nations pacts and various
human rights protections prohibit
forced labor, the Thai military and law
enforcement authorities do little to
counter misconduct on the high seas.
United Nations officials and rights organizations accuse some of them of taking bribes from traffickers to allow safe
passage across the border. Migrants
often report being rescued by police officers from one smuggler only to be resold to another.
Mr. Long did not know where the fish
he caught ended up. He did learn, however, that most of the forage fish on the
final boat where he was held in bondage
was destined for a cannery called the
Songkla Canning Public Company,
which is a subsidiary of Thai Union Frozen Products, the country’s largest seafood company. In the past year, Thai
Union has shipped more than 28 million
pounds of seafood-based cat and dog
food for some of the top brands sold in
America including Iams, Meow Mix and
Fancy Feast, according to United States
Customs documents.
The United States is the biggest customer of Thai fish, and pet food is
among the fastest growing exports from
Thailand, more than doubling since 2009
and last year totaling more than $190
million. The average pet cat in the United States eats 30 pounds of fish per
year, about double that of a typical
American.
Though there is growing pressure
from Americans and other Western consumers for more accountability in seafood companies’ supply chains to ensure against illegal fishing and contaminated or counterfeit fish, virtually no
attention has focused on the labor that
supplies the seafood that people eat,
much less the fish that is fed to animals.
“How fast do their pets eat what’s put
in front of them, and are there whole
meat chunks in that meal?” asked Giovanni M. Turchini, an environmental
professor at Deakin University in Australia who studies the global fish markets. “These are the factors that pet
owners most focus on.”
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADAM DEAN
FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
bodian boys, some as young as 15,
showed the brutal rhythm of this work.
Rain or shine, shifts run 18 to 20
hours. Summer temperatures top 100
degrees. The deck is an obstacle course
of jagged tackle, whirring winches and
tall stacks of 500-pound nets. Ocean
spray and fish innards make the floor
skating-rink slippery. The ship seesaws,
particularly in rough seas and gale
winds. Most boys work barefoot; 15-foot
swells climb the sides, clipping them below the knees. Much of this occurs in
pitch blackness. Purse seiners, like this
ship, usually cast their nets at night
when the small silver forage fish that
they target — mostly jack mackerel and
herring — are easier to spot.
When they are not fishing, the Cambodians, most of whom were recruited
by traffickers, sort their catch and fix
Lang Long, 30, at a safe house in
Songkhla, Thailand. He endured
three years of forced labor.
the nets, which are prone to ripping.
One 17-year-old boy proudly showed a
hand missing two fingers — severed by
a nylon line that had coiled around a
spinning crank. The migrants’ hands,
which are virtually never fully dry, have
open wounds, slit from fish scales and
torn from the nets’ friction. “Fish is inside us,” one of the boys said. They
stitch closed the deeper cuts themselves. Infections are constant.
Thailand’s commercial fishing fleet
consists predominantly of bottom trawlers, called the strip-miners of the sea
because they use nets weighted to sink
to the ocean floor and ensnare almost
everything in their path. But purse
seine boats, like the one where these
Cambodians work, are common too.
They use circular nets to target fish
closer to the water’s surface. After the
nets are hauled upward, they are
pinched at the top, like old-style coin
purses.
Before arriving on the ship, most of
the Cambodians had never seen a body
of water larger than a lake. The few who
could swim were responsible for diving
into the inky sea to ensure that the 50foot mouth of the nets closed properly. If
one of them were to get tangled in the
mesh and yanked underwater, it is likely that no one would notice right away.
The work is frenzied and loud, as the
boys chant in unison while pulling the
nets.
Meals on board consist of a once-daily
bowl of rice, flecked with boiled squid or
other throwaway fish. In the galley, the
wheel room and elsewhere, countertops
crawl with roaches. The toilet is a removable wooden floorboard on deck. At
night, vermin clean the boys’ unwashed
plates. The ship’s mangy dog barely
lifts her head when rats, which roam all
over the ship, eat from her bowl.
Crew members tend to sleep in twohour snatches, packed into an intensely
hot crawl space. Too many bodies share
the same air, with fishing-net hammocks hanging from a ceiling that is
less than five feet above the floor. Deafening, the engine turbines throb incessantly, shaking the ship’s wooden deck.
Every so often, the engine coughs a
black cloud of acrid fumes into the
sleeping quarters.
These conditions, which are typical
on long-haul fishing vessels, are part of
the reason that the Thai fishing fleet is
chronically short of men. Thailand has
one of the lowest unemployment rates
in the world — generally less than 1 percent — which means native workers
have no trouble finding easier, better
paying jobs on land.
“You just have to work hard,” said
Pier, 17, one of the migrants on the purse
seiner. Pier, who goes by only one
name, said he liked life on the ship.
“Better than home,” he said, “Nothing
to do there.” He flexed his sinewy biceps, showing the results of his labor.
In the dead of night, the captain spotted a school of fish on radar. He roused
the crew with an air horn. Pier, in his
second year of working on the ship, explained that he still owed the captain
some of the $300 he paid a smuggler to
get him from the border to port. The
rest of his debt, $90, was from a cash advance he sent back to his family, he said.
Willing to answer other questions, Pier
silently looked down when asked
whether he had ever been beaten. Several other boys, questioned about the
same, furtively looked to the captain
and shook their heads to indicate that
they did not want to be interviewed.
Indentured servitude — a “travel
now, pay later” labor system where
people work to clear a debt typically accrued for getting free passage to another country — is common in the developing world, especially in construction, agriculture, manufacturing and the
sex industry. It is more pervasive and
abusive at sea, human rights experts
say, because those workers are so isolated.
Historically, Thai boat captains paid
large advances to deckhands so they
could sustain their families during their
long absences. But the country’s labor
crisis has converted this upfront cash
into a price per head (or “kha hua” fee)
given to smugglers who ferry workers
across the border.
Standing on the boat next to Pier, another Cambodian boy tried to explain
how elusive the kha hua debt becomes
once they leave land. Pointing to his
own shadow and moving around as if he
were trying to grab it, he said: “Can’t
catch.”
The boat’s Thai crew master, Tang, a
man with pockmarked skin and missing
front teeth, ordered the boys back to
work. He then ticked off a list of the
pressures on deep-sea captains. Fuel
costs eat up about 60 percent of a vessel’s earnings, double what they did two
decades ago. Once fish are caught, storing them in melting ice is a race against
the clock. As fish thaw, their protein
content falls, dropping their sale price.
And, Tang added, because deep-sea
fishing boats work on commission,
“Crews only get paid if we catch
enough.”
Captains fear their crews as intensely
as they drive them. Language and cultural barriers create divisions; most
boats here have three Thai officers and
foreign deckhands. The captain is
armed, in part because of the threat of
pirates, but Tang also talked of a gruesome mutiny on another ship that left
all the officers dead.
Tales of forced labor are not always
what they seem, according to the boat’s
captain, who insisted on anonymity as a
condition of allowing a reporter on
board. Some workers sign up willingly,
only to change their minds once at sea,
while others make up stories of mistreatment in hopes of getting back to
their families, he said.
Still, a half-dozen other captains ac-
Little Respite From Danger
It is difficult to overstate the dangers
of commercial fishing. Two days spent
more than 100 miles from shore on a
Thai fishing ship with two dozen Cam-
The Outlaw Ocean
Articles in this series examine lawlessness on the high seas, and how weak regulations and lax enforcement allow misconduct to go unpunished.
ONLINE: Previous articles in the
series, and a video:
nytimes.com/oceans
Sorting fish at the dock in Ranong, Thailand. The United States is the biggest customer for Thai fish.
knowledged that forced labor is common. It is unavoidable, they argue, given the country’s demand for laborers.
Every time a boat docks, they said, they
fret that their willing workers will bolt
to better-paying ships. That is also the
moment when captive migrants make a
run for it.
Short-handed at the 11th hour, captains sometimes take desperate measures. “They just snatch people,” one
captain explained, noting that some migrants are drugged or kidnapped and
forced onto boats. “Brokers charge double.”
Litany of Abuses
Traveling the coast of the South China
Sea, it can seem that every migrant has
his own story of abuse.
Skippers never lacked for amphetamines so laborers could work longer,
but rarely stocked antibiotics for infected wounds. Former deckhands described “prison islands” — most often
uninhabited atolls, of which there are
hundreds in the South China Sea. Fishing captains sometimes maroon their
captive crews on those islands, sometimes for weeks, while their vessels are
taken to port for dry docking and repair.
Other islands, inhabited but desolate,
are also used to hold crew members.
Fishing boat workers on an Indonesian
island called Benjina were kept in cages
to prevent them from fleeing, The Associated Press reported earlier this year.
Inaccessible by boat several months a
year because of monsoons, Benjina had
an airstrip that was rarely used and no
phone or Internet service.
Thai government officials said they
have stepped up the number of investigations and prosecutions and plan to
continue doing so. A registration drive
is underway to count undocumented
workers and provide them with identity
cards, added Vijavat Isarabhakdi, Thailand’s ambassador to the United States
until this year. The government has also
established several centers around the
country for trafficking victims.
San Oo, 35, a soft-spoken Burmese
man with weather-beaten skin, predicted that until ship captains are prosecuted, little will improve. He described how
on his first day of two and a half years in
captivity, his captain warned that he
had killed the seaman Mr. Oo was replacing. “If you disobey or run or get
sick I will do it again,” he recalled his
captain saying.
Pak, a 38-year-old Cambodian who
fled a Thai trawler last year, ended up
on the Kei Islands, in Indonesia’s eastern Banda Sea. The United Nations estimated that hundreds of migrants there
escaped fishing boats over the last decade. “You belong to the captain,” Pak
said, recounting watching a man so desperate that he jumped overboard and
drowned. “So he can sell you if he
wants.”
Critics have faulted Thailand for what
they say is a deliberate failure to confront the larger causes of abuse in fishing. Compared to its neighbors, Thailand has less stringent rules on how
long boats can remain at sea. Last year,
it was the only country to vote against a
United Nations treaty on forced labor
requiring governments to punish traf-
fickers, before reversing its stance in
the face of international pressure.
Thai officials also proposed using
prison labor on fishing boats as a way to
shift away from migrant workers, a plan
dropped after an outcry from human
rights groups. Thailand currently holds
the lowest ranking by the State Department of governments that do not
meet minimum standards in countering
human trafficking.
The other Thai industry where forced
labor is common is sex work, said Mr.
Robertson, from Human Rights Watch.
The two industries intersect in rundown towns like Ranong, along the
Thailand-Myanmar border. Labor brokers operate with impunity in these
towns. Karaoke bars double as brothels
and debt traps.
A tavern owner named Rui sat down
to make his pitch late one night in November, pointing to two prepubescent
girls who sat in a corner, wearing
caked-on makeup and tight, glittery
skirts. He spread a stack of Polaroid pictures of them from a year before. Each
clutched a stuffed animal in the photos
and looked scared. “Popular,” Rui said
of the girls now. “Very popular now.”
A beer at Rui’s tavern cost about $1.
Sex with a “popular” girl: $12. For the
tattered men, mostly Burmese, who end
up here, a couple of evenings at the tavern can add up to kingly sum. Many of
them have trekked hundreds of miles by
foot, not a cent on them, hoping for
work. Meals, drugs and lodging, offered
as favors, show up later as fees. To clear
these bills, migrants are sometimes sold
to the sea.
Checking boats for human rights
abuses is difficult. Most fishing vessels
are exempt from international rules requiring the onboard tracking systems
used by law enforcement. Marine officials in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia said that their navies rarely inspect for labor and immigration violations. Authorities in those countries
added that they lack boats and fuel
needed to reach the ships farthest from
shore that are most prone to using captive labor.
Deep-sea fishing generally does not
lend itself to timecards or pay stubs. Labor contracts common in the region
often include terms that would seem unthinkable in jobs on land.
For instance, a contract from a manpower agency in Singapore, provided to
The New York Times, committed deckhands to a three-year tour during which
the agency retained the full $200 per
month for the first six months and $150
per month thereafter. “Daily working
hours will be around 18 hours,” the contract stipulates, adding that there is no
overtime pay. Boats may remain at sea
for longer than a year per trip. Only seawater may be used for bathing and
laundry. Mariners can be traded from
boat to boat at the captain’s discretion.
“All biscuits, noodles, soft drinks and
cigarettes” are to be purchased by the
sailor, the contract says. “Any crew who
breaches the contract (own sickness,
lazy or rejected by the Captain, etc.)
Kitty Bennett and Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
must bear all the expenses incurred in
going back home.”
Supply and Demand
The boat that delivered Mr. Long to
captivity and subsequently rescued him
was known as a “mothership.” Carrying
everything from fuel and extra food to
spare nets and replacement labor, these
lumbering vessels, often over a hundred
feet long, function as the roving resupply stores of the marine world. Motherships are the reason that slow-moving
trawlers can fish more than 1,500 miles
from land. They allow fishermen to stay
out at sea for months or years and still
get their catch cleaned, canned and
shipped to American shelves less than a
week after netting.
But once a load of fish is transferred
to a mothership, which keeps the cargo
below deck in cavernous refrigerators,
there is almost no way for port-side authorities to determine its provenance. It
becomes virtually impossible to know
whether it was caught legally by paid
fishermen or poached illegally by
shackled migrants.
Bar codes on pet food in some European countries enable far-flung consumers to track Thai-exported seafood
to its onshore processing facilities,
where it was canned or otherwise packaged. But the supply chain for the 28
million tons of forage fish caught annually around the globe, about a third of all
fish caught at sea and much of it used
for pet and animal feed, is invisible before that.
Sasinan Allmand, the head of corporate communications for Thai Union
Frozen Products, said that her company
does routine audits of its canneries and
boats in port to ensure against forced
and child labor. The audits involve
checking crew members’ contracts,
passports, proof of payment and working conditions. “We will not tolerate any
human trafficking or any human rights
violation of any kind,” she said. Asked
whether audits are conducted on the
fishing boats that stay at sea, like the
one where Mr. Long was captive, she
declined to respond.
Human rights advocates have called
for a variety of measures to provide
greater oversight, including requiring
all commercial fishing ships to have
electronic transponders for onshore
monitoring and banning the system of
long stays at sea and the supply ships
that make them possible. But their efforts have gotten little traction. The
profits for seafood businesses still far
exceed the risks for those who exploit
workers, said Mark P. Lagon, who formerly served as the State Department’s
ambassador at large focused on human
trafficking.
Lisa K. Gibby, vice president of corporate communications for Nestlé, which
makes pet food brands including Fancy
Feast and Purina, said that the company is working hard to ensure that forced
labor is not used to produce its pet food.
“This is neither an easy nor a quick endeavor,” she added, because the fish it
purchases comes from multiple ports
and fishing vessels operating in international waters.
Some pet food companies are trying
to move away from using fish. Mars
Inc., for example, which sold more than
$16 billion worth of pet food globally in
2012, roughly a quarter of the world’s
market, has already replaced fishmeal
in some of its pet food and will continue
in that direction. By 2020, the company
plans to use only non-threatened fish
caught legally or raised on farms and
certified by third-party auditors as not
being linked to forced labor.
Though Mars has been more proac-
tive on these issues than many of its
competitors, Allyson Park, a Mars
spokeswoman, conceded that the fishing industry has “real traceability issues” and struggles to ensure proper
working conditions. This is even more
challenging, she said, since Mars does
not purchase fish directly from docks
but further up the supply chain.
Over the past year, Mars received
more than 90,000 cartons of cat and dog
food from the cannery supplied by one
of the boats where Lang Long was held
captive, according to the Customs documents.
Shackled and Afraid
In Songkhla, on Thailand’s southeast
coast, Suchat Junthalukkhana thumbed
through an inch-thick binder, each page
with a photograph of a fleeing mariner
whom his organization, the Stella Maris
Seafarers Center, had helped.
“We get a new case every week,” he
said.
The fate of the men who escape from
the fishing boats often relies on chance
encounters with altruistic strangers
who contact Stella Maris or the other
groups that make up an underground
railroad that runs through Malaysia,
Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand.
One such inadvertent rescuer was
Som Nang, 41, who said his name means
“good luck” in Khmer. A squat man, he
is quick to show off the retractable metal rod that he keeps with him for protection.
Having worked dockside for several
years, Som Nang had heard the tales of
fishing-boat brutality. None of it prepared him, however, for what he would
witness on his maiden voyage on a
mothership late in 2013.
“I wish I had never seen it,” Som
Nang said, sitting in his cinder-block
Motherships like this one carry barrels of ice and other supplies to fishing boats in international waters.
home just outside Songkhla. After a
four-day trip from shore, Som Nang’s
supply boat pulled alongside a dilapidated Thai-flagged trawler with an
eight-man crew that had just finished
two weeks fishing in Indonesian waters
where they were not allowed.
It was difficult not to notice Mr. Long,
who crouched near the front of the fishing boat, Som Nang said. Padlocked
around his bruised neck was a rusty
metal collar attached to a three-foot
chain looped to an anchor post. Mr.
Long, who was the only Cambodian
among the Burmese deckhands and the
Thai senior crew, stared, unblinking, at
anyone willing to make eye contact.
“Please help me,” Som Nang, who is
also Cambodian, recounted Mr. Long
whispering in Khmer. That was 30
months after Mr. Long had met a trafficker along the Thai-Cambodian border
during a festival. Mr. Long said he never intended to work in Thailand but the
job offer was attractive. When he instead arrived at a port near Samut Prakan, the trafficker sold him to a boat
captain for about $530, less than a water
buffalo typically costs. He was then
marched up a gangplank, and sent due
west for four days.
A police report later described his account of his arrival in captivity: “Three
fishing boats surrounded the supply
boat and began fighting for Mr. Long,”
the report says. Similar arguments
broke out a year later when Mr. Long
was sold again in the middle of the night
between trawlers.
The longer he spent on the boats, the
more his trafficking debt should have
lightened, bettering his prospects for release. But the opposite was the case, Mr.
Long explained. The more experience
he had, the bleaker his fate, the higher
the price on his head, the hotter the arguments over him between short-handed trawler captains.
Having never seen the sea before, Mr.
Long seemed to tangle his portion of the
nets more than others, he said. All the
fish looked the same to him — small and
silver — making sorting difficult.
Slowed at first by intense seasickness,
Mr. Long said he sped up after witnessing a captain whipping a man for working too slowly.
Mr. Long suffered similarly. “He was
beat with a pole made of wood or metal,” said a case report about him from
the Office of the National Human Rights
Commission of Thailand. “Some days he
had rest of only 1 hour.” When drinking
water ran low, deckhands stole foultasting ice from the barrels of fish. If
one of the seamen put gear away incorrectly, the crew master docked the
day’s meal for the offender.
Mr. Long said he often considered
jumping overboard to escape. He did
not know how to swim, though, and he
never once saw land during his time at
sea, Mr. Long told a doctor who later
treated him. At night he had access to
the ship’s radio. But he had no idea
whom or how he could call for help.
As much as he feared the captains,
Mr. Long said, the ocean scared him
more. Waves, some five stories high,
battered the deck in rough seas.
When Som Nang’s boat showed up,
Mr. Long had been wearing the shackle
on and off for about nine months. The
captain typically put it on him once a
week, Mr. Long said, whenever other
boats approached.
After offloading fish for about 10 minutes, Som Nang said he asked the captain why Mr. Long was chained. “Because he keeps trying to escape,” the
captain replied, according to Som Nang.
Based on the looks he got from the crew
on his mothership, Som Nang said he
figured it best to stop asking questions.
But after returning to port, he contacted
Stella Maris, which began raising the
25,000 baht, roughly $750, needed to buy
Mr. Long’s freedom.
Over the next several months, Som
Nang resupplied the fishing boat twice.
Each time, Mr. Long was shackled. Som
Nang said he discreetly tried to reassure him that he was working to free
him.
In April 2014, Mr. Long’s captivity
ended in the most undramatic of ways.
Som Nang carried a brown paper bag
full of Thai currency from Stella Maris
to a meeting point in the middle of the
South China Sea, roughly a week’s travel from shore. With few words exchanged, the money was handed to Mr.
Long’s captain. His debt paid, Mr. Long,
rail-thin, stepped onto Som Nang’s boat
and began his journey back to solid
ground and a hope for home.
Thai immigration officials who have
investigated his case say they found it
credible. Mr. Long is in the process of
being repatriated back to his native village, Koh Sotin, in Cambodia. He hopes
to go back to his old job cleaning a local
Buddhist temple, he said. Thai and
Indonesian marine officials say they are
trying to locate his last boat captain but
they are not hopeful because there are
so many of these illegal vessels.
During his six-day voyage back to
shore on the mothership, Mr. Long cried
and slept most of the time. Som Nang
said the crew hid him to avoid word getting out to other fishing boats about
their role in the rescue.
Mr. Long, who has a perpetually vacant gaze, said he never wanted to eat
fish again. He added that at first he had
tried to keep track of the passing days
and months at sea by etching notches in
the wooden railing. Eventually he gave
that up. “I never thought I would see
land again,” he said.
Som Nang, who is now a security
guard at a factory, said he stopped
working at sea shortly after his rescue
trip. His explanation: “I don’t like what
is out there.”
CMYK
Nxxx,2015-07-27,A,001,Bs-BK,E2
NEW
YORK,
MONDAY,
27,
2015
York
TimesNEW
NEW JULY
YORK,
MONDAY,
YORK,
MONDAY,
JULY
27, 2015JULY 27, 2015
Y 27, 2015
Past
Death
st Texas County’s Racial Past
low 74. Tomorrow, mostly sunny,
$2.50
VOL. CLXIV . . . No. 56,940
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Today, more clouds than sun, a
$2.50$2.50
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low 74. Tomorrow,
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Late Edition
high 90. Weather
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Today, more clouds
sun, aB8.
$2.50
Seen as Prelude to a Death
th
w Long
Stop
ong
Rights Battles Divided Prairie View Long
Before Sandra Bland’s Traffic Stop
This article is by Sharon
LaFraniere, Richard A. Oppel Jr.
and David Montgomery.
and whites
PRAIRIE VIEW, Tex. — When
parate cemeSandra Bland enrolled in 2005 at
Prairie
View A&M University,
mptions have
the historically black institution
hites
founded here almost 140 years
y.
emeago, its students were still wagm
still exists
ing a civil rights war that had
have
ended elsewhere decades before:
hn Mosley,
a legalabattle, against white Waller County officials, for the right
Prairie
View
xists
to vote in the place they lived.
It took years and a federal
friends
with
ey,
a
court order, but the students won.
View
undergraduWhen Ms. Bland returned here
morning of July 9, driving 16
awith
whole the
race
hours
from Chicago to interview
radufor
a
job at her alma mater, the
are treated
Justice
Department had abanrace
doned its court-ordered oversight
zens.”
eated
of students’ voter registration,
tly disagree.
the campus had its own polling
place, and the county had, in one
nch of backkey respect, passed a racial milegree.
racists,” stone.
said
backFour days later, Ms. Bland was
dead in a county jail cell after a
ett
saidJ. Duhon
routine traffic stop by a state
uhon
ef executive
trooper escalated into a physical
not 500 yards from
nutive
as Treyconfrontation
and
the
university’s entrance. And
y.”and
any talk of milestones gave way
to questions about whether the
county’s checkered history of
erican electrace relations had set the stage
electsist
that
forthe
a tragedy that the authorities
t the
never have
beingacknowledge
ad- had might
happened
they followed their
gread-
own rules.
Prairie View now joins a list of
places — Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore, Cleveland, New York and
others — where African-Americans have died after encounters
with the police, and where assumptions about progress in race
relations have been challenged, if
not dashed. But here, in a county
where most blacks and whites
are still buried in separate cemeteries, those assumptions have
been especially shaky.
“The caste system still exists
here,” said LaVaughn Mosley, a
former counselor at Prairie View
A&M who had been friends with
Ms. Bland since her undergraduate days. “There is a whole race
of people here who are treated
like second-class citizens.”
Local officials mostly disagree.
“We are not a bunch of backwoods, red-necked racists,” said
County Judge Carbett J. Duhon
III, the region’s chief executive
officer, who is known as Trey and
is white. “Far from it.”
Some African-American elected officials also insist that the
vestiges of racism are being addressed.
“It’s not the Waller County of
the ’60s and ’70s,” said Mayor Michael S. Wolfe Sr., the third black
mayor of Hempstead, the county
seat. “Things have changed tremendously.”
But at a time when deaths of
African-Americans after confrontations with law enforcement already have the nation on tenterhooks, the county’s legacy of racial disparities has only catalyzed
suspicions about almost everything that happened to Ms.
Bland, a 28-year-old aspiring researcher who had proclaimed
solidarity with the movement
against racial bias in law enforcement.
Here and across the country,
her last days — from the moment
the trooper pulled her over on
July 10 for failing to signal a lane
change to her death by hanging
in the jail, ruled a suicide — are
being exhaustively parsed for evContinued on Page A12
The crew on a Thai fishing boat in the South China Sea included two dozen Cambodian boys, some as young as 15.
By IAN URBINA
fishing hold.
priced. Much of this catch comes from the
SONGKHLA, Thailand — Lang Long’s
waters off Thailand, where Mr. Long was
recent years, a review of hundreds of acordeal began in the back of a truck. After
counts
from escaped deckhands provided
held,
and
is
sold
to
the
United
States,
typiwatching his younger siblings go hungry
to police, immigration and human rights
cally for canned cat and dog food or feed
because their family’s rice patch in Camworkers shows. That is because of lax
for poultry, pigs and farm-raised fish that
bodia could not provide for everyone, he
maritime labor laws and an insatiable gloAmericans consume.
bal demand for seafood even as fishing
The misery endured by Mr. Long, who
across the Thai border for a construction
ADAM
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job.
ADAM
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Shipping records, customs data and dozIt was his chance to start over. But when
ADAM DEAN FOR THETHE
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ens
of
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with
government
and
he arrived, Mr. Long was kept for days by
maritime officials point to a greater reliKidnappings and Servitude
armed men in a room near the port at
ance on long-haul fishing, in which vessels
stay at sea, sometimes for years, far from
southeast of Bangkok. He was then herded
with six other migrants up a gangway onto
not
uncommon
in
the
maritime
world.
Laprices and fewer fish close to shore, fishera shoddy wooden ship. It was the start of
ies experts predict that more boats will rebor abuse at sea can be so severe that the
sort to venturing out farther, exacerbating
boys
and
men
who
are
its
victims
might
as
“I cried,” said Mr. Long, 30, recounting
well be captives from a bygone era. In inhow he was resold twice between fishing
“Life at sea is cheap,” said Phil Robterviews, those who fled recounted horrifboats. After repeated escape attempts, one
ertson, deputy director of Human Rights
ic violence: the sick cast overboard, the
captain shackled him by the neck whenWatch’s Asia division. “And conditions out
defiant beheaded, the insubordinate
ever other boats neared.
Mr. Long’s crews trawled primarily for
sealed for days below deck in a dark, fetid
er
County of
ty of
r Miid
Mayor Miblack
ecrew
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The
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tre-
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hs of
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imed
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“We’re
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the
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Lang
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orceverging
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anwas
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acand off
DAVID
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waters
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acpriced.
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the
The
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About
Abortion
al ordeal
began
in
the
back
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a
truck.
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waters
off
Thailand,
where
Mr.
Long
was
recent
years,
a
review
of
hundreds
of
acThailand
men
in Wright,
a room
nearpreemptively
the port
at Samut Prakan,
ordeal
began
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theAfter
back
of a truck. After
way,”
said Thomas
presi- agency
ordeal
began
in their
the
back
of near
arice
truck.
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patch
ininSONGKHLA,
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began
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In
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rail
counts
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dent
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of
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Sunday
that its
Monday
mornfor
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pigs
and
farm-raised
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that
waters
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Thailand,
where
Mr.
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review
of
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aching
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escaped
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enforceView, Tex.,
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ntry,
ation,
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ANG
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afeed
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ing service
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use
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cally
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powWASHINGTON
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Rick
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herded
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The
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for
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spread
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and
human
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cally
for
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cat
and
dog
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feed
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lax
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at
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same
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arthe
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for
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pigs
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on country,
bodia could
not provide
he
bodia
could not
not provide
provide
for everyone,
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he for everyone,
erstocks
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bodia
could
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he
are depleted.
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maritime
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anand
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gloAmericans
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job.a pigs
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helabor
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lings
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a
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pted
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not
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ing at his iPad
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Shipping
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Continued
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Page
A16 for seafood
bal
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seafood
bal
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The
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Mr.
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nging
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ss
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The
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evthe
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her
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ens
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and
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Economy
Into
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he
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for
days
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grandbaby.”
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Rubio
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stocks
are
depleted.
— are The misery endured
stocks
are
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last
week,
New
Jersey
bal
demand
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even
as
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are
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by Mr. Long,
who
job.
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of his sons
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officials
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Kidnappings
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eryone,
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Mr. records,
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r evShipping
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“they
Shipping
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startIt
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ous experience.
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anceShipping
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It
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hwas
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were
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and
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Samut
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It
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ByThai
NOAM SCHEIBER
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OCEAN
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and gov
our
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recallswith
Shipping
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rrived,
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THE
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OCEAN
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He for
was
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are
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was
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aid
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is
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That
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ens
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ed
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arsed
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One
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maritime
officials
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reliance
on
long-haul
fishing,
in
which
vessels
ut Samut
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a
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ter
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ageKidnappings
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y
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ance
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heast
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New Jersey Transit Twitter post
ly if ever
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was
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aid
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egy
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Mr.
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With
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oddy
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economic.
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‘Sea‘Sea
Slaves’
Endure
Danger
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Trawling
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‘Sea
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Endure
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Slaves’
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ure Danger and Debt Trawling
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Trail of Frustration on Aging Northeast Corridor
L
TAMIR KALIFA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
The crew on
a Thai
fishing
boattrawled
in the South
China for
Seaforincluded
two dozen
Cambodian
some
as young
as 15.of
Mr.
Long’s
crews
primarily
herring,
according
to aboys,
United
Nations
survey
age fish, which are small and cheaply priced. about 50 Cambodian men and boys sold to Thai
Much of this catch comes from the waters off fishing boats. Of those interviewed in the 2009
Thailand, where Mr. Long was held, and is sold
survey, 29 said they had witnessed their captain
to the United States, typically for canned cat or other officers kill a worker.
and dog food or feed for poultry, pigs and farmThe migrants, who are relatively invisible
raised fish that Americans consume.
because most are undocumented, disappear
The misery endured by Mr. Long, who was beyond the horizon on “ghost ships” — unregeventually rescued by an aid group, is not unistered vessels that the Thai government does
By IAN URBINA
fishing hold.
common in the maritime world. Labor
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at
not comes
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exist.
priced.
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catch
the
SONGKHLA,
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sea can be
so severe
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the boys
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not speak
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of of acwaters
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Long
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review
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ordeal began in the back of a truck. After
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itsyounger
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well be captives from
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human rights
cally
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In interviews,
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for
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bodia could
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forviolence:
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horrific
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in
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Thailand
anddemand
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The misery enduredMalaysia,
by Mr. Long,
who
across board,
the Thaithe
border
for a beheaded,
construction the insubordinate
stocks are
views,
in depleted.
port or on fishing
job. sealed for days below deck in
Shipping
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start over.
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a dark,
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THE OUTLAW OCEAN
ens of interviews with government and
he arrived, Mr.
Long
was
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for
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The harsh practices have Kidnappings and Servitude
with
more
than point
threeto dozen
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a greater reliarmed men in a room near the port at
ance
on
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fishing,
in
which vessels
intensified
in
recent
years,
current
deckhands
or
former
stay
at
sea,
sometimes
for
years,
far from
southeast
of
Bangkok.
He
was
then
herded
a review of hundreds of accrew members.
with six
other
migrants
up
a
gangway
onto
counts from escaped deckhands
tothe maritime
Government
rare.
While
not provided
uncommon in
world. La- intervention
prices and fewerisfish
close to
shore, fishera shoddy wooden ship. It was the start of
police,
immigration
and
human
rights
workers
United
Nations
pacts
and
various
human
rights
ies
experts
predict
that
more
boats will rebor
abuse
at
sea
can
be
so
severe
that
the
sort
to venturing
exacerbating
boys and men
who are protections
its victims might
as
shows.
is because
of lax maritime
labor
prohibit
forced
labor, out
thefarther,
Thai mili“I cried,”
saidThat
Mr. Long,
30, recounting
well be captives
from atary
bygone
In enforcement
inhow helaws
was resold
twice
between fishing
and an
insatiable
global demand
for seaandera.
law
authorities do little
“Life at sea is cheap,” said Phil Robterviews,
those
who
fled
recounted
horrifboats. After repeated escape attempts, one
food
even
as
fishing
stocks
are
depleted.
to
counter
misconduct
on
the
high
seas.ofUnited
ertson, deputy
director
Human Rights
ic violence: the sick cast overboard, the
captain shackled him by the neck whenShipping
and beheaded,
dozens the
Nations
officials and
rights
acWatch’s
Asiaorganizations
division. “And conditions
out
defiant
insubordinate
ever other boats
neared.records, customs data
Mr. Long’s
crews trawled
for
sealed
days below deck
a dark,of
fetid
Continued
Page trafA8
of interviews
withprimarily
government
and for
maritime
cuseinsome
them of taking
bribesonfrom
officials point to a greater reliance on long-haul
fickers to allow safe passage across the border.
fishing, in which vessels stay at sea, sometimes
Migrants often report being rescued by police
for years, far from the reach of authorities. With officers from one smuggler only to be resold
rising fuel prices and fewer fish close to shore, to another.
fisheries experts predict that more boats will reMr. Long did not know where the fish he
sort to venturing out farther, exacerbating the
caught ended up. He did learn, however, that
cidents.”
potential for mistreatment.
most of the forage fish on the final boat where
“We’re
seeing
two
trends
conIn a sign of the problems
By EMMA G. “Life
FITZSIMMONS
at sea is cheap,”
said
Phil
Roberthe was held
in bondage
verging
in
an
extraordinary
plaguing
New Jersey
Transit,was
the destined for a canand DAVID W. CHEN
way,”
said
Thomas
Wright,
presison, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s agency
nery called
the Songkla
Canning Public Compapreemptively
announced
In Maryland, a century-old rail dent of the Regional Plan Associon
Sunday
that
itssubsidiary
Monday mornAsia
division.
“And
conditions
out
there
keep
ny,
which
is
a
of Thai Union Frozen
tunnel needed emergency re- ation, a research and advocacy
ing
service
would
be
delayed
beworse.”
compairs this getting
winter because
of soil group. “Ridership is hitting all- Products, the country’s largest seafood
By JEREMY
W. PETERS
cause of “power issues” and reerosion from leaks,
causing
wide-labor
While
forced
pany.onInAmtrak’s
the past
year,
Thai
Union
has
shipped
timeexists
highs onthroughout
the Northeastthe
Cor- pairs
overhead powWASHINGTON
— Rick Pe
spread train
delays. nowhere is ridor
the same more
time that
the more than 28 million pounds ry’s
world,
the at
problem
proof seafood-based
voice softens when he talk
er lines. Commuters’ tickets into
In Connecticut, an aging swing system is just too brittle and does
about
he gets from look
nounced
the
South China Sea, es- Manhattan
would
be for
cross-honcat and dog
food
some of
thethe
topjoybrands
bridge failed
to closethan
twicehere
last innot
have the ability to withstand
ing
at
his
iPad
pecially train
in the
Thai heat
fishing
fleet,
which
facesin- sold Continued
in America
including
Iams, Meow Mixand
andseeing “tha
summer, stopping
service
waves,
storms
and other
on Page
A16
20-week picture of my firs
and stranding
an passengers.
annual shortage of about 50,000 mariners,
Fancy Feast, according to United
States
Cus-Rubio say
grandbaby.”
Marco
And last
week,
New
Jersey
based on United Nations estimates. The shorttoms documents.
ultrasounds of his sons an
Transit riders had a truly torturdaughters
reinforced how “the
fall
is
primarily
filled
by
using
migrants,
mostly
The
United
States
is
the
biggest customer
ous experience. There were mawere
children
— and they wer
from
and
of Thai fish, and pet food is among the fastest
jor delays on
fourCambodia
days because
of Myanmar.
our children.” Rand Paul recal
problems with Many
overhead
of electrithem, like Mr. Long, are lured growing exports from Thailand,
more than
dou-suck the
watching
fetuses
cal wires and
a
power
substation,
across the border by traffickers only to become
bling since 2009 and last year totaling
more
than
thumbs. And
Chris
Christie say
leaving thousands of commuters
the
ultrasound
of his first daugh
so-called
sea
slaves
in
floating
labor
camps.
$190
million.
The
average
pet
cat
in
the
United
stalled for hours. One frustrated
changed
views on abo
Often they
beaten for the smallest transStates eats 30 pounds of fishterper
year,his
about
rider, responding
to yet are
another
tion.
New Jersey
Transit Twitter
post
gressions,
like stitching
a torn net too slowly or
double that of a typical American.
If they seem to be reading from
announcing a problem, replied:
mistakenly
placing
a
mackerel
into
a
bucket
for
Though
there
is
growing
pressure
the
same script,from
they are.
“Just easier to alert us when
Trail of Frustration on Aging Northeast Corridor G.O.P. Rethinks
there aren’t delays.”
These troubles have become
The Way It Talks
About Abortion
With help from a well-funde
well-researched and invigorate
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AL MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015
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THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, JUL
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THE
NEW
YORK
JULY
27, 2015
INTERNATIONAL
ORK
TIMES
MONDAY,
JULY
27,
W
ORK
YORK
TIMES
TIMES
MONDAY,
MONDAY,
JULY
JULY
27, 2015
2015
27,MONDAY,
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INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL
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27, 2015
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THE
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INTERNATIONAL
W
YORK
TIMES
MONDAY,
27, 2015 JULYN27, 2015
MONDAY,
JULY
27,
2015 JULY MONDAY,
INTERNATIONAL
MONDAY,
JULY
27, 2015
AL
MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015
INTERNATIONAL
ONDAY, JULY 27, 2015
N
h are typical
s, are part of
shing fleet is
Thailand has
oyment rates
ss than 1 pertive workers
easier, better
k hard,” said
on the purse
by only one
on the ship.
aid, “Nothing
s sinewy bif his labor.
captain spotar. He roused
. Pier, in his
the ship, exthe captain
smuggler to
to port. The
om a cash admily, he said.
uestions, Pier
when asked
beaten. Seved about the
the captain
indicate that
rviewed.
— a “travel
ystem where
typically acssage to anon in the dein construcuring and the
ervasive and
ghts experts
rs are so iso-
A8
N
could sustain their families during their
long absences. But the country’s labor
crisis has converted this upfront cash
into a price per head (or “kha hua” fee)
given to smugglers who ferry workers
across the border.
Standing on the boat next to Pier, another Cambodian boy tried to explain
how elusive the kha hua debt becomes
once they leave land. Pointing to his
own shadow and moving around as if he
were trying to grab it, he said: “Can’t
catch.”
The boat’s Thai crew master, Tang, a
man with pockmarked skin and missing
front teeth, ordered the boys back to
work. He then ticked off a list of the
pressures on deep-sea captains. Fuel
costs eat up about 60 percent of a vessel’s earnings, double what they did two
decades ago. Once fish are caught, storing them in melting ice is a race against
the clock. As fish thaw, their protein
content falls, dropping their sale price.
And, Tang added, because deep-sea
fishing boats work on commission,
“Crews only get paid if we catch
enough.”
Captains fear their crews as intensely
as they drive them. Language and cultural barriers create divisions; most
foreign deckhands. The captain is
armed, in part because of the threat of
pirates, but Tang also talked of a gruesome mutiny on another ship that left
all the officers dead.
Tales of forced labor are not always
what they seem, according to the boat’s
captain, who insisted on anonymity as a
condition of allowing a reporter on
board. Some workers sign up willingly,
only to change their minds once at sea,
while others From
makePage
up stories
of misA1
treatment in hopes of getting back to
there
keep getting
worse.”
their families,
he said.
While
laborother
exists
throughout
Still, a forced
half-dozen
captains
ac-
home just o
four-day trip
supply boat
dated Thaieight-man cr
two weeks fi
where they w
It was diffi
who crouche
ing boat, So
around his b
metal collar
chain looped
Long, who
among the B
Thai senior c
anyone willin
“Please he
also Cambod
whispering
months after
ficker along t
during a fest
er intended t
job offer wa
stead arrived
kan, the traf
captain for ab
buffalo typic
marched up
west for four
A police re
count of his a
fishing boat
boat and beg
the report
broke out a
was sold aga
between traw
The longer
more his tra
lightened, be
lease. But the
Long explain
he had, the b
the price on
guments ove
ed trawler ca
Having nev
Long seemed
nets more th
fish looked th
silver — m
Slowed at fir
Mr. Long sai
ing a captain
ing too slowly
Mr. Long s
beat with a p
al,” said a ca
the Office of t
Commission
had rest of o
water ran l
tasting ice f
one of the se
rectly, the
day’s meal fo
Mr. Long
jumping ove
not know ho
never once s
sea, Mr. Lon
treated him.
the ship’s ra
whom or how
As much
Mr. Long sa
more. Wave
battered the
When Som
Mr. Long had
on and off fo
captain typic
week, Mr. L
boats approa
After offloa
utes, Som Na
tain why Mr
cause he ke
captain replie
Based on the
on his moth
figured it bes
But after retu
Stella Maris
25,000 baht, r
Mr. Long’s fr
Over the n
Nang resupp
Each time, M
Nang said h
assure him t
him.
In April 2
ended in the
Som Nang c
full of Thai c
to a meeting
South China
el from sho
changed, the
Long’s capta
rail-thin, step
and began h
ground and a
Thai immi
investigated
credible. Mr.
being repatri
lage, Koh So
to go back to
Buddhist te
Indonesian m
trying to loca
they are not
so many of th
During his
shore on the
and slept mo
said the crew
ting out to
their role in t
Mr. Long,
cant gaze, sa
fish again. H
tried to keep
and months a
the wooden r
knowledged that forced labor is common. It is unavoidable, they argue, given the country’s demand for laborers.
Every time a boat docks, they said, they
fret that their willing workers will bolt
to better-paying ships. That is also the
moment when captive migrants make a
run for it.
Short-handed at the 11th hour, captains sometimes take desperate measures. “They just snatch people,” one
captain explained, noting that some migrants are drugged or kidnapped and
forced onto boats. “Brokers charge double.”
Litany of Abuses
N
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mostly
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where
crew
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sleep
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twotwo
hours
between
boats,perhaps
far left, two
where
crew
members
sleep
perhaps
hours
between
shifts,
are
often cramped and
sleep
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two
hours
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hours
between
sleep
perhaps
twocramped
hours betwe
boats,
far
left,
where
members
sleep
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boats,
far left,
crew
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shifts,
are
often
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h
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areand
often
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are often shifts,
cramped
hot.
Shackled and Afraid
shifts,
arehot.
often cramped and hot.
home just outside Songk
shifts, are often cramped
and
Traveling the coast of the South China
Sea, it can seem that every migrant has
his own story of abuse.
Skippers never lacked for amphetamines so laborers could work longer,
but rarely stocked antibiotics for infected wounds. Former deckhands described “prison islands” — most often
uninhabited atolls, of which there are
hundreds in the South China Sea. Fishing captains sometimes maroon their
captive crews on those islands, sometimes for weeks, while their vessels are
taken to port for dry docking and repair.
Other islands, inhabited but desolate,
are also used to hold crew members.
Fishing boat workers on an Indonesian
island called Benjina were kept in cages
to prevent them from fleeing, The Associated Press reported earlier this year.
Inaccessible by boat several months a
year because of monsoons, Benjina had
an airstrip that was rarely used and no
phone or Internet service.
Thai government officials said they
have stepped up the number of investiPHOTOGRAPHS
BY ADAM
DEAN
gations
and prosecutions
and plan
to
THE
YORK TIMES
continueFOR
doing
so.NEW
A registration
drive
is underway to count undocumented
workers and provide them with identity
cards,
added
Vijavat
Isarabhakdi,
bodian
boys,
some
as youngThaias 15,
land’s
ambassador
the United
States
showed
the brutaltorhythm
of this
work.
untilRain
this year.
The government
has18also
or shine,
shifts run
to 20
established
several
centers
around
the
hours. Summer temperatures top 100
country
for The
trafficking
degrees.
deck isvictims.
an obstacle course
San
Oo, 35,
a soft-spoken
Burmeseand
of
jagged
tackle,
whirring winches
man with weather-beaten skin, predicttall stacks of 500-pound nets. Ocean
ed that until ship captains are prosecutspray
and
fish
innards
make
ed, little will improve. He describedthe
howfloor
slippery.
ship
seesaws,
onskating-rink
his first day of
two andThe
a half
years
in
particularly
in rough
seasthat
andhegale
captivity,
his captain
warned
winds.
work
had
killedMost
the boys
seaman
Mr.barefoot;
Oo was 15-foot
reswells “If
climb
sides, clipping
placing.
youthe
disobey
or run orthem
get belowI the
Muchhe
of recalled
this occurs
sick
will knees.
do it again,”
his in
captain
pitch saying.
blackness. Purse seiners, like this
Pak, ausually
38-year-old
Cambodian
who
ship,
cast their
nets at
night
fled
a Thai
last year,
ended
upthat
when
thetrawler
small silver
forage
fish
onthey
the target
Kei Islands,
in Indonesia’s
east-and
— mostly
jack mackerel
ern
Banda
Sea.
The
United
Nations
estiherring — are easier to spot.
mated
that they
hundreds
of migrants
there
When
are not
fishing, the
Camescaped
fishing
over the
lastrecruited
decbodians,
mostboats
of whom
were
ade. “You belong to the captain,” Pak
by traffickers, sort their catch and fix
said, recounting watching a man so desperate that he jumped overboard and
drowned. “So he can sell you if he
wants.”
Critics have faulted Thailand for what
they say is a deliberate failure to con-
fickers, before reversing its stance in
the face of international pressure.
Thai officials also proposed using
prison labor on fishing boats as a way to
shift away from migrant workers, a plan
dropped after an outcry from human
rights groups. Thailand currently holds
the lowest ranking by the State Department of governments that do not
meet minimum standards in countering
human trafficking.
The other Thai industry where forced
labor is common is sex work, said Mr.
Robertson, from Human Rights Watch.
The two industries intersect in rundown towns like Ranong, along the
Thailand-Myanmar border. Labor brokers operate with impunity in these
towns. Karaoke bars double as brothels
and debt traps.
A tavern owner named Rui sat down
to make his pitch late one night in November, pointing to two prepubescent
girls who sat in a corner, wearing
caked-on makeup and tight, glittery
skirts. He spread a stack of Polaroid pictures of them from a year before. Each
clutched a stuffed animal in the photos
and looked scared. “Popular,” Rui said
of the girls now. “Very popular now.”
A beer at Rui’s tavern cost about $1.
Sex with a “popular” girl: $12. For the
tattered men, mostly Burmese, who end
up here, a couple of evenings at the tavern can add up to kingly sum. Many of
them have trekked hundreds of miles by
foot, not a cent on them, hoping for
work. Meals, drugs and lodging, offered
as favors, show up later as fees. To clear
these bills, migrants are sometimes sold
to the sea.
Checking boats for human rights
abuses
difficult.
Mostold-style
fishing vessels
pinched
atisthe
top, like
coin
are exempt from international rules repurses.
quiringarriving
the onboard
systems
Before
on thetracking
ship, most
of
used
by
law
enforcement.
Marine
offithe Cambodians had never seen a body
cials in Thailand, Malaysia and Indoof water larger than a lake. The few who
nesia said that their navies rarely incould swim were responsible for diving
spect for labor and immigration viointolations.
the inky
sea to ensure
that countries
the 50Authorities
in those
footadded
mouth that
of thethey
netslack
closed
properly.
If
boats
and fuel
one needed
of themtowere
get
tangled
in the
reachto
the
ships
farthest
from
mesh
andthat
yanked
underwater,
is likeshore
are most
prone toitusing
caply that
one would notice right away.
tive no
labor.
The work
is frenzied
loud, does
as the
Deep-sea
fishing and
generally
not
boyslend
chant
while
pulling
the
itselfintounison
timecards
or pay
stubs.
Lanets.bor contracts common in the region
Meals
boardterms
consist
a once-daily
often on
include
thatofwould
seem unbowlthinkable
of rice, flecked
with
boiled squid or
in jobs on
land.
other For
throwaway
In the galley,
instance,fish.
a contract
from a the
manwheel
room
and elsewhere,
countertops
power
agency
in Singapore,
provided to
Thewith
Newroaches.
York Times,
crawl
The committed
toilet is a deckrehandswooden
to a three-year
touron
during
movable
floorboard
deck.which
At
thevermin
agencyclean
retained
the full
$200 per
night,
the boys’
unwashed
month
forship’s
the first
six months
$150
plates.
The
mangy
dog and
barely
thereafter.
“Daily
working
liftsper
her month
head when
rats, which
roam
all
will be
18 bowl.
hours,” the conoverhours
the ship,
eataround
from her
tract members
stipulates,tend
adding
is no
Crew
to that
sleepthere
in twopay.
Boats into
mayan
remain
at sea
hourovertime
snatches,
packed
intensely
longer
thanToo
a year
perbodies
trip. Only
seahot for
crawl
space.
many
share
water
may
be
used
for
bathing
and
the same air, with fishing-net hamlaundry. Mariners can be traded from
mocks
hanging from a ceiling that is
boat to boat at the captain’s discretion.
less than five feet above the floor. Deaf“All biscuits, noodles, soft drinks and
ening, the engine turbines throb incescigarettes” are to be purchased by the
N
N
N
must bear all the expenses incurred in
going back home.”
The boat that delivered Mr. Long to
captivity and subsequently rescued him
was known as a “mothership.” Carrying
everything from fuel and extra food to
spare nets and replacement labor, these
lumbering vessels, often over a hundred
feet long, function as the roving resupply stores of the marine world. Motherships are the reason that slow-moving
trawlers can fish more than 1,500 miles
from land. They allow fishermen to stay
out at sea for months or years and still
get their catch cleaned, canned and
shipped to American shelves less than a
week after netting.
But once a load of fish is transferred
to a mothership, which keeps the cargo
below deck in cavernous refrigerators,
there is almost no way for port-side authorities to determine its provenance. It
becomes virtually impossible to know
whether it was caught legally by paid
fishermen or poached illegally by
shackled migrants.
Bar codes on pet food in some European countries enable far-flung consumers to track Thai-exported seafood
to its onshore processing facilities,
where it was canned or otherwise packaged. But the supply chain for the 28
million tons of forage fish caught annually around the globe, about a third of all
fish caught at sea and much of it used
for pet and animal feed, is invisible before that.
Sasinan Allmand, the head of corporate communications for Thai Union
Frozen Products, said that her company
does routine audits of its canneries and
boats in port to ensure against forced
and child labor. The audits involve
checking crew members’ contracts,
N
N
N
N
passports, proof of payment and working conditions. “We will not tolerate any
human trafficking or any human rights
violation of any kind,” she said. Asked
whether audits are conducted on the
fishing boats that stay at sea, like the
one where Mr. Long was captive, she
declined to respond.
Human rights advocates have called
for a variety of measures to provide
greater oversight, including requiring
all commercial fishing ships to have
electronic transponders for onshore
monitoring and banning the system of
long stays at sea and the supply ships
that make them possible. But their efforts have gotten little traction. The
profits for seafood businesses still far
exceed the risks for those who exploit
workers, said Mark P. Lagon, who formerly served as the State Department’s
ambassador at large focused on human
trafficking.
Lisa K. Gibby, vice president of corporate communications for Nestlé, which
makes pet food brands including Fancy
Feast and Purina, said that the company is working hard to ensure that forced
labor is not used to produce its pet food.
“This is neither an easy nor a quick endeavor,” she added, because the fish it
purchases comes from multiple ports
and fishing vessels operating in international waters.
Some pet food companies are trying
to move away from using fish. Mars
Inc., for example, which sold more than
$16 billion worth of pet food globally in
2012, roughly a quarter of the world’s
market, has already replaced fishmeal
in some of its pet food and will continue
in that direction. By 2020, the company
plans to use only non-threatened fish
caught legally or raised on farms and
certified by third-party auditors as not
being linked to forced labor.
Though Mars has been more proac-
tive on these issues than many of its
competitors, Allyson Park, a Mars
spokeswoman, conceded that the fishing industry has “real traceability issues” and struggles to ensure proper
working conditions. This is even more
challenging, she said, since Mars does
not purchase fish directly from docks
but further up the supply chain.
Over the past year, Mars received
more than 90,000 cartons of cat and dog
food from the cannery supplied by one
of the boats where Lang Long was held
captive, according to the Customs documents.
In Songkhla, on Thailand’s southeast
coast, Suchat Junthalukkhana thumbed
home
just
outside
Songk
four-day
trip
from
home
just
outside
Songkhla.
After
aapage ashore,
home
home
just
outside
outside
Songkhla.
Songkhla.
After
After
home
just outside
Songkhla.
After
a an inch-thick
through
binder,
each
home just outside
Songkhla.
After
a just
with a photograph
of aoutside
fleeing mariner Songkh
home
just
University
in
Australia
who
studies
the
global
home
just
outside
Songkhla.
After
four-day
trip
from
shore,
supply
boat
pulled
alongs
four-day
from
shore,
Som
Nang’s
four-day
four-day
trip
trip
from
from
shore,
shore,
Som
Som
Nang’s
Nang’s
whom
his
organization,
the Stella
Maris a
home
just
outside
Songkhla.
After
a
four-day
trip
from
shore,
Som
Nang’s
home just
Songkhla.
After
atrip
four-day
tripoutside
from
shore,
Som
Nang’s
Seafarers Center, had helped.
four-day
from
shore,
four-day
trip
from
shore,
Som
Nang’s
supply
pulled
alongs
home
just
outside
Songkhla.
a get a new
dated
Thai-flagged
trawS
“We
case
every
week,” he
supply
boat
pulled
alongside
aboat
dilapisupply
boat
boat
pulled
pulled
alongside
alongside
atrip
dilapiapet
dilapihomesupply
just outside
Songkhla.
After
asupply
four-day
trip
shore,
Som
Nang’s
markets.
“These
are
the
factors
that
supply
boat
pulled
alongside
aAfter
dilapifour-day
tripfish
from
shore,
Som
Nang’s
boat
pulled
alongside
afrom
dilapisaid.
supply
pulled
alongsi
supply
boat
pulled
alongside
a
dilapidated
traw
four-day
trip
from
shore,
Som
Nang’s
eight-man
crew
that
had
The
fate of boat
theThai-flagged
men who
escape
from
dated
Thai-flagged
trawler
with
an
dated
dated
Thai-flagged
Thai-flagged
trawler
trawler
with
with
an
an
four-day
trip
from
shore,
Som
Nang’s
supply
boat
pulled
alongside
a
dilapidated
Thai-flagged
trawler
with
an
supply
boat
pulled
alongside
a
dilapidated Thai-flagged
trawler
with on.”
an
owners
most
focus
the fishing boats often relies on chance
dated
Thai-flagged
trawle
encounters
with
altruistic
strangers
dated
Thai-flagged
trawler
with
an
eight-man
crew
that
had
supply
boat
pulled
alongside
afinished
dilapitwo
weeks
fishing
in
Indon
eight-man
crew
that
had
just
finished
eight-man
eight-man
crew
crew
that
that
had
had
just
just
finished
finished
supply
boat Thai-flagged
pulled
ajust
dilapidated
Thai-flagged
trawler
with
an
eight-man
crew
that
had
just
dated
trawler
with
an
eight-man
crewalongside
that
had
finished
who contact Stella Maris or the other
eight-man
crew
that
ju
groups
that
make
up
an
underground
eight-man
crew
that
had
just
finished
weeks
fishing
in had
Indon
dated
Thai-flagged
trawler
with
an
where
they
were
not
allowe
two
weeks
fishing
in
Indonesian
waters
two
two
weeks
weeks
fishing
fishing
inwaters
Indonesian
intwo
Indonesian
waters
waters
datedtwo
Thai-flagged
with
an
eight-man
crew
that
had
just
finished
two
weeks
fishing
in Indonesian
eight-man
crew trawler
that
had
just
finished
weeks fishing
in Indonesian
waters
railroad that runs through Malaysia,
Little
Respite
From
Danger
Indonesia,
Cambodia
andwere
Thailand.
two
weeks
fishing
in
Indone
two
weeks
fishing
in
Indonesian
waters
where
they
not
allowe
eight-man
crew
that
had
just
finished
It
was
difficult
to
not
where
they
were
not
allowed.
where
where
they
they
were
were
not
not
allowed.
allowed.
eight-man
crew
that
had
just
finished
two
weeks
fishing
in
Indonesian
waters
where
they
were
not
allowed.
two weeks
inallowed.
Indonesian waters
One such inadvertent rescuer was
where
they fishing
were not
Somallowed.
Nang,
41, who said
his name means
where
they
were
not
allowed
where
they
were
not
two
weeks
fishing
in
Indonesian
was
difficult
not
to not
who
crouched
near
the
fro
was
difficult
not
to
notice
Long,
ItLong,
was
Itallowed.
was
difficult
difficult
notwaters
not
to
notice
toIt
notice
Mr.
Long,
Long,
two weeks
fishing
in Indonesian
waters
where
they
were
not
was
difficult
to
notice
Mr.
Long,
where
they
were
not
allowed.
“good
luck”
inMr.
Khmer.Mr.
A squatof
man, he
ItItto
is
difficult
to
overstate
the
dangers
It was
difficult
notice
Mr.It
isIt
quick
to showdifficult
off the retractable
met- to notic
was
not
It
was
difficult
not
to
notice
Mr.
Long,
where
they
were
not
allowed.
who
crouched
near
fro
ing
boat,
Som
Nang
who
crouched
near
the
front
of
the
fishwho
who
crouched
near
near
the
the
front
front
of
the
of him
the
fishfish-the sai
where
they
were
notnear
allowed.
It
was
difficult
tocrouched
notice
Mr.
Long,
who
crouched
near
the
front
of
the
fishal
rod that
he
keeps
with
for protecIt
was
difficult
not
to
notice
Mr.
Long,
who
crouched
the
front
of
the
fishAmericans and other Western consumers
for not
commercial
fishing.
Two
days
spent
more
than
tion. crouched
who
near
theneck
fron
who
crouched
near
the
front
of
the
fishing
boat,
Som
Nang
sai
It
was
difficult
not
to
notice
Mr.
Long,
around
his
bruised
ing
boat,
Som
Nang
said.
Padlocked
ing
ing
boat,
boat,
SomSom
Nang
Nang
said.
said.
Padlocked
Padlocked
It was
to
notice
Mr.
Long,
who
crouched
near
the
front
of
the
fishHaving
worked
dockside
for several
ing
boat,
Som
Nang
said.
Padlocked
whodifficult
crouched
the
front
of
the
fishing
boat,
Somnear
Nang
said.
Padlocked
years, Som Nang had heard the tales of
ing
boat,
Som
Nang
said.
more accountability in seafood companies’
sup100
miles
from
shore
on
a
Thai
fishing
ship
with
ing
boat,
Som
Nang
said.
Padlocked
around
his
bruised
neck
who
crouched
near
the
front
of
the
fishmetal
collar
attached
to
around
his
bruised
neck
was
a
rusty
around
around
his
his
bruised
bruised
neck
neck
was
was
a
rusty
a
rusty
fishing-boat
brutality.
None
of
it prewho crouched
near
the
front
of
the
fishing
boat,
Som
Nang
said.
Padlocked
around
his
bruised
neck
was
a
rusty
ing
boat,
Som
Nang
said.
Padlocked
around his bruised neck was a rusty
pared him, however, for what he would
around
his
bruised
neck
around
his
bruised
neck
was
aas
rusty
metal
collar
attached
tow
ing
boat,
said.
Padlocked
chain
looped
to
anch
witness
on
his
maiden
voyage
on aan
metal
collar
attached
to
a
three-foot
metal
metal
collar
collar
attached
attached
to
a
to
three-foot
a
three-foot
ing boat,
Som
said.
Padlocked
around
his
bruised
neck
was
a rusty
metal
collar
attached
to
a
three-foot
ply chains to ensure against illegal fishing
and
two
dozen
Cambodian
boys,
some
as
young
around
his Nang
bruised
neck
was
a Nang
rusty
metal
collar
attached
to
aSom
three-foot
mothership late in 2013.
metal
attached
to
a
metal
collar
attached
aneverpost.
three-foot
“I anchor
wish to
Icollar
had
seen
it,”
chain
looped
toSom
an
around
his
bruised
neck
was
a rusty
captains paid
Long,
who
was
the anch
only
chain
looped
an
anchor
post.
Mr.
chain
looped
looped
tothree-foot
an
to
an
anchor
post.
Mr.
Mr.
around
hisno
bruised
was
aa rusty
metal
collar
attached
to
ato
chain
looped
to chain
an
anchor
post.
Mr.
metal
collar
attached
to
three-foot
chain
looped
toneck
an anchor
post.
Mr.
Nang work.
said, sitting in his cinder-block
contaminated
or
counterfeit
fish,
virtually
15,
showed
the
brutal
rhythm
of
this
ands so they
chain
looped
to
an
ancho
the world, nowhere is the problem more
chain
looped
to
an
anchor
post.
Mr.
Long,
who
was
the
only
metal
collar
attached
to
a
three-foot
among
the
Burmese
deckh
Long,
who
was
the
only
Cambodian
Long,
Long,
who
who
was
was
the
the
only
only
Cambodian
Cambodian
metal
collar
attached
to
a
three-foot
chain
looped
to
an
anchor
post.
Mr.
Long,
who
was
the
only
Cambodian
chain looped
to the
an anchor
post. Mr.
Long,
who was
only
Cambodian
pronounced than here in the South Chiattention
has
focused on the labor that
supplies
Rain
or
shine,
shifts
run
18
to
20
hours.
Long,
who
was
only u
na Sea,
especially in the Thai
fishing
Long,
who
was
the
only
Cambodian
among
the
Burmese
deckh
chain
looped
to
an
anchor
post.
Mr.
Thai
senior
crew,
stared,
among
the
Burmese
deckhands
and
the
among
among
the
the
Burmese
Burmese
deckhands
deckhands
and
and
the the
the
chain
loopedwho
an anchor
post.
Mr.
Long,
who
was
the
only
Cambodian
among
the
Burmese
deckhands
and
the
Long,
was
thedeckhands
only
Cambodian
among
thetoBurmese
and
the
fleet, which faces an annual shortage of
among
the
Burmese
deckha
aboutthe
50,000 mariners,
based
on
United
among
the
Burmese
deckhands
and
the
Thai
senior
crew,
stared,
u
Long,
who
was
the
only
Cambodian
anyone
willing
to
make
seafood that people eat, much less
the
fish
Summer
temperatures
top
100
degrees.
The
Thai
senior
crew,
stared,
at
Thai
Thai
senior
senior
crew,
crew,
stared,
unblinking,
unblinking,
at at eye
Long,
who
wasBurmese
the among
only
Cambodian
the
Burmese
deckhands
andstared,
the
Thai
senior
crew,
stared,
unblinking,
atunblinking,
among
the
deckhands
and
the
Thai
senior
crew,
stared,
unblinking,
at
Nations estimates. The shortfall is primarily filled by using migrants, mostly
Thai
senior
crew,
stared,
un
Thai
senior
crew,
stared,
unblinking,
at
anyone
willing
to
make
eye
among
the
Burmese
deckhands
and
the
“Please
help
me,”
Som
anyone
willing
to
make
eye
contact.
anyone
anyone
willing
willing
to
make
to
make
eye
eye
contact.
contact.
among
the
Burmese
deckhands
and
the
Thai
senior
crew,
stared,
unblinking,
at
anyone
to make
eye contact.
Thai senior
crew,
stared,
unblinking,
atcourse
fromthat
Cambodia and
anyone
willing
to make
contact.
isMyanmar.
fed to animals.
deck
is eye
anwilling
obstacle
of anyone
jaggedwilling
tackle,
Many of them, like Mr. Long, are
to
make
eye c
anyone
willing
make
eye
contact.
Thai
senior
crew,
stared,
unblinking,
at
“Please
help
Som
also
Cambodian,
recount
“Please
help
me,”
Som
Nang,
who
is
“Please
“Please
help
help
me,”to
me,”
Som
Som
Nang,
Nang,
who
who
isme,”
is
Thai senior
crew,
stared,
unblinking,
at
anyone
willing
to
make
eye
contact.
“Please
help
me,”
Som
Nang,
who
is
anyone
willing
to
make
eye
contact.
lured across the border by traffickers
“Please
help
me,”
Som
Nang,
who
is
“How
fastin do their pets eat what’s
put
in
whirring
winches
and
tall
stacks
of
500-pound
only to become
so-called sea slaves
“Please
help
me,”
Som
“Please
help
me,”
Som
Nang,
who
is
anyone
willing
to
make
eye
contact.
also
Cambodian,
recounte
whispering
in Long
Khmer. NT
also
Cambodian,
recounted
Long
also
also
Cambodian,
Cambodian,
recounted
recounted
Mr. Mr.
Long
anyone
willing
tohelp
make
eye
contact.
“Please
help
me,”
Som
Nang,
who
is Mr.
also
Cambodian,
recounted
Mr.
Long
“Please
me,”
Som
Nang,
who
is
floating labor camps. Often they are
also
Cambodian,
recounted
Mr.
Long
beaten
for the smallest
transgressions,and are there whole meat chunks
also
Cambodian,
recounted
front
of
them,
nets.
Ocean
spray
and
fish
innards
make
the
also
Cambodian,
recounted
Mr.
Long
whispering
in
Khmer.
T
“Please
help
me,”
Som
Nang,
who
is
months
after
Mr.
Long ha
whispering
in
Khmer.
That
was
30
whispering
whispering
in
Khmer.
in
Khmer.
That
That
was
was
30
30
“Please
help me,”
Nang,
who
isKhmer.
also
Cambodian,
recounted
Long
whispering
inwas
was
30
also Cambodian,
recounted
Mr.
Long
like stitching a torn net too slowly or
whispering
in Som
Khmer.
That
30 ThatMr.
mistakenly placing a mackerel into a
whispering
in
Khmer.
Th
whispering
in
Khmer.
That
was
30
months
after
Mr.
Long
ha
also
Cambodian,
recounted
Mr.
Long
ficker
along
the
Thai-Camb
months
after
Mr.
Long
had
met
a
trafmonths
months
after
after
Mr.
Mr.
Long
Long
had
had
met
met
a
trafa
trafalso
Cambodian,
recounted
Mr.
Long
whispering
in
Khmer.
That
was
30
months
after
Mr.
Long
had
met
a
trafinfor herring,
thataccording
meal?”
slippery.
whispering
That
30 skating-rink
bucket
to a Unit- asked Giovanmonths
after in
Mr.Khmer.
Long had
metwas
afloor
trafpinched
at
theMr.
top,
like had
old-style
ed Nations survey of about 50 Cambodiafter
Mr.
Long
had
months
after
Long
met
acoin
trafficker
along
the
Thai-Camb
whispering
in
That
was
30
during
a festival.
Mr. Long
ficker
along
the
Thai-Cambodian
border
ficker
ficker
along
along
the
Thai-Cambodian
the
Thai-Cambodian
border
border
whispering
in
Khmer.
That
was
30
months
after
Mr.
Long
had
met
a months
trafficker
along
the
Thai-Cambodian
border
months
after
Mr.
Long
had
met
aKhmer.
trafan men and boys sold From
to Thai fishing
Page
A1
ficker
along
the
Thai-Cambodian
border
ni
M.
Turchini,
an
environThe
ship
seesaws,
particuPHOTOGRAPHS
BY
ADAM
DEAN
purses.
boats. Of those interviewed in the 2009
ficker
along
the
Thai-Cambo
ficker
along
the
Thai-Cambodian
border
during
a
festival.
Mr.
Long
months
after
Mr.
Long
had
met
a
trafer
intended
to
work
in
during
aaLong
festival.
Long
said
he
during
during
festival.
a festival.
Mr.
Mr.
Long
saidsaid
he nevnevhe nev- Tha
months
after
Long
had
met
athe
trafficker
along
Thai-Cambodian
border
during
a festival.
Mr.
saidMr.
he
nev-Long
ficker
along
the
Thai-Cambodian
border
survey, 29 said they had witnessed their
a Mr.
festival.
Mr.
Long
said
he
nevFORduring
THE
NEW
YORK
TIMES
Before
arriving
on
the
ship,
most
of Long
captain
orkeep
other officers
kill
a worker.
mental
professor
at
Deakin
larly
in
rough
seas
and
gale
during
a
festival.
Mr.
there
getting
worse.”
during
a
festival.
Mr.
Long
said
hework
never
intended
to
in Thas
ficker
along
the
Thai-Cambodian
border
job
offer
was
attractive.
er
intended
to
work
in
Thailand
but
the
er
intended
er
intended
to
work
to
work
in
Thailand
in
Thailand
but
but
the
the
ficker
along
the
Thai-Cambodian
border
during
a
festival.
Mr.
Long
said
he
never
intended
to work
in Thailand but the
during
a festival.
Mr.
said
hethe
nevThe migrants, who are relatively iner
intended
to work
inLong
Thailand
but
the
Cambodians
had
never
seen
a
body
visible
because
most
are
undocumenter
intended
to
work
in Thail
While forced labor exists throughout
er
intended
to
work
in
Thailand
but
the
job
offer
was
attractive.
during
a
festival.
Mr.
Long
said
he
nevstead
arrived
at
a
port
job
offer
was
attractive.
When
he
injob
job
offer
offer
was
was
attractive.
attractive.
When
When
he
inhe
induring
a
festival.
Mr.
Long
said
he
never
intended
to
work
in
Thailand
but
the
job
offer
was
attractive.
When
he
ined, disappear beyond the horizon on
er
intended
to
work
in
Thailand
but
the
job offer was attractive. When he
in- larger than a lake. The few who nea
ofjob
water
“ghost
ships” — unregistered
vessels
was
attractive.
W
the
world,
nowhere
is the problem more
was
attractive.
When
he
stead
arrived
at
a inport
intended
tostead
work
inoffer
Thailand
but
the
kan,
the
trafficker
soldnea
h
arrived
at
aaat
port
near
Samut
Prastead
arrived
arrived
at
port
a job
port
near
near
Samut
Samut
PraPraer intended
to work
inaer
Thailand
but
the
job
offer
was
attractive.
When
he
in-offer
stead
arrived
at
astead
port
near
Samut
Prathat the Thai government does not
job
offer
was
attractive.
When
he
instead
arrived
at
port
near
Samut
Prabodian
boys, some as young
as was
15,kan,
could
swim
were
know exist.
stead
arrived
atadiving
aboat
port
near
pronounced
than here in the South Chistead
arrived
atsold
aresponsible
port
near
Samut
Prakan,
the
trafficker
sold
h
job offer
attractive.
When
he
incaptain
$530,
less
santly, shaking the ship’s wooden deck.
the
trafficker
him
to
a
boat
kan,
kan,
the the
trafficker
trafficker
sold
sold
him
him
tofor
afor
toabout
boat
winds. Most boys work barefoot; 15-foot swells
climb the sides, clipping them below the knees.
Much of this occurs in pitch blackness. Purse
seiners, like this ship, usually cast their nets
at night when the small silver forage fish that
they target — mostly jack mackerel and herring — are easier to spot.
When they are not fishing, the Cambodians,
most of whom were recruited by traffickers,
sort their catch and fix the nets, which are prone
to ripping. One 17-year-old boy proudly showed
a hand missing two fingers — severed by a nylon line that had coiled around a spinning crank.
The migrants’ hands, which are virtually never
fully dry, have open wounds, slit from fish scales
and torn from the nets’ friction. “Fish is inside
us,” one of the boys said. They stitch closed the
deeper cuts themselves. Infections are constant.
Thailand’s commercial fishing fleet consists
predominantly of bottom trawlers, called the
strip-miners of the sea because they use nets
weighted to sink to the ocean floor and ensnare
almost everything in their path. But purse seine
boats, like the one where these Cambodians
work, are common too. They use circular nets
to target fish closer to the water’s surface. After
the nets are hauled upward, they are pinched at
the top, like old-style coin purses.
Before arriving on the ship, most of the
Cambodians had never seen a body of water
larger than a lake. The few who could swim
were responsible for diving into the inky sea to
ensure that the 50-foot mouth of the nets closed
properly. If one of them were to get tangled in
the mesh and yanked underwater, it is likely
that no one would notice right away. The work
is frenzied and loud, as the boys chant in unison
while pulling the nets.
Meals on board consist of a once-daily
bowl of rice, flecked with boiled squid or other
throwaway fish. In the galley, the wheel room
and elsewhere, countertops crawl with roaches. The toilet is a removable wooden floorboard
on deck. At night, vermin clean the boys’ unwashed plates. The ship’s mangy dog barely
lifts her head when rats, which roam all over
the ship, eat from her bowl.
Crew members tend to sleep in two-hour
snatches, packed into an intensely hot crawl
space. Too many bodies share the same air, with
fishing-net hammocks hanging from a ceiling
that is less than five feet above the floor. Deafen-
ing, the engine turbines throb incessantly, shaking the ship’s wooden deck. Every so often, the
engine coughs a black cloud of acrid fumes into
the sleeping quarters.
These conditions, which are typical on longhaul fishing vessels, are part of the reason that
the Thai fishing fleet is chronically short of men.
Thailand has one of the lowest unemployment
rates in the world — generally less than 1 percent — which means native workers have no
trouble finding easier, better paying jobs on land.
“You just have to work hard,” said Pier, 17,
one of the migrants on the purse seiner. Pier,
who goes by only one name, said he liked life on
the ship. “Better than home,” he said, “Nothing
to do there.” He flexed his sinewy biceps, showing the results of his labor.
In the dead of night, the captain spotted a
school of fish on radar. He roused the crew with
an air horn. Pier, in his second year of working on the ship, explained that he still owed the
captain some of the $300 he paid a smuggler
to get him from the border to port. The rest of
his debt, $90, was from a cash advance he sent
back to his family, he said. Willing to answer
other questions, Pier silently looked down when
asked whether he had ever been beaten. Several
other boys, questioned about the same, furtively
looked to the captain and shook their heads to indicate that they did not want to be interviewed.
Indentured servitude — a “travel now, pay
later” labor system where people work to clear
a debt typically accrued for getting free passage to another country — is common in the
developing world, especially in construction,
agriculture, manufacturing and the sex industry. It is more pervasive and abusive at sea, human rights experts say, because those workers
are so isolated.
Historically, Thai boat captains paid large
advances to deckhands so they could sustain
their families during their long absences. But
the country’s labor crisis has converted this upfront cash into a price per head (or “kha hua”
fee) given to smugglers who ferry workers
across the border.
Standing on the boat next to Pier, another
Cambodian boy tried to explain how elusive
the kha hua debt becomes once they leave
land. Pointing to his own shadow and moving
around as if he were trying to grab it, he said:
“Can’t catch.”
Crew members tend to sleep in twocaptain or other officers kill a worker.
bodians, most of whom were recruited
hour
snatches, packed into an intensely
The migrants, who are relatively inby traffickers, sort their catch and fix
hot
crawl
space. Too many bodies share
visible because most are undocumentthe same air, with fishing-net hamed, disappear
beyond
the
horizon
on
The boat’s Thai crew masSkippers never lacked
mocks hanging from a ceiling that is
“ghost ships” — unregistered vessels
for than
amphetamines
laborter, Tang, a man with pockless
five feet above so
the floor.
Deafthat the Thai government does not
ening,
the
engine
turbines
throb
incesers
could
work
longer,
but
marked
skin
and
missing
front
know exist.
santly,
the ship’s
wooden deck.
They
usually
do not
lanrarelyshaking
stocked
antibiotics
teeth,
ordered
thespeak
boystheback
Every
so
often,
the
engine
coughs a
guage
of theirHe
Thai
captains,
for infected
wounds.
Former
to work.
then
tickeddooffnot
a
black
cloud
of
acrid
fumes
into the
know how to swim, and have never seen
deckhands
described
“prison
list
of
the
pressures
on
deepsleeping
quarters.
the sea before being whisked from
These conditions,
typical
islands”
— most which
oftenare
uninseaaccording
captains.toFuel
costs eat
up
shore,
interviews
in Maon
long-haul
fishing
vessels,
are
part
of
laysia,
Thailand
and Indonesia.
These
habited
atolls,
ofThai
which
there
about
60 percent
of a vessel’s
the
reason
that
the
fishing
fleet
is
interviews, in port or on fishing boats at
are hundreds
theThailand
Southhas
earnings, double what they
chronically
short ofinmen.
sea, were conducted with more than
one
of the
lowest
unemployment
rates
China
Sea.
Fishing
captains
diddozen
twocurrent
decades
ago. or
Once
three
deckhands
forin
the
world
—
generally
less
than
1
merfish
creware
members.
sometimes maroon their cap-percaught, storing them
cent
— which means native workers
Government
intervention
is rare.
tive no
crews
on finding
those easier,
islands,
in melting ice
is a race against
have
trouble
better
While United Nations pacts and various
sometimes
for
weeks,
while
the
clock.
As
fish
thaw,
their
paying
jobs
on
land.
human rights protections prohibit
“Youvessels
just have
work to
hard,”
their
aretotaken
portsaid
protein
dropping
forced
labor, content
the Thai falls,
military
and law
Pier, 17, one of the migrants on the purse
enforcement
authorities
do
little
to
for dry docking and repair.
their sale price. And, Tang
seiner. Pier, who goes by only one
counter misconduct on the high seas.
islands,
added, because deep-sea fishname,Other
said he
liked lifeinhabited
on the ship.
United Nations officials and rights or“Better
than
home,”
he
said,
“Nothing
but
desolate,
are
also
used
ing
boats
work
on
commisganizations accuse some of them of takto
do
there.”
He
flexed
his
sinewy
ing sion,
bribes “Crews
from traffickers
to
allow
safe
to hold crew members. Fish- bionly get paid if
ceps,
showing the results of his labor.
passage
across
the border. Migrants
ing
boat
workers
Indowe catch
enough.”
In
the
dead
of night,on
thean
captain
spotoften report being rescued by police ofLang
Long,
30,
at
a
safe
house
in
nesian
island
Benjina
Captains
fear their
ted
a school
of fishcalled
on radar.
He roused
ficers from
one smuggler
only tocrews
be recrew
with
air horn.
Pier, in his
were
kept
inan
cages
to prevent
intensely as they drive Songkhla, Thailand. He endured the
soldas
to another.
second
year
of
working
on
the
ship, exthree years of forced labor.
Mr.
Long did
not know where
the fish
them from
fleeing,
Thethe
Assothem.
Language
and culturplained
that
he
still
owed
captain
he caught ended up. He did learn, howciated
Press
earlier to
al barriers create divisions;
some
of the
$300reported
he paid a smuggler
ever, that most of the forage fish on the
get him
border to
port. The
this year.
Inaccessible
byfrom
boattheseveral
months
boatshehere
have
three Thai
andare prone
theofficers
nets, which
to ripping.
finalmost
boat where
was held
in bondage
rest
of
his
debt,
$90,
was
from
a
One
a of monsoons, Benjina hadcash
wasforeign
destined deckhands.
for a cannery The
calledcaptain
the
a yearshowed
because
an adis 17-year-old
armed, inboy proudly
vance
he
sent
back
to
his
family,
he
said.
hand
missing
two
fingers
—
severed
by
Songkla
Canning of
Public
Company,
rarely toused
and
no questions,
phone orPier
part because
the threat
of pirates, but Tang airstrip that was Willing
answer
other
which is a subsidiary of Thai Union Frosilently looked down when asked
talked
of a gruesome
mutiny
on another
zen also
Products,
the country’s
largest seaspinning
crank. The Internet
migrants’ service.
hands,
whether
he had ever
beaten.
Thai
officials
saidbeen
they
haveSevthat left
all the
dead.which are virtually never fully
foodship
company.
In the
pastofficers
year, Thai
dry,government
have
eral other boys, questioned about the
Union has
shipped
more
than
28
million
wounds,
slit from
fish scales
stepped
upand
the number
of investigations
Tales of forced labor are notopen
always
what
same, furtively
looked to the and
captain
pounds of seafood-based cat and dog
torn
from
the
nets’
friction.
“Fish
is
inprosecutions
and
plan
to
continue
doing
so.
Athat
they
seem,
according
to
the
boat’s
captain,
who
and
shook
their
heads
to
indicate
food for some of the top brands sold in
side us,” one of the boys said. They
they
did
not
want
to
be
interviewed.
registration
drive
is
underway
to
count
undocinsisted
on
anonymity
as
a
condition
of
allowAmerica including Iams, Meow Mix and
stitch closed the deeper cuts themIndentured
— aiden“travel
Fancy
according
United States
umented workers and
provideservitude
them with
ingFeast,
a reporter
ontoboard.
Some workers
sign upare constant.
selves. Infections
now,
pay
later”
labor
system
where
Customs
documents.
commercial
tity fishing
cards, fleet
addedpeople
Vijavat
Isarabhakdi,
Thai- acwillingly,
only to change their mindsThailand’s
once at sea,
work
to
clear
a
debt
typically
The United States is the biggest cusconsists predominantly
of bottom
trawlcrued
free
passage
to anambassador
to for
thegetting
United
States
until
while
others
make
in land’s
tomer
of Thai
fish,
and up
petstories
food isof mistreatment
ers, called the strip-miners of the sea
other
country
—
is
common
in
the
this year. The government has also established dehopes
of getting
back
to their
he said.
among
the fastest
growing
exports
fromfamilies,
because they use nets weighted to sink
veloping world, especially in construcThailand,Still,
moreathan
doubling since
2009captains
the country
for traffickhalf-dozen
other
to the acknowlocean floor andseveral
ensnarecenters
almost around
tion, agriculture,
manufacturing
and the
and last year totaling more than $190
everything
in their ing
path.victims.
But purse
edged
that
forced
labor
is
common.
It
is
unavoidsex
industry.
It
is
more
pervasive and
million. The average pet cat in the Unitseine boats, like the one San
whereOo,
these
at sea, human
rightsman
experts
35, aabusive
soft-spoken
Burmese
able, they
argue,
the
ed States
eats 30
poundsgiven
of fish
percountry’s demand
Cambodians
work,
are
common
too.
say,
because
those
workers
are
so isoyear,
doubleEvery
that of
a typical
with
weather-beaten
skin, predicted that until
forabout
laborers.
time
a boat docks,
they
said, nets
They
use
circular
to
target
fish
lated.
American.
ship captains
are prosecuted,
they fret that their willing workers
will
boltwater’s
to surface.
closer
to the
After the
Historically, little
Thai will
boat improve.
captains paid
Though there is growing pressure
large
advances
to
deckhands
so athey
He
described
how
on
his
first
day
of
two
and
better-paying
ships.
That
is
also
the
moment
nets
are
hauled
upward,
they
are
from Americans and other Western con-
when
migrants make
sumers
forcaptive
more accountability
in sea-a run for it.
food companies’
supply chains
to enShort-handed
at the
11th hour, captains
sure against illegal fishing and contamsometimes take desperate measures. “They just
inated or counterfeit fish, virtually no
snatch
attention
haspeople,”
focused onone
the captain
labor thatexplained, noting
supplies
the
seafood
that
people
eat,
that some migrants are drugged
or kidnapped
much
less
the
fish
that
is
fed
to
animals.
and forced onto boats. “Brokers charge double.”
“How fast do their pets eat what’s put
in front of them, and are there whole
Litany
Abuses
meat
chunksof
in that
meal?” asked Giovanni M.Traveling
Turchini, the
an environmental
coast of the South China Sea,
professor at Deakin University in Ausit
can
seem
that
every
migrant has his own stotralia who studies the global fish marof abuse.
kets.ry“These
are the factors that pet
owners most focus on.”
half years in captivity, his captain warned that
he had killed the seaman Mr. Oo was replacing. “If you disobey or run or get sick I will do it
again,” he recalled his captain saying.
Pak, a 38-year-old Cambodian who fled a
Thai trawler last year, ended up on the Kei Islands, in Indonesia’s eastern Banda Sea. The
United Nations estimated that hundreds of
migrants there escaped fishing boats over the
last decade. “You belong to the captain,” Pak
said, recounting watching a man so desperate
cou
lon
cri
int
giv
acr
S
oth
how
onc
ow
we
cat
T
ma
fro
wo
pre
cos
sel
dec
ing
the
con
An
fish
“Cr
eno
C
as
tur
boa
for
arm
pir
som
all
T
wh
cap
con
boa
onl
wh
tre
the
S
catch.”
boat’s Thai crew master, Tang, a
Pier,Pier,
17, one
of the
migrants
on the
purse The
seiner.
who
goes
by only
one
ttle
s. to
The pockmarked
boat’s Thai crew
Tang, a
man
with
skin master,
and missing
seiner.
Pier,
who
goes
by
only
one
name,
said
he
liked
life
on
the
ship.
hr- seas.
man
with
pockmarked
skin
and
missing
name,
said
he liked
life “Nothing
on the ship.front teeth, ordered the boys back to
“Better
than
home,”
he said,
hts orkfront
work.
Heteeth,
then ordered
ticked offthea boys
list ofback
the to
“Better
than
home,”
he said,
“Nothing
to
do
there.”
He
flexed
his
sinewy
biof
takfe
that he jumped overboard and drowned.
“So
he He flexed
A tavern
owner
named
Rui
sat
down
tooffmake
work.
He
then
ticked
a
list
of the
pressures
on
deep-sea
captains.
Fuel
to
do
there.”
his
sinewy
biceps, showing the results of his labor.
ow
ts safe can sell you if he wants.”
pressures
on deep-sea
captains.
Fuel
his
pitch
late
one
night
in
November,
pointing
to
costs
eat
up
about
60
percent
of
a
vesceps,
showing
the
results
of
his
labor.
In
the
dead
of
night,
the
captain
spotigrants
ofcosts
eat
up
about
60
percent
of
a
sel’s earnings,
what they
did twovesIn thethey
dead
night,
theHe
captain
Critics
faulted
Thailand
fora what
two
prepubescent
who sat double
in a corner,
wearLang Long,
30, have
at a safe
house
in ted
school
of
fishofon
radar.
rousedspot-girls
olice
e- ofsel’s earnings,
double
what
theystordid two
Lang
Long,
30,
at
a
safe
house
in
decades
ago.
Once
fish
are
caught,
ted
a
school
of
fish
on
radar.
He
roused
the crew
an air ing
horn.caked-on
Pier, in his
o be reSongkhla,
Hefailure
endured
say is aThailand.
deliberate
to confront
thewith
largmakeupdecades
and tight,
glittery
skirts.
ago. Once
fish
are
caught,
storthe
crew
with
an
air
horn.
Pier,
in
his
ing
them
in
melting
ice
is
a
race
against
Songkhla,
Thailand.
He
endured
second yeartoof its
working on the ship, exthreeeryears
of forced
labor.in fishing. Compared
sh
causes
of
abuse
He
spread
a
stack
of
Polaroid
pictures
of
them
ing
them
in
melting
ice
is
a
race
against
second
working
on the
ship, ex-the clock. As fish thaw, their protein
three years of forced labor.
plained
thatyear
he of
still
owed the
captain
the fish
wthe clock.
As fish
thaw,
their
protein
plained
that
he paid
still
owed
the captain
neighbors, Thailand has less stringent
rules
onhe
from
a year
before.
Each
clutched
a stuffed
ani-price.
content
falls,
dropping
their sale
some
of
the
$300
a
smuggler
to
n,
howhe
content
falls,
dropping
theirdeep-sea
sale price.
some
of
the
$300
he
paid
a
smuggler
to
And,
Tang
added,
because
how long
can remain
at sea.
year,the
it border
get Last
him from
to port.
The
mal in
the photos
andAnd,
looked
scared.
“Popular,”deep-sea
the nets,
whichboats
are prone
to ripping.
geon the
Tang work
added, onbecause
get
him
from
the
border
to
port.
Thefishing
boats
commission,
the
nets,
which
are
prone
to
ripping.
rest
of
his
debt,
$90,
was
from
a
cash
adondage
One
17-year-old
boy
proudly
showed
a
was the only country to vote against
aofUnited
Rui
said
ofathe
girls
now.
“Very
popular
now.”
he
fishing
boats
work
on
commission,
rest
his
debt,
$90,
was
from
cash
ad“Crews
only
get
paid
if
we
catch
One
17-year-old
boy
proudly
showed
a
vance he sent back to his family, he said.
led
handNations
missing two
fingers
—forced
severedlabor
by
y, the
“Crews
only
get
paid
if
we catch
treaty
on
requiring
govA
beer
at
Rui’s
tavern
cost
about
$1.
Sex
vance
he
sent
back
to
his
family,
he
said.
enough.”
hand
missing
two
fingers
—
severed
by
mpany,
Willing
to
answer
other
questions,
Pier
oenough.”
Willing
to answer
other
ernments
punish
reversing
with
aquestions,
“popular”
girl:
$12. For
tattered
Captains
fearthe
their
crews asmen,
intensely
a nylon
lineto
that
had traffickers,
coiledhands,
aroundbefore
asilently
on
looked
down
when
askedPier
a- Frospinning
crank.
The
migrants’
Captains
fear their
crews as
intensely
silently
looked
downbeaten.
whenSevaskedas they
driveup
them.
Language
and
culest
seaspinning
crank.
The
migrants’
hands,
whether
he
had
ever
been
its
stance
in
the
face
of
international
pressure.
mostly
Burmese,
who
end
here,
a
couple
ai
which are virtually never fully dry, have
as
they
drive
them.
Language
and
culwhether
he
had
ever
been
beaten.
Sevtural
barriers
create
divisions;
most
r,
Thai
eral other
boys,
questioned
about the
are virtually
fully
dry, have
Thai
officials
alsoscales
proposed
prison
laof
evenings
at the
tavern
can
add
up
to
kingly
on
tural
barriers
create
divisions;
most
open which
wounds,
slit
from never
fish
and using
eral
other
boys,
questioned
about
the
million
open wounds, slit from fish scales andsame, furtively looked to the captain
og
boats deckhands.
here
have three
officers
torn bor
fromon
thefishing
nets’ friction.
“Fish
is in-to shiftsame,
looked
to the that
captain
boats
as a“Fish
way
awayfurtively
fromheads
sum.
Many
of them
have
trekked
hundreds
of isand
foreign
TheThai
captain
nd
dog
and
shook
their
to
indicate
torn
from
the
nets’
friction.
is
inin
foreign
deckhands.
The
captain
side migrant
us,” one of the boys
said.dropped
They
and
shook
their heads
toby
indicate
partthem,
because
of the threat
plan
after
annot
outcry
foot, that
notarmed,
a armed,
centin on
hoping
for of is
sold in
did
want
to bemiles
interviewed.
side us,” workers,
one of thea boys
said. Theythey
nd
in part because of the threat of
they
did
not
want
to
be
interviewed.
stitch
closed
the
deeper
cuts
thempirates,
but
Tang also
talkedas
of faa grueMix and from
Indentured
servitude
— Meals,
a “travel
stitch human
closed the
deeper
cuts themrights
groups.
Thailand
currently
work.
drugs
and
lodging,
offered
es
pirates,
but Tang
also talked
of a grueIndentured
servitude
— a “travel
selves. Infections are constant.
some
mutiny
on
another
ship
that
left
d States
now,
pay
later”
labor
system
where
selves. the
Infections
areranking
constant. by the State
some
mutiny
on another
ship that left
holds
lowest
later
as
fees.
To
clear
these
bills,
now,Departpay later” vors,
labor show
systemup
where
Thailand’s
commercial
fishing fleet
all
the
officers
dead.
people
work
to
clear
a
debt
typically
acThailand’s commercial fishing fleet
all the
officers
dead.
swork to clear
a debt typically
ac- Tales
ment
of governments
thattrawldo not meetpeople
minimum
migrants
sometimes
sold
to the
sea.are not always
consists
predominantly
of bottom
est cusof forced
labor
for getting free
passage are
to anconsists predominantly of bottom trawl-crued
Tales
of
forced
labor are not always
is
crued
for
getting
free
passage
to
aners, standards
called
the
strip-miners
of
the
sea
food is
what
they
seem,
according
to the
boat’s
in countering
trafficking.
Checking
boats
for
human
rights
abuses
otherother
country
— is—common
in the
deers, called the
strip-miners human
of the sea
what
they seem,
according
to is
the boat’s
m
country
is
common
in
the
debecause
they
use
nets
weighted
to
sink
ts from
captain,
who
insisted
on
anonymity
veloping
world,
especially
in
construcThethey
other
industry
whereveloping
forced world,
la- especially
because
use Thai
nets weighted
to sink
difficult.inMost
fishingcaptain,
vessels
are
exempt
from as aas a
who
insisted
on anonymity
09
construcce 2009
to thetoocean
floor
and
ensnare
almost
condition
of
allowing
a
reporter
on on
tion,
agriculture,
manufacturing
and
the
ocean floorisand
almost
condition the
of onboard
allowing atrackreporter
90 $190 borthe
tion,
agriculture, manufacturing
and
the requiring
is common
sexensnare
work,
said sex
Mr. industry.
Robertson,
international
rules
an
everything
in
their
path.
But
purse
board.
Some
workers
sign
up
willingly,
It
is
more
pervasive
and
everything in their path. But purse
Some workers sign up willingly,
itindustry. It ising
more
pervasive
and by board.
Human
Rights
Watch.
The
twosex
industries
systems
used
law
enforcement.
Marine
e Unitonlyonly
to change
their
minds
once
at sea,
seinefrom
boats,
like the
these
at sea,
human
rights
experts
to change
their
minds
once
at sea,
seine
boats,
like one
the where
one where
theseabusive
abusive
at
sea,
human
rights
experts
er
sh per
while
others
make
up
stories
of
misCambodians
work,
are
common
too.
say,
because
those
workers
are
so
isointersect
in
run-down
towns
like
Ranong,
along
officials
in
Thailand,
Malaysia
and
Indonesia
while
others
make
up
stories
of
misCambodians
work,
are
common
too.
say,
because
those
workers
are
so
isoal
typical
treatment
in hopes
of getting
back
to to
Theythe
useThailand-Myanmar
circular
nets nets
to target
fish fishlated.
treatment
in hopes
of
back
border.
Labor
brokers said that their navies
rarely
inspect
forgetting
labor
They
use circular
to target
lated.
families,
he said.
closercloser
to thetowater’s
surface.
AfterAfter
the the Historically,
ThaiThai
boatboat
paidpaidtheir
their
families,
he said. in those
the water’s
surface.
Historically,
captains
re
operate
with
impunity
in these
towns.
Karaoke
andcaptains
immigration
violations.
Authorities
ressure
Still,
a
half-dozen
other
captains
ac- aclarge
advances
to
deckhands
so
they
nets
are
hauled
upward,
they
are
Still,
a
half-dozen
other
captains
large
advances
to
deckhands
so
they
nets
are
hauled
upward,
they
are
nrn con- bars double as brothels and debt traps.
countries added that they lack boats and fuel
ain sean-to enmontamno
ally no
at
or that
at, eat,
ple
s.
nimals.
ut put
at’s
lewhole
o- Gioed
al
mental
s- Ausin
r- marh
et pet
hat
fo
bl
L
S
h
am
bu
fe
sc
u
h
in
ca
ti
ta
ar
F
is
to
ci
In
ye
an
p
h
ga
co
is
w
ca
la
u
es
co
m
ed
ed
on
ca
h
p
si
ca
fl
on
er
m
es
ad
sa
p
d
w
er
angers
rs
sntspent
ea on a
n Camm-
lessak
g- regw
- mis-
he
Sorting
fish
atdock
the dock
in Ranong,
Thailand.
United
States
is the
biggest
customer
Thai
fish.
Sorting
fish at
the
in Ranong,
Thailand.
TheThe
United
States
is the
biggest
customer
for for
Thai
fish.
th
fr
in
la
lo
it
U
re
needed to reach the ships farthest from shore
that are most prone to using captive labor.
Deep-sea fishing generally does not lend itself to timecards or pay stubs. Labor contracts
common in the region often include terms that
would seem unthinkable in jobs on land.
For instance, a contract from a manpower
agency in Singapore, provided to The New York
Times, committed deckhands to a three-year
tour during which the agency retained the full
$200 per month for the first six months and $150
per month thereafter. “Daily working hours will
be around 18 hours,” the contract stipulates, adding that there is no overtime pay. Boats may remain at sea for longer than a year per trip. Only
seawater may be used for bathing and laundry.
Mariners can be traded from boat to boat at the
captain’s discretion.
“All biscuits, noodles, soft drinks and cigarettes” are to be purchased by the sailor, the
contract says. “Any crew who breaches the contract (own sickness, lazy or rejected by the Captain, etc.) must bear all the expenses incurred in
going back home.”
Supply and Demand
The boat that delivered Mr. Long to captivity and subsequently rescued him was known as
a “mothership.” Carrying everything from fuel
and extra food to spare nets and replacement
labor, these lumbering vessels, often over a hundred feet long, function as the roving resupply
stores of the marine world. Motherships are the
reason that slow-moving trawlers can fish more
than 1,500 miles from land. They allow fishermen
to stay out at sea for months or years and still
get their catch cleaned, canned and shipped to
American shelves less than a week after netting.
But once a load of fish is transferred to a
mothership, which keeps the cargo below deck in
cavernous refrigerators, there is almost no way
for port-side authorities to determine its provenance. It becomes virtually impossible to know
whether it was caught legally by paid fishermen
or poached illegally by shackled migrants.
Bar codes on pet food in some European
countries enable far-flung consumers to track
Thai-exported seafood to its onshore processing facilities, where it was canned or otherwise
packaged. But the supply chain for the 28 million tons of forage fish caught annually around
the globe, about a third of all fish caught at sea
and much of it used for pet and animal feed, is
invisible before that.
Sasinan Allmand, the head of corporate
communications for Thai Union Frozen Products, said that her company does routine audits of its canneries and boats in port to ensure
against forced and child labor. The audits involve
checking crew members’ contracts, passports,
proof of payment and working conditions. “We
will not tolerate any human trafficking or any
human rights violation of any kind,” she said.
Asked whether audits are conducted on the fishing boats that stay at sea, like the one where Mr.
Long was captive, she declined to respond.
Human rights advocates have called for a
variety of measures to provide greater oversight, including requiring all commercial fishing ships to have electronic transponders for
onshore monitoring and banning the system of
long stays at sea and the supply ships that make
them possible. But their efforts have gotten little
traction. The profits for seafood businesses still
far exceed the risks for those who exploit workers, said Mark P. Lagon, who formerly served
as the State Department’s ambassador at large
focused on human trafficking.
Lisa K. Gibby, vice president of corporate
communications for Nestlé, which makes pet
food brands including Fancy Feast and Purina,
said that the company is working hard to ensure
that forced labor is not used to produce its pet
food. “This is neither an easy nor a quick endeavor,” she added, because the fish it purchases comes from multiple ports and fishing vessels operating in international waters.
Some pet food companies are trying to
move away from using fish. Mars Inc., for example, which sold more than $16 billion worth
of pet food globally in 2012, roughly a quarter of
the world’s market, has already replaced fishmeal in some of its pet food and will continue
in that direction. By 2020, the company plans to
use only non-threatened fish caught legally or
raised on farms and certified by third-party auditors as not being linked to forced labor.
Though Mars has been more proactive on
these issues than many of its competitors, Allyson Park, a Mars spokeswoman, conceded
that the fishing industry has “real traceability
issues” and struggles to ensure proper working
conditions. This is even more challenging, she
said, since Mars does not purchase fish directly
checking
crew
members’
contracts,
crew
members’
contracts,
Indo-checking
oly innno- viontries
es
del fuel
mfrom
g
p-cap-
Though
Mars
been
more
proac- Nang
Nang
said,sitting
sittingin inhishiscinder-block
cinder-block
Though
Mars
hashas
been
more
proacsaid,
in
cr
be
la
to
B
In
tr
th
so
es
ot not
s. Laaegion
on
m unn-
n-manded
to to
deckkwhich
ch
0 per
er
d $150
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rking
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ea
y seaag and
nd
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sh
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an
th
th
la
from docks but further up the supply chain.
Over the past year, Mars received more
than 90,000 cartons of cat and dog food from
the cannery supplied by one of the boats where
Lang Long was held captive, according to the
Customs documents.
Shackled and Afraid
In Songkhla, on Thailand’s southeast coast,
Suchat Junthalukkhana thumbed through an
inch-thick binder, each page with a photograph
of a fleeing mariner whom his organization, the
Stella Maris Seafarers Center, had helped.
“We get a new case every week,” he said.
The fate of the men who escape from the
fishing boats often relies on chance encounters with altruistic strangers who contact Stella
Maris or the other groups that make up an underground railroad that runs through Malaysia,
Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand.
One such inadvertent rescuer was Som
Nang, 41, who said his name means “good luck”
in Khmer. A squat man, he is quick to show off
the retractable metal rod that he keeps with
him for protection.
Having worked dockside for several years,
Som Nang had heard the tales of fishing-boat
brutality. None of it prepared him, however, for
what he would witness on his maiden voyage on
a mothership late in 2013.
“I wish I had never seen it,” Som Nang said,
sitting in his cinder-block home just outside
Songkhla. After a four-day trip from shore, Som
Nang’s supply boat pulled alongside a dilapidated Thai-flagged trawler with an eight-man crew
that had just finished two weeks fishing in Indonesian waters where they were not allowed.
It was difficult not to notice Mr. Long, who
crouched near the front of the fishing boat, Som
Nang said. Padlocked around his bruised neck
was a rusty metal collar attached to a three-foot
chain looped to an anchor post. Mr. Long, who
was the only Cambodian among the Burmese
deckhands and the Thai senior crew, stared, unblinking, at anyone willing to make eye contact.
“Please help me,” Som Nang, who is also
Cambodian, recounted Mr. Long whispering in
Khmer. That was 30 months after Mr. Long had
met a trafficker along the Thai-Cambodian border during a festival. Mr. Long said he never in-
gu
w
tr
is
tended to work in Thailand but the job offer was
attractive. When he instead arrived at a port
near Samut Prakan, the trafficker sold him to a
boat captain for about $530, less than a water
buffalo typically costs. He was then marched up
a gangplank, and sent due west for four days.
A police report later described his account of
his arrival in captivity: “Three fishing boats surrounded the supply boat and began fighting for
Mr. Long,” the report says. Similar arguments
broke out a year later when Mr. Long was sold
again in the middle of the night between trawlers.
The longer he spent on the boats, the more
his trafficking debt should have lightened, bettering his prospects for release. But the opposite was the case, Mr. Long explained. The
more experience he had, the bleaker his fate,
the higher the price on his head, the hotter the
arguments over him between short-handed
trawler captains.
Having never seen the sea before, Mr. Long
seemed to tangle his portion of the nets more
than others, he said. All the fish looked the same
to him — small and silver — making sorting difficult. Slowed at first by intense seasickness, Mr.
Long said he sped up after witnessing a captain
whipping a man for working too slowly.
Mr. Long suffered similarly. “He was beat
with a pole made of wood or metal,” said a case
report about him from the Office of the National
Human Rights Commission of Thailand. “Some
days he had rest of only 1 hour.” When drinking
water ran low, deckhands stole foul-tasting ice
from the barrels of fish. If one of the seamen put
gear away incorrectly, the crew master docked
the day’s meal for the offender.
Mr. Long said he often considered jumping
overboard to escape. He did not know how to
swim, though, and he never once saw land during his time at sea, Mr. Long told a doctor who
later treated him. At night he had access to the
ship’s radio. But he had no idea whom or how he
could call for help.
As much as he feared the captains, Mr. Long
said, the ocean scared him more. Waves, some
five stories high, battered the deck in rough seas.
When Som Nang’s boat showed up, Mr.
Long had been wearing the shackle on and off
for about nine months. The captain typically put
Kitty Bennett and Susan C. Beachy contributed
research.
it on him once a week, Mr. Long said, whenever
other boats approached.
After offloading fish for about 10 minutes,
Som Nang said he asked the captain why Mr.
Long was chained. “Because he keeps trying to
escape,” the captain replied, according to Som
Nang. Based on the looks he got from the crew
on his mothership, Som Nang said he figured it
best to stop asking questions. But after returning to port, he contacted Stella Maris, which began raising the 25,000 baht, roughly $750, needed to buy Mr. Long’s freedom.
Over the next several months, Som Nang
resupplied the fishing boat twice. Each time, Mr.
Long was shackled. Som Nang said he discreetly tried to reassure him that he was working to
free him.
In April 2014, Mr. Long’s captivity ended in
the most undramatic of ways. Som Nang carried
a brown paper bag full of Thai currency from
Stella Maris to a meeting point in the middle
of the South China Sea, roughly a week’s travel from shore. With few words exchanged, the
money was handed to Mr. Long’s captain. His
debt paid, Mr. Long, rail-thin, stepped onto Som
Nang’s boat and began his journey back to solid
ground and a hope for home.
Thai immigration officials who have investigated his case say they found it credible. Mr.
Long is in the process of being repatriated back
to his native village, Koh Sotin, in Cambodia. He
hopes to go back to his old job cleaning a local
Buddhist temple, he said. Thai and Indonesian
marine officials say they are trying to locate his
last boat captain but they are not hopeful because there are so many of these illegal vessels.
During his six-day voyage back to shore on
the mothership, Mr. Long cried and slept most
of the time. Som Nang said the crew hid him to
avoid word getting out to other fishing boats
about their role in the rescue.
Mr. Long, who has a perpetually vacant
gaze, said he never wanted to eat fish again. He
added that at first he had tried to keep track of
the passing days and months at sea by etching
notches in the wooden railing. Eventually he
gave that up. “I never thought I would see land
again,” he said.
Som Nang, who is now a security guard at a
factory, said he stopped working at sea shortly
after his rescue trip. His explanation: “I don’t
like what is out there.”
July 28, 2015
Tap here to view online
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High 95. Weather map, Page A14.
VOL. CLXIV . . . No. 56,941 +
$2.50
NEW YORK, TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015
PROBLEMS PLAGUE
SYSTEM TO CHECK
BUYERS OF GUNS
RULES ARE INCONSISTENT
Two Recent Shootings
Demonstrate Gaps in
Efforts at Safety
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
SIMON AGER/SEA SHEPHERD GLOBAL
The Thunder, a fugitive fishing ship, was shadowed by the Sea Shepherd vessels Bob Barker and Sam Simon in February, during a pursuit that lasted 110 days.
A Renegade Trawler, Chased by Eco-Vigilantes Goals Diverge and Perils Remain
As U.S. and Turkey Take On ISIS
By IAN URBINA
ABOARD THE BOB BARKER, in the South Atlantic — As the Thunder, a trawler considered the
world’s most notorious fish poacher, began sliding
under the sea a couple of hundred miles south of
Nigeria, three men scrambled aboard to gather evidence of its crimes.
In bumpy footage from their helmet cameras,
they can be seen grabbing everything they can
over the next 37 minutes — the captain’s logbooks,
a laptop computer, charts and a slippery 200-pound
fish. The video shows the fishing hold about a quarter full with catch and the Thunder’s engine room
almost submerged in murky water. “There is no
way to stop it sinking,” the men radioed back to the
Bob Barker, which was waiting nearby. Soon after
they climbed off, the Thunder vanished below.
It was an unexpected end to an extraordinary
chase. For 110 days and more than 10,000 nautical
miles across two seas and three oceans, the Bob
Barker and a companion ship, both operated by the
environmental organization Sea Shepherd, had
trailed the trawler, with the three captains close
enough to watch one another’s cigarette breaks
and on-deck workout routines. In an epic game of
cat-and-mouse, the ships maneuvered through an
obstacle course of giant ice floes, endured a cyclone-like storm, faced clashes between opposing
crews and nearly collided in what became the longest pursuit of an illegal fishing vessel in history.
Industrial-scale violators of fishing bans and
protected areas are a main reason more than half
of the world’s major fishing grounds have been depleted and by some estimates over 90 percent of
THE OUTLAW OCEAN
A 10,000-Mile Hunt
the ocean’s large fish like marlin, tuna and swordfish have vanished. Interpol had issued a Purple
Notice on the Thunder (the equivalent of adding it
to a Most Wanted List, a status reserved for only
four other ships in the world), but no government
had been willing to dedicate the personnel and millions of dollars needed to go after it.
So Sea Shepherd did instead, stalking the fugitive 202-foot steel-sided ship from a desolate
patch of ocean at the bottom of the Earth, deep in
By ANNE BARNARD and MICHAEL R. GORDON
BAGHDAD — In agreeing to
cooperate to clear Islamic State
forces out of a 60-mile-long strip
of northern Syria along the Turkish border, the United States and
Turkey have taken a major step
toward increasing pressure on
the militant group and easing
their differences on the Syrian
conflict.
The Obama administration,
whose top priority is battling the
Islamic State, also known as ISIS
or ISIL, would get to use Turkish
air bases to attack the militants
on a new front and has won a new
commitment from Turkey to try
to shut off some of the group’s
most important supply lines.
Turkey, whose primary goal
has long been to oust President
Bashar al-Assad of Syria, would
get a new degree of security
along its border — and in the process, keep a Syrian-based Kurdish militia force that it considers
a threat from making inroads to
the area.
But when it comes to carrying
out the agreement, which was
reached over the weekend and
was described by four senior
American officials, significant
complications remain.
Not least, the new campaign
draws the United States more
deeply into the chaotic Syrian
conflict, which the Obama administration had been determined to
resist. The United States has yet
to disclose which Syrian insurgent forces it will enlist in the efContinued on Page A8
His family called him unstable
and violent, so John R. Houser
was ordered by a judge to be taken against his will to a mental
hospital in 2008. Despite that sign
that Mr. Houser was mentally
troubled, he passed a background
check and was able to legally purchase the gun he used last week
to kill two people in a Louisiana
movie theater, because that hospital stay was not defined by officials as an involuntary commitment.
Dylann Roof, who is charged
with shooting nine people to
death in a Charleston, S.C.,
church last month, was also able
to buy the gun he used in the
massacre. He should have failed
a background check, federal officials said, because he had previously admitted to illegal drug
possession. Yet because of a clerical error in South Carolina and
the confusion that caused the federal authorities who examined
his record, he was not stopped
from his making his purchase.
As these two cases show, the
one system that gun rights and
gun control advocates both agree
on, the National Instant Criminal
Background
Check
System,
which is supposed to keep guns
out of the hands of dangerous
people, is riddled with problems.
While the system, in operation
since 1998, has prevented more
than 2.4 million sales, it still has
major gaps, with spotty cooperation from the states and a narrow
definition of who is considered
too mentally ill to own a gun.
“It works tremendously well
Clinton Lays Out Energy Plan A Win for Athletes Whose Sex Was Questioned Mormons Assail
DES MOINES — Setting ambitious goals for producing energy from the sun, wind and other
renewable sources, Hillary Rodham Clinton seized on an issue
Monday that increasingly resonates with Democratic voters
and sets up a stark contrast with
the Republican presidential field.
With many Republican candidates saying they do not believe
that climate change is a threat or
requires government intervention, Mrs. Clinton assailed their
logic, saying, “The reality of climate change is unforgiving no
matter what the deniers say.”
She set a goal to produce 33
percent of the nation’s electricity
from renewable sources by 2027,
up from 7 percent today — a higher goal than the 20 percent that
President Obama has called for
by 2030.
Mrs. Clinton’s strategists see
climate change as a winning issue for 2016. They believe it is a
cause she can advance to win
over deep-pocketed donors and
liberal activists in the nominating
campaign, where she is facing
Democratic challengers to her
Boy Scouts’ Shift
On Gay Leaders
By JOHN BRANCH
By TRIP GABRIEL
and CORAL DAVENPORT
SCOTT MORGAN/REUTERS
Hillary Rodham Clinton
left on the issue. It is also one that
can be a weapon against Republicans in a general election. Polls
show that a majority of voters
support candidates who pledge
policy action on the warming climate.
Mrs. Clinton called for installing a half-billion solar panels by
2020, a sevenfold increase from
today, and to generate enough
energy from carbon-free sources
The final appeals court for global sports further blurred the line
separating male and female athletes on Monday, ruling that a
common factor in distinguishing
the sexes — the level of natural
testosterone in an athlete’s body
— is insufficient to bar some
women from competing against
females.
The Court of Arbitration for
Sport, based in Switzerland,
questioned the athletic advantage of naturally high levels of
testosterone in women and therefore immediately suspended the
practice of “hyperandrogenism
regulation” by track and field’s
governing body, the International
Association of Athletics Federations. It gave the organization,
known as the I.A.A.F., two years
to provide more persuasive scientific evidence linking “enhanced testosterone levels and
improved athletic performance.”
The court was ruling on a case,
involving the Indian sprinter
Dutee Chand, that is the latest
demonstration that sex is part of
a spectrum, not a this-or-that definition easily divided for matters
such as sport. It also leaves offi-
By ERIK ECKHOLM
GRAHAM CROUCH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
A global court ruled Monday that hyperandrogenic women like
Dutee Chand, above in 2014, may race against other women.
cials wondering how and where
to set the boundaries between
male and female competition.
The issue bemuses governing
bodies and divides fans and athletes. Among those who testified
in support of the I.A.A.F. policy
was the British runner Paula
Radcliffe, who holds the world
record among women in the
marathon. According to the ruling, Radcliffe said that elevated
NEW YORK A17-21
BUSINESS DAY B1-8
SPORTSTUESDAY B11-15
A Plan to Revamp La Guardia
Bank of America’s Next Move
Boston’s Olympic Bid Ends
The New York City airport, mocked for
its decay and delays, will be rebuilt by
2021 with more plane taxiways and rail
links, at a cost of about $4 billion, Vice
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Gov.
Andrew M. Cuomo announced. PAGE A17
The abrupt departure of a top
executive hints
at the challenge
facing the chief
of Bank of America, Brian T.
Moynihan, left.
Shareholders expect growth, but
the bank, the nation’s second-largest, is
PAGE B1
lagging its rivals.
Resistance in Boston has the national
Olympic panel seeking a new bidder for
PAGE B11
the 2024 Summer Games.
INTERNATIONAL A4-10
U.S. Gives Malaysia an Upgrade
A State Department report cited improvement in Malaysia’s efforts on human trafficking, which could ease its inclusion in an Asian trade deal. PAGE A8
Obama Gently Prods Ethiopia
Rights groups had hoped President
Obama would press Ethiopia’s government for change
in a visit soon after flawed elections. He took a
mild tone, citing
“more work to
do” and the difficulty of emerging from autocraPAGE A9
cy.
NATIONAL A11-16
F.B.I. Suggests Faster Arrests
Fearing small-scale terror attacks by
Americans inspired by ISIS, the F.B.I. is
telling agents to make arrests sooner
PAGE A11
rather than later.
THE UPSHOT
Obesity as a Crisis, Not a Failing
Public attitudes have moved toward
viewing excess weight as more of a public health problem than as individuals’
PAGE A3
failure to have willpower.
SCIENCE TIMES D1-8
Trained in Prison as Protectors
With help from prison inmates, researchers at Auburn University in Alabama are training dogs, with
their powerful
sense of smell, to
detect bombs,
narcotics, pathogens and other
threats in a variety of settings.
PAGE D1
David Brooks
PAGE A23
U(D54G1D)y+%!=!$!#!\
testosterone levels “make the
competition unequal in a way
greater than simple natural talent and dedication.” She said that
other top athletes shared her
view.
“The concern remains that
their bodies respond in different,
stronger ways to training and
racing than women with normal
testosterone levels, and that this
The Boy Scouts of America on
Monday ended its ban on openly
gay adult leaders.
But the new policy allows
church-sponsored units to choose
local unit leaders who share their
precepts, even if that means restricting such positions to heterosexual men.
Despite this compromise, the
Mormon Church said it might
leave the organization anyway.
Its stance surprised many and
raised questions about whether
other conservative sponsors, including the Roman Catholic
Church, might follow suit.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is deeply troubled by today’s vote,” said a
statement issued by the church
moments after the Scouts announced the new policy. “When
the leadership of the church resumes its regular schedule of
meetings in August, the centurylong association with scouting
November 9, 2015
Late Edition
Today, sunshine, a slightly milder
afternoon, high of 61. Tonight, turning cloudy, some late rain, low of 51.
Tomorrow, periods of rain, high of
61. Weather map is on Page A20.
VOL. CLXV . . . No. 57,045
$2.50
NEW YORK, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015
Tricked While on Land,
Abused or Killed at Sea
Illegal ‘Manning Agencies’ Put Men in Debt,
Then in Treacherous Maritime Jobs
By IAN URBINA
Democracy in Myanmar
After decades of military rule, Burmese enthusiastically took part in what many described as their first genuine election. Page A4.
With U.S. and Israel, It’s Who Slighted Whom Weak in Polls
And Betting
As Netanyahu Visits
All on 1 State
Obama, Reasons
By PETER BAKER
and JODI RUDOREN
WASHINGTON — For President Obama, it was a day of celebration. He had just signed the
most important domestic measure of his presidency, his health
care program. So when Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of
Israel arrived at the White House
for a hastily arranged visit, it was
most likely not the main thing on
his mind.
To White House officials, it was
a show of respect to make time
for Mr. Netanyahu on that day
back in March 2010. But Mr. Netanyahu did not see it that way.
He felt squeezed in, not accorded
the rituals of such a visit. No photographers were invited to record
the moment. “That wasn’t a good
way to treat me,” he complained
to an American afterward.
The tortured relationship between Barack and Bibi, as they
call each other, has been a story
of crossed signals, misunderstandings, slights perceived and
to Move On
real. Burdened by mistrust, divided by ideology, the leaders of
the United States and Israel
talked past each other for years
until the rupture over Mr. Obama’s push for a nuclear agreement with Iran led to the spectacle of Mr. Netanyahu denouncing
the president’s efforts before a
joint meeting of Congress.
As Mr. Netanyahu arrives at
the White House on Monday for
his first visit in more than a year,
both leaders have reasons to put
the past behind them. They will
discuss a new security agreement and ways to counter Iran.
But few believe their relationship can ever be more than coolly
transactional. Undergirding their
personal disconnect are different
world views. Mr. Obama sees Mr.
Netanyahu as captured by a
hard-line philosophy that blocks
progress. Mr. Netanyahu considers Mr. Obama hopelessly naïve
about one of the world’s most volatile neighborhoods.
“They have a fraught relationship, and it’s fueled by a belief on
the part of both of them that the
other is trying to screw them, trip
them up, thwart their policies,
corner them, ambush them,” said
Martin Indyk, the president’s former special envoy to the Middle
East. “They each have a number
of cases where they feel the other
acted in bad faith.”
Uzi Arad, Mr. Netanyahu’s former national security adviser,
said no single issue had caused
the rift. “It was a gradual thing
that widened over time,” he said.
“History will probably say that
both leaders mismanaged their
relationship. It’s not one party.”
If the current animosity between the United States and Israel is not unique in the history of
relations between the two governments, it is the worst in more
No Justice, No Football on a Missouri Campus
By MARC TRACY
and ASHLEY SOUTHALL
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Students
at the University of Missouri
have been demonstrating for
weeks for the ouster of the university president, protesting the
school’s handling of racial tensions. But their movement received a boost over the weekend
when dozens of black football
players issued a blunt ultimatum: Resign or they won’t play.
Fueling the anger were a series of on-campus incidents: racial slurs hurled at black students
and feces smeared into the shape
of a swastika on a wall in a residence hall. What many students
viewed as a sluggish response
from the administration gave rise
to calls for the removal of the
president, Timothy M. Wolfe.
The Legion of Black Collegians, which administers campus
groups that primarily serve black
students, posted a photograph to
Twitter on Saturday night of
more than 30 football players
linked in arms with a graduate
student who is staging a hunger
strike.
“The athletes of color on the
University of Missouri football
team truly believe ‘injustice any-
By JONATHAN MARTIN
CONCORD, N.H. — Jeb Bush
rolled across this state last week
in a bus, chomping on turkey
jerky and ducking into diners,
general stores and town halls to
plead his case to voters.
Chris Christie, the governor of
New Jersey, was not far behind,
mingling with beer-sipping students at a pub near Dartmouth
College and chatting with a
3-year-old in the State Capitol
about what he wanted for Christmas. And Gov. John Kasich of
Ohio swung a golf club at a driving range in Portsmouth after
fielding questions from Rotary
Club members on topics ranging
from climate change to whether
deceased people are somehow
casting ballots in some states.
“You don’t win here, in my
opinion, by just running television ads,” Mr. Kasich said in an
interview before meeting with
editors at The Portsmouth Herald. “You’ve got to be here;
you’ve got to be on the ground.
People want to see you. And they
want to know who you are.”
All three men are staking their
Republican candidacies on an
idea that seems increasingly
LINABUAN SUR, the Philippines — When Eril Andrade left
this small village, he was healthy
and hoping to earn enough on a
fishing boat on the high seas to
replace his mother’s leaky roof.
Seven months later, his body
was sent home in a wooden coffin: jet black from having been
kept in a fish freezer aboard a
ship for more than a month, missing an eye and his pancreas, and
covered in cuts and bruises,
which an autopsy report later
concluded had been inflicted before death.
“Sick and resting,” said a note
taped to his body. Handwritten in
Chinese by the ship’s captain, it
stated only that Mr. Andrade, 31,
had fallen ill in his sleep.
Mr. Andrade, who died in February 2011, and nearly a dozen
other men in his village had been
recruited by an illegal “manning
agency,” tricked with false promises of double the actual wages
and then sent to an apartment in
Singapore, where they were
locked up for weeks, according to
interviews and affidavits taken
by local prosecutors. While they
waited to be deployed to Taiwanese tuna ships, several said, a
gatekeeper demanded sex from
them for assignments at sea.
Once aboard, the men endured
20-hour workdays and brutal
beatings, only to return home unpaid and deeply in debt from
thousands of dollars in upfront
costs, prosecutors say.
Thousands of maritime employment agencies around the
world provide a vital service,
supplying crew members for
ships, from small trawlers to giant container carriers, and handling everything from paychecks
to plane tickets. While many
companies operate responsibly,
the industry over all, which has
drawn little attention, is poorly
regulated. The few rules on the
books do not even apply to fishing ships, where the worst
abuses tend to happen, and enforcement is lax.
Illegal agencies operate with
even greater impunity, sending
men to ships notorious for poor
safety and labor records; instructing them to travel on tourist or transit visas, which exempt
them from the protections of
many labor and anti-trafficking
laws; and disavowing them if
they are denied pay, injured,
killed, abandoned or arrested at
sea.
“It’s lies and cheating on land,
then beatings and death at sea,
then shame and debt when these
men get home,” said Shelley
Thio, a board member of Transient Workers Count Too, a migrant workers’ advocacy group
THE OUTLAW OCEAN
Recruited and Deceived
in Singapore. “And the manning
agencies are what make it all possible.”
Step Up Marine Enterprise,
the Singapore-based company
that recruited Mr. Andrade and
the other villagers, has a welldocumented record of trouble, according to an examination of
court records, police reports and
case files in Singapore and the
Philippines. In episodes dating
back two decades, the company
has been tied to trafficking, severe physical abuse, neglect, deceptive recruitment and failure to
pay hundreds of seafarers in India, Indonesia, Mauritius, the
Philippines and Tanzania.
Still, its owners have largely
escaped accountability. Last
year, for example, prosecutors
opened the biggest trafficking
HANNAH REYES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
A photo of Eril Andrade in his family’s abandoned house in the
Philippines. He died on a fishing ship, his body cut and bruised.
In Texas, Night Winds Blow In Free Electricity
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
and DIANE CARDWELL
AUGUST KRYGER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
A former University of Missouri player, L’Damian Washington,
spoke to current players Sunday from his car in Columbia.
where is a threat to justice everywhere,’” a message accompanying the photo said, quoting a line
from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.
The protesting players received the backing of their coaches and many of their white teammates, and on Sunday evening
two groups representing graduate students and graduate student workers said they would
stage walkouts on Monday and
Tuesday in solidarity with the activists and in protest of Mr.
Wolfe’s response.
The Board of Curators, the
nine-member governing body of
the University of Missouri, said it
would hold a closed-door meeting
on Monday morning.
The strike reflected a growing
willingness among black college
students at predominantly white
institutions to demand quick acContinued on Page A15
A Bleak Aftermath in China
Almost three months after the industrial
explosions in Tianjin, above, that left 173
people dead, survivors from a neighborhood near the blast site are struggling to
rebuild their lives and homes. PAGE A9
JAMES DURBIN/MIDLAND REPORTER-TELEGRAM
Wind accounts for about 10
percent of the power in Texas.
the dials when wholesale prices
are highest and turn them back
up when prices are lowest.
It is possible because Texas
has more wind power than any
other state, accounting for roughly 10 percent of the state’s generation. Alone among the 48 contiguous states, Texas runs its own
electricity grid that barely connects to the rest of the country, so
the abundance of nightly wind
power generated here must be
consumed here.
Wind blows most strongly at
night and the power it produces
is inexpensive because of its
abundance and federal tax
breaks. A shift of power use away
from the peak daytime periods
means lower wholesale prices,
and the possibility of avoiding the
costly option of building more
power plants.
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS DAY B1-6
SPORTSMONDAY
ARTS C1-8
Consensus Rises on Crash
E.P.A. Expands On-Road Tests
Injury Carts Get a Workout
Monstrous but Madcap
A body of evidence is growing that a
bomb brought down the Russian jet in
Egypt, American officials said. PAGE A6
As a result of Volkswagen’s emissions
cheating scandal, American and Canadian regulators have begun broadening
testing in real-world conditions. PAGE B1
In the darkly comic “Hir,” the dysfunctional-family play hits new extremes.
Review by Charles Isherwood. PAGE C1
NATIONAL A11-15
Lower Wall St. Bonuses Likely
Once festooned for attention, N.F.L. injury carts have become understated.
They are the overlooked workhorses of
the underbelly of football, shuttling
PAGE D1
away dozens of players.
Improving Access to Doctors
INTERNATIONAL A4-10
DALLAS — In Texas, wind
farms are generating so much energy that some utilities are giving power away.
Briana Lamb, an elementary
school teacher, waits until her
watch strikes 9 p.m. to run her
washing machine and dishwasher. It costs her nothing until 6
a.m. Kayleen Willard, a cosmetologist, unplugs appliances when
she goes to work in the morning.
By 9 p.m., she has them plugged
back in.
And Sherri Burks, business
manager of a local law firm,
keeps a yellow sticker on her
townhouse’s thermostat, a note
to guests that says: “After 9 p.m.
I don’t care what you do. You can
party after 9.”
The women are just three of
the thousands of TXU Energy
customers who are at the vanguard of a bold attempt by the
utility to change how people consume energy. TXU’s free overnight plan, which is coupled with
slightly higher daytime rates, is
one of dozens that have been offered by more than 50 retail electricity companies in Texas over
the last three years with a simple
goal: for customers to turn down
State officials are addressing complaints
PAGE A14
about restrictive networks.
Even as the financial industry emerges
from fiscal crisis, bonuses are expected
to fall 5 to 10 percent this year. PAGE B1
NEW YORK A16-20
SPORTSMONDAY D1-8
A ‘Crossover’ Art Auction
Jets and Giants Prevail
A sale at Phillips began a week of bigticket auctions of contemporary, modPAGE A17
ern and Impressionist art.
An injured Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Jets
over the Jaguars, and the Giants won in
Jason Pierre-Paul’s return. PAGES D1, D3
TED Prize for Archaeologist
Sarah Parcak, who uses satellite data to
map illicit digs at ancient sites, has won
$1 million for a future project. PAGE C1
Charles M. Blow
PAGE A23
U(D54G1D)y+[!.!#!#!\
A8
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015
N
N
A9
Months After the Explosions in Tianjin,
A Struggle to Rebuild Lives and Homes
By DAN LEVIN
Tricked on Land
And Indebted,
Then Abused at Sea
From Page A1
case in Cambodian history, involving more than 1,000 fishermen, but had no jurisdiction to
charge Step Up for recruiting
them. In 2001, the Supreme Court
of the Philippines harshly reprimanded Step Up and a partner
company in Manila for systematically duping men, knowingly
sending them to abusive employers and cheating them, but Step
Up’s owners faced no penalties.
The Philippine authorities
have charged 11 people tied to
Step Up with trafficking and illegal recruitment of Mr. Andrade
and others from the Philippines.
But only one person, allegedly a
low-level culprit, has been arrested and is likely to be tried:
Celia Robelo, 46, who faces a potential life sentence for what
prosecutors say was a recruiting
effort that earned her at most
$20 in commissions.
Mr. Andrade’s story was
pieced together from interviews
with his family, other seamen recruited in or near his village, police officers, lawyers and aid
workers in Jakarta, Manila and
Singapore. It highlights the tools
— debt, trickery, fear, violence,
shame and family ties — used to
recruit men, entrap them and
leave them at sea, sometimes for
years under harsh conditions.
No country exports more seafarers than the Philippines,
which provides at least a quarter
of them globally. More than
400,000 Filipinos sought work
last year as officers, deckhands,
fishermen, cargo handlers and
cruise workers. Mr. Andrade’s
death shows that governments
are sometimes unable or unwilling to protect the rights of citizens far from home.
The abuse of Filipino seamen
has increased in recent years, labor officials in the Philippines
say, because the country’s maritime trade schools produce, on
average, 20,000 graduates a year
for fewer than 5,000 openings. As
men grow desperate for work,
they take greater risks. Roughly
a third of them now use agencies
that are illegal — unregistered
and willing to break rules, the officials said.
Such agencies, favored by ship
operators and workers looking to
shave costs, compound the problem of lawlessness on the high
seas. Scofflaw ships cast off
stowaways and deplete fishing
stocks. Violence is rampant, and
few nations patrol the waters,
much less enforce violations of
maritime laws or international
pacts.
In Manila, in late September,
along a densely packed twoblock stretch of sidewalk on
Kalaw Avenue near the bay, hundreds of seafarers looked for
work. Recruiters from manning
agencies — some legal, many not
— carried signs around their
necks listing job openings or
pointed to brochures arrayed on
tables. Fixers sold fake accreditation papers while a popular Tagalog rap song, “Seaman Lolo
Ko” (“My Grandpa Is a Seaman”), boomed in the background.
“These days,” the singer,
known as Yongas, rapped, “it’s
the seaman getting duped.” MarSusan Beachy contributed research from New York.
The Outlaw Ocean
lawlessness on the high seas, and
how weak regulations and lax enforcement allow misconduct to go
unpunished.
ONLINE: Documents and
more photographs are at
nytimes.com/world
Clockwise from top left, men
in Manila advertised jobs at
sea; the lining from Eril Andrade’s coffin; Celia Robelo,
accused of recruiting Mr.
Andrade, in jail with her son;
workers on a local fishing
boat. They want to work on
larger ships for more money,
despite reports of abuse.
iners, who used to be the cheaters (on their spouses), he
warned, are now the ones cheated (by everyone else).
Mr. Andrade had died of natural
causes. After being recruited by
Step Up, Mr. Concepcion also
worked on a Taiwanese tuna
ship, in the South Atlantic, but
quit after the cook fatally
stabbed the captain, who had
routinely beaten crew members.
Asked what he thought was the
most likely cause of his friend’s
death, Mr. Concepcion said, simply, “Violence.”
The Trip
In the summer of 2010, Mr.
Andrade was growing restless.
He had studied criminology in
college in hopes of becoming a
police officer, not realizing that
there was a minimum height requirement of 5-foot-3. He was
two inches shy. His night watchman job at a hospital paid less
than 50 cents an hour. When not
working in his family’s rice paddy, he spent much of his time
watching cartoons on television,
according to his brother Julius,
38.
When a cousin told him about
possible work at sea, Mr.
Andrade saw it as a chance to
tour the world while earning
enough money to help his family.
He was introduced to Ms. Robelo, who prosecutors say was the
local Step Up recruiter. She said
the pay was $500 per month, in
addition to a $50 allowance, his
brother and mother recounted to
the police.
Mr. Andrade agreed to sign up,
handed over about $200 in “processing fees” and left for Manila,
220 miles north of here. He paid
$318 more before flying to Singapore in September 2010. He received his plane ticket on his 31st
birthday. A company representative met him at the airport and
took him to Step Up’s office in
Singapore’s crowded Chinatown
district.
If Mr. Andrade’s experience
was like those of the other Filipino men interviewed by The New
York Times, he would have been
told then that there had been a
mistake: His pay would be less
than half of what he had been expecting. And after multiple deductions, the $200 monthly wage
would shrink even more.
A half-dozen other men from
Mr. Andrade’s village, who prosecutors said were also recruited
by Step Up, recalled in interviews that the paperwork flew
by in a whirlwind of fast-moving
calculations
and
unfamiliar
terms (“passport forfeiture,”
“mandatory fees,” “sideline
earnings”).
First, they were required to
sign a contract, they said, that
typically stipulated a three-year
binding commitment, no overtime pay, no sick leave, 18- to 20hour workdays, six-day workweeks and $50 monthly food deductions, and that granted captains full discretion to reassign
crew members to other ships.
Wages were to be disbursed not
monthly to the workers’ families
but only after completion of the
contract, a practice that is illegal
at registered agencies.
Next, some of them signed a
bill to pay for food supplies in advance; like most of the deductions, the $250 fee was kept by
the agency. Then came the
“promissory note,” confirming
that the mariner would pay a
“desertion penalty,” usually
more than $1,800, if he left. The
document noted that to collect
their wages, crew members
would have to fly back to Singapore at their own expense.
Mr. Andrade, like the other
deckhands recruited by Step Up,
came from a village (Linabuan
Sur’s population is roughly
3,000). The men said they had
never before traveled abroad,
worked on the high seas, heard
the term “trafficking” or dealt
with a manning agency. None
could explain why they might
need a copy of any contract they
signed as proof of a two-way
agreement. They still did not
know why it was troubling that a
boss in a foreign country should
confiscate their passports, which
rendered them powerless to
leave.
By that point, most of the men
‘Something You Share’
PHOTOGRAPHS BY HANNAH REYES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
were deeply in debt, some more
than $2,000, from recruiters’
fees, lodging expenses, health
checkups, tourist visas and seamen’s books (mandatory maritime paperwork). They had borrowed from relatives, mortgaged
their homes and pawned family
possessions: “our one fishing
boat,” “my brother’s home” and
a carabao (a water buffalo), they
said.
Standing on a 35-foot wooden
boat late one recent night, about
40 miles from the Philippine
shore, Condrad Bonihit, a friend
of Mr. Andrade’s, explained why
poor villagers gravitated to illegal manning agencies.
“It takes money to make
money,” Mr. Bonihit said as he
helped hoist a 50-foot net gyrating with anchovies. To get jobs
legally requires coursework at
an accredited trade school that
can cost $4,000 or so, he said, far
more than most villagers can afford. And the wages quoted by
Step Up are often nearly double
what the men might make
through an accredited company.
At sea, though, the reality is
different from the promises on
land, Mr. Bonihit said, adding
that he had lasted 10 months in
the job he got through Step Up.
When the once-a-week beatings
of crew members became too
much to bear, he left his ship in
port. With help from missionaries, he flew home, he said.
“You go with pride,” he said of
his experience, “come back with
shame.”
Even though Mr. Andrade, Mr.
Bonihit and the other Filipino
men traveled to Singapore at different times over the past five
years, nearly all of them described in virtually identical
terms a two-bedroom apartment
on the 16th floor, above Step Up’s
office, where they waited before
and after voyages.
As he headed toward his first
job at sea, Mr. Andrade stayed in
the apartment for about a week,
according to family members
who spoke with him briefly by
phone. Pots and pans were
stacked in the corners, and the
walls were greasy from frying
fish. The floor was so dirty that
moss grew in patches, and with
the windows sealed, the rooms
reeked of urine and sweat, according to interviews and court
records.
A short Filipino man in his 40s,
known as Bong, managed the
apartment for Step Up with a
Chinese woman, Lina, affidavits
say. New recruits were told to
keep their voices down and to
avoid moving around much.
Some of the men were required
to leave before 7 a.m. and return
after dark. Others were confined
to the apartment, which Bong
kept locked all the time.
At night, 20 or more men lay
on flattened cardboard on the
floor, inches apart. If Bong pointed at you, three of the seafarers
recounted, it meant you were to
sleep in his room, where, they
said, he demanded sex. “No was
not an option,” one of the men
said, because Bong controlled
who got which jobs.
Mr. Andrade’s relatives say
they lost track of him shortly after receiving his final text message. “Bro, this is Eril,” Mr.
Andrade wrote on Sept. 15, 2010.
“I am now here in Singapore I
was not able to text earlier I ran
out of phone credit.”
‘Total Strangers’
Established in 1988, the manning company, then known as
Step Up Employment Agency,
initially recruited domestic labor,
providing workers for cooking,
cleaning and child care jobs in
Singapore. In 1995, it adopted a
new name and agenda. “Supplies
Philippines, China, Indonesia,
Vietnam, Myanmar, Nepal, India
fisherman,” a business card said.
“With Over 25 years of experience in fishing Vessel, We Strive
To Serve You Better!”
For years, the agency was run
by Victor Lim, now in his
mid-60s, and his wife, Mary, according to court records. Its
main office, on the second floor
of a shopping mall, across from a
sex-toy shop and a massage parlor, is small and cramped.
Within the past year or so, the
company’s sign was removed,
leaving only one for a business
owned by Mr. Lim’s son, Bryan,
called 123 Employment Agency.
Singapore tax records indicate
that it has had annual revenue of
about $1 million in recent years.
The comment section of a web-
site advertising Step Up’s services contains just two. The first is
from a man saying the agency
sends men to boats with unsafe
working conditions. The second
is from a woman who wrote in
2013 that Step Up had offered no
help after placing her brother on
a ship from which he went missing.
In 2009, human rights groups
criticized Step Up for not helping
more to raise a ransom for the
crew of the Win Far 161, a Taiwanese tuna vessel that was attacked by Somali pirates. The pirates used the boat, allegedly
fishing illegally in the Indian
Ocean near the Seychelles, to attack a Maersk container ship in
an episode made famous by the
movie “Captain Phillips.” The
Win Far 161 crew was held hostage and tortured for 10 months,
during which two members died
before the others were ransomed.
That same year, when eight
Filipino seamen were jailed in
Tanzania for months on charges
of illegal fishing after their captain fled, Step Up officials refused to hire lawyers or post bail,
advocates said.
Mr. Lim, his son and Step Up
did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this article. But in a lawsuit decided by
the Supreme Court of the Philippines in 2001, Mr. Lim and his
partners offered an argument
that they would repeat in later
interviews about trafficking allegations. “Total strangers,” the
LEFT, AMRITA CHANDRADAS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES; ABOVE, JOHN REGAN
The ship Mr. Andrade died on. Left, the Singapore office
where Step Up Marine Enterprise, which recruited Mr.
Andrade, operated. Its sign is gone; the storefront now
advertises an agency owned by the Step Up owner’s son.
defendants said, denying ties to a
seafarer who had sued for unpaid wages.
The court revoked the recruiter license of JEAC, then Step
Up’s partner firm in Manila, and
ordered JEAC to pay the back
wages. The only thing worse
than the companies’ sending
“unlettered countrymen to a foreign land and letting them suffer
inhumane treatment in the
hands of an abusive employer,”
the court said in its decision, was
that they had conspired to deny
workers their pay.
This was roughly when Mr.
Lim and Step Up shifted away
from using registered manning
agencies in the Philippines and
began to rely instead on Filipino
domestic workers in Singapore
to recruit through their relatives
in villages back home. Ms. Robelo, for example, was brought in,
even though she had no experience, by her sister-in-law, Roselyn Robelo, who had worked as a
domestic helper for Mr. Lim.
After Mr. Andrade died, officials from Step Up and Hung Fei
Fishery Co., the owner of the Taiwanese fishing ship he had
worked on, offered to pay his
family about $5,000, according to
a 2012 letter from the Philippine
Embassy in Singapore. (The
death benefit provided to a seafarer by a legal manning agency
in the Philippines is typically at
least $50,000.) The family declined, instead filing a complaint
against Step Up in November
2011 with Singapore’s Ministry of
Manpower. Officials at the ministry and on a government antitrafficking task force said last
month they were waiting for a
formal request from the Philippine government before investigating.
Police officials and prosecutors in Mr. Andrade’s province,
Aklan, voiced frustration at what
they said was a lack of response
from the federal authorities in
Manila. Celso J. Hernandez Jr., a
lawyer with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the agency responsible for
protecting Filipino workers sent
abroad, said he had no records
on Mr. Andrade’s death or on
Step Up. “The illegal manning
agencies are invisible to us,” he
said. The Philippine anti-trafficking task force did not respond to
requests for comment.
Taiwanese police and fishery
officials said they had no record
of having questioned Shao Chin
Chung, the captain of Mr.
Andrade’s ship, about his death.
The ship, Hung Yu 212, was cited
for illegal fishing in 2000, 2011
and 2012, according to the commissions that regulate tuna fishing in the Indian and Atlantic
Oceans. A secretary at Hung Fei
Fishery Co., based in Kaohsiung,
Taiwan, said recently that the
owner was traveling and was not
available to answer questions.
Efforts to interview other crew
members were unsuccessful.
On April 6, 2011, Mr. Andrade’s
cadaver arrived at port in Singapore on the Hung Yu 212. Dr. Wee
Keng Poh, a forensic pathologist
at Singapore’s Health Sciences
Authority, conducted an autopsy
six days later. He concluded that
the cause of death was acute
myocarditis, an inflammatory
disease of the heart muscle. His
report gave little more detail.
The body was then flown to the
Philippines, where Dr. Noel Martinez — the pathologist in Kalibo,
the provincial capital — performed a second autopsy. He disagreed with the first, instead citing a heart attack as the cause of
death. Dr. Martinez’s autopsy report also noted extensive unexplained bruises and cuts, inflicted before death, on Mr.
Andrade’s brow, upper and lower
lip, nose, upper right chest and
right armpit.
Mr. Andrade’s pancreas and
one eye were missing. The two
pathologists could not be
reached, but a provincial police
investigator suggested that the
organs could have been damaged in an accident aboard the
ship or removed during the first
autopsy. Removing an eye is not
typical in an autopsy, several pathologists in New York said, adding that the pancreas might have
been missing because it sometimes decomposes faster than
other organs.
Shaking his head, Emmanuel
Concepcion, a friend of Mr.
Andrade’s, said he knew what
conditions on long-haul fishing
boats were like and doubted that
Down a dirt road, surrounded
by rice paddies, Ms. Robelo sat
behind cinder-block walls in a remote jail. Housing about 223 prisoners, only 24 of them women,
the five-acre Aklan Rehabilitation Center has the feel of a bustling shantytown. Chickens and
visiting children scurried underfoot as prisoners squatted on a
roof overlooking the courtyard.
Most of the 10 Step Up workers, including Mr. Lim and his
wife, who have been charged in
absentia by the Philippine authorities are in Singapore, and
they are unlikely to be prosecuted because there is no extradition treaty between the countries.
Jailed since May 2013, Ms.
Robelo cried while explaining
what had led to her arrest.
“When I got a name,” she said,
“I called it to Singapore.” She
never met or spoke directly with
any of the Lims, she said; she
communicated only with her sister-in-law in Singapore. Before
Mr. Andrade’s death, she said,
she never heard from the men
prosecutors say she recruited,
some of them her relatives,
about what happened in Singapore or at sea. She said she had
signed up only three men, not 10,
as prosecutors charge.
“If no one has work, a job is
something you share,” Ms. Robelo said, adding that she saw her
role as “helping the boys,” not officially recruiting them. She said
she had been told that the $2
promised (but never paid) for
each person she referred was not
a commission but intended to offset the cost of driving to the
men’s houses for paperwork.
Visiting the jail, her husband,
Mitchell, 44, and children — Xavier, 9, and Gazrelle, 7 — stood
nearby. Mr. Robelo has been unemployed since he sold his auto
rickshaw to raise $2,800 to pay
his wife’s first lawyer, who, the
couple said, took the money and
disappeared without doing any
work.
In Kalibo, a prosecutor, Reynaldo B. Peralta Jr., said the local
police had not interviewed other
crew
members
from
Mr.
Andrade’s ship about how he
died because they were elsewhere in the Philippines, beyond
Mr. Peralta’s jurisdiction.
“Were it not for her recruitment,” Mr. Peralta said of Ms.
Robelo, “these victims would not
have left the country.” Ms. Robelo knew she was recruiting illegally, he claimed, because some
villagers gave her money to send
to Singapore.
Back in the village, hidden behind a thicket of banana trees,
the empty metal lining from Mr.
Andrade’s coffin sat alongside
the now-abandoned house that
he had hoped to repair. A halfdozen unpaid electric bills were
wedged into the cracked front
door, addressed to his mother,
Molina, who died in 2013 from liver failure. Inside, water dripped
through the ceiling.
Julius, Mr. Andrade’s brother,
said that unless officials in Manila got more involved, he did not
believe he would ever get justice
for his brother’s death. “It’s not
right,” he said of Ms. Robelo’s incarceration. The real culprits
who should be in jail, he added,
are in Singapore and at sea.
TIANJIN, China — Under different circumstances, the emerald-green sod and newly planted
ash and peach trees that dominate the view outside Li Junhua’s
apartment building would be a
welcome sight in Vanke Port City,
a sprawling complex of high-rise
condominiums in a showcase economic development zone here.
But when Mr. Li and many of
his neighbors look at the acres of
fresh landscaping, installed in
September near the epicenter of
one of China’s deadliest industrial
accidents, they see something
else: the government’s efforts to
deflect their questions — and
their anger — about the chemical
explosions that decimated a large
swath of the neighborhood on the
night of Aug. 12, killing 173 people.
“The grass is a political performance,” Mr. Li, 39, a businessman, said as he yanked a green
blade from the turf near his deserted home. “Local officials just
want to impress their superiors.”
Almost three months after the
blasts damaged over 17,000
homes and stunned the nation
with apocalyptic scenes, residents say they are struggling to
rebuild their lives in the face of a
campaign of intimidation by government officials intent on
putting the embarrassing episode
behind them and on suppressing
public criticism of the Communist
Party.
The government quickly offered cash compensation for
homes damaged by the explosions, but residents say that the
plan has been tarnished by bureaucratic apathy toward their
plight, and that those unwilling to
accept the settlements have been
harassed and in some cases
roughed up by the police.
Many residents are worried
about the long-term health effects
of toxic fallout from the tons of
chemicals that were blasted into
the air. Some have put off plans to
have children. Others are recovering from physical and psychological damage, and wondering
how they will earn a living.
“I certainly can’t drive a forklift
anymore,” said Liu Guigang, 43,
who lost an eye in the blasts,
which also fractured some of his
vertebrae.
Before the disaster, Vanke Port
City, with its spacious apartments
and proximity to private schools,
was the bricks-and-mortar embodiment of China’s middle-class
ambitions. Many residents were
optimistic strivers who worked at
companies near the Port of Tianjin or ran businesses that thrived
on its operations.
But 2,000 feet from the complex
was a shipping yard that held as
much as 3,000 tons of dangerous
chemicals on the night of the
blasts. Rui Hai International Logistics had set up the facility in violation of Chinese regulations requiring that hazardous materials
be stored farther from residential
areas.
In contrast to the landscaping
across the street, the Vanke complex remains a desolate expanse
of broken furniture and abandoned clothing, some of it discolored, apparently by chemicals
spread in the explosions. A sea of
twisted metal, dismantled bed
frames, tattered blankets and discarded toys stretches for acres
across once-leafy public spaces.
Rusted skeletons of incinerated
cars lie just outside a gate to the
development.
Adam Wu contributed research.
Displaced homeowners are
bunking with relatives in distant
parts of this northeastern city or
renting apartments as they wait
for compensation and try to negotiate better settlements.
The government has offered to
let residents sell their homes to
private developers for 30 percent
more than what they paid for
them, or to keep the homes and
take money for repairs based on
appraisals by companies approved by the government. Residents can also get a full refund
for unusable furniture and appliances.
The state-controlled news media have hailed the plan as generous. But residents say that the
money would not be enough to
buy new homes because real estate prices have climbed considerably in recent years.
Those who work for the government or for state-owned enterprises risk losing their jobs if
they refuse the settlements, and
people who tried to lead group
negotiations have been threatened by the police and other officials, residents said.
“The officials just closed the
door, sat in their office and then
inflicted the plan upon everyone,”
said Zhu Haipeng, 37, a safety engineer in the Vanke complex.
Like many of his neighbors,
Mr. Zhu took part in public protests after the explosions, first
over thefts at Vanke Port City for
which the residents blamed
workers hired by the government
to do repairs, and then against local officials ignoring their deMONGOLIA
Beijing
Yellow
River
Tianjin
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Yang er
Riv
LAOS
N. KOREA
S. KOREA
Shanghai
CHINA
VIETNAM
East
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500 MILES
THE NEW YORK TIMES
mands for direct negotiations
and fair compensation.
“Before the blasts, I never
thought it would happen to me,”
Mr. Zhu said of taking part in
street demonstrations. “But afterward I felt so small.”
Residents said that they had
staged more than 10 protests and
that some participants had been
detained. The last demonstration
took place in late September,
when over 100 people gathered
outside a government building
until 1 a.m., waiting in vain for an
official to speak to them.
Many Vanke homeowners are
upset that the compensation plan
is the same for all apartments in
the blast radius, even though
some suffered more damage than
others. “We should get more because we suffered the most,” Mr.
Zhu said of residents in Vanke,
the neighborhood hit hardest by
the explosions.
Zhang Xiaoqiang, an official
helping to oversee the disaster
response, said the government
was “doing a fairly good job of
handling the aftermath” of the
explosions and defended the
compensation plan, pointing out
that members of over 99 percent
of households in the seven most
damaged residential complexes
had signed the deal or agreed to
do so.
He denied that the authorities
had pressed residents to accept
settlements. “This kind of intimidation doesn’t exist,” he said.
Displaced residents from different complexes, many of whom
met for the first time during the
protests, have been using the
messaging app WeChat to compare compensation offers, strategize about negotiation tactics and
share videos of police officers attacking homeowners.
But such activity is risky. A
woman who had agreed to act as
a negotiator for some Vanke
homeowners backed out after officials threatened to revoke her
business license, according to
residents. Residents also said
that local lawyers, including several with apartments in the complex, were unwilling to represent
them because they were afraid of
angering the authorities.
The government has not released a full inventory of the
chemicals that were at the shipping yard at the time of the explosions, but the state-controlled
news media has said that Rui Hai
handled some of the industry’s
most volatile and toxic substances. In late August, the authorities announced that 23 government officials and Rui Hai executives who bore some responsibility for the accident had been
detained or placed under investigation.
Since then, news about the disaster has all but disappeared
from the state news media. Officials have not released any information about the status of the
investigation or about whether
there will be public trials.
Zhao Yingmiao, 33, sustained a
broken foot when the blasts
knocked her down in her apartment. She still has a limp and has
been renting a small one-bedroom apartment with her husband since the explosions forced
them out of the Vanke condominium they bought a few years ago
for $236,000.
The couple owns a bakery
nearby, but business has plummeted since the blasts and two
employees have quit and left
town, fearing the effects of the
fallout on their health.
With its unadorned walls, their
tiny rental presents a dispiriting
portrait of lives in limbo. Cardboard boxes with the couple’s belongings sit on the living room
floor, while clothing they fear is
contaminated remains sealed in
white garbage bags.
“We were actually planning to
have a child, but now, no way,”
Ms. Zhao said, expressing fear
that exposure to the chemicals
could complicate a pregnancy.
She has difficulty breathing and
worries that inhaling burning
chemicals on the night of the
blasts caused long-term damage.
“This accident was the government’s fault,” said Zhang Yue, 34,
who sat at the dining room table
in a rented apartment across
town one recent morning, while
her condominium in the Vanke
complex sat empty, its walls and
ceilings pockmarked from a
shock wave that blew off doors
and paint. “If they can’t offer fair
compensation, at least they could
apologize. But they say nothing.”
Ms. Zhang and her husband,
who both work for an auto manufacturer, said they had also decided against becoming parents.
“If I had a child,” Ms. Zhang
said, tears rolling down her
cheeks, “it would be unfair to let
the kid live in a society like this.”
Indian Leader Dealt Setback in Crucial Vote
By DAVID BARSTOW
NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India suffered a severe political setback
on Sunday when the voters of Bihar, the country’s third most populous state, overwhelmingly rejected his party in state assembly
elections.
Mr. Modi, who had eagerly cast
the Bihar elections as a referendum on his first 17 months as India’s leader, acknowledged defeat shortly after noon.
Recriminations were swift
within his Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P. Some party leaders
questioned whether Mr. Modi
had erred in the closing weeks of
the Bihar campaign by elevating
hard-right appeals to Hindu nationalism over his more unifying
message of “vikas,” or development, for all Indians.
Those appeals — in which Mr.
Modi depicted his opponents as
favoring Muslims and insulting
cows, a revered Hindu holy symbol — fell flat in Bihar, a desperately poor state in eastern India
where millions of people eke out
a living as subsistence farmers
without electricity, plumbing or
even two meals a day.
While pollsters had predicted a
close election, the actual results
were anything but: The B.J.P.
and its allies won less than half as
many seats in the 243-member
state assembly as the “grand alliance” of parties that joined forces
to oppose Mr. Modi.
One prominent political ana-
lyst, Shekhar Gupta, summed up
the lesson of the election this
way: “Mr. Modi is beatable.”
The defeat also means that Mr.
Modi will enter the winter session of Parliament without the
political momentum he craved to
force through major overhauls of
taxation, labor rules and land use
that he sees as critical to accelerating India’s growth and attracting more foreign investors. The
loss also deprives the B.J.P. of a
vital location from which to
spread its political dominance
into northeast India, including
the large state of West Bengal.
The battle for Bihar, fought
through five rounds of voting
over the past five weeks, played
out against a raging national debate over whether Mr. Modi’s India is becoming increasingly intolerant of secularists, Muslims
and political dissent in general.
According to the police, four
Muslims were attacked and killed
by mobs of Hindus in the past six
weeks because they were suspected of stealing, smuggling or
slaughtering cows.
Hundreds of writers, filmmakers, scientists and academics
have protested what they see as
rising intolerance by signing petitions or returning awards they
had received from governmentsupported bodies.
“This is a victory of unity over
divisiveness. Humility over arrogance,” said Rahul Gandhi, a
leader of the Congress party and
a member of the grand alliance,
in a statement. Mamata Baner-
jee, the chief minister of West
Bengal, called it a “defeat of intolerance.”
Mr. Modi said little about Sunday’s results, other than mentioning on Twitter that he had
telephoned Nitish Kumar, the
leader of the grand alliance and
the current chief minister of Bihar, to congratulate him. (Mr.
Kumar, in turn, posted on Twitter
expressing his gratitude for the
call.)
Mr. Kumar proved a formidable opponent, especially after he
did the unthinkable and teamed
up with his longtime rival in Bihari politics, Lalu Prasad Yadav,
to defeat Mr. Modi. The two men,
masters of manipulating caste
politics, have run Bihar for the
past 25 years, and they gleefully
portrayed Mr. Modi as a globetrotting elitist outsider who had
consistently failed to deliver on
his big promises.
In a recent interview, Mr.
Kumar said Mr. Modi had
“aroused the expectations of the
people” when he was elected
prime minister last year, but had
little to show for it.
“He has done nothing,” Mr.
Kumar said, previewing a message Mr. Modi’s opponents are
already beginning to amplify.
Indeed, in a raucous, celebratory news conference on Sunday,
Mr. Yadav wasted no time in saying that he and the rest of their
alliance would try to dethrone
Mr. Modi as prime minister.
“Remove Modi, save the nation,” Mr. Yadav said.
Late Edition Tomorrow, periods of rain,
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VOL.
CLXV
. . . No. 57,045
© 2015 The New York Times sea.
NEW YORK, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015
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company
and
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apartment
inabandoned
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high
seas
operate
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concluded
been
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be- killed,
ing
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and
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onto
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— When
Eril he
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forcement
issent
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gatekeeper
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sex hoping
from
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sea.
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recruited
Mr.
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and
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roof.
even
greater
impunity,
sending
abuses
tend
to
happen,
and
enthis
small
village,
he
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healthy
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a fishing
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seas
“Sick
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said
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agencies
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atfishing
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taped to hismen
body. Handwritten
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the otheris
villagers,
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Seven
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ships
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deathpoor
at sea,
and
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onmother’s
ahisforcement
lax.
mother’s
leaky
roof.
even
greater
impunity,
Chineseand
by thesending
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it then
high
seas
replace
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leaky
roof.
ing
to
interviews
affidavits
taken
by
local
Once
aboard,
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menreplace
endured
shame and debt when
these
was
sent
home
in a wooden stated
cof-only safety
documented
record
of
trouble,
acthat Mr. Andrade,
31, labor
and
records;
infishing
boat
on
the
high
seas
to
Illegal
agencies
operate
with
men
get
home,”
said
Shelley
Seven
months
later,
his sent
body men
20-hour
workdays
and later,
brutalhis
to
ships
notorious
poor toThio,
had fallen
ill infor
his sleep.
Seven
months
body
was
prosecutors.
While
they
waited
be
deployed
to
atravel
board
member
of Tranfin:
jet
black
from
having
been
cording
to
an
examination
of
structing
them
to
on
tourreplace
his
mother’s
leaky
roof.
Mr. Andrade, who died in Feb- sient Workers Count Too, a mieven in
greater
impunity,
sending
a wooden
cofbeatings, only to return was
homesent
un- home
and aboard
laborruary
2011, and nearly ina dozen grant workers’ advocacy group
kept
in
a safety
fish
freezer
arecords;
court
records,
police
reports
and
ist
or
transit
visas,
which
exempt
home
in
a
wooden
coffin:
jet
black
from
havTaiwanese
tuna
ships,
several
said,
a
gatekeeper
Seven
months
later,
his
body
men
to
ships
notorious
for
poor
paid and deeply in debt
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been
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travel
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missrecruited
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files
Singapore
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ining sent
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THE OUTLAW OCEAN
ist
or
transit
visas,
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exempt
an
eye
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Philippines.
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episodes
dating
many
labor
fin:
jet
black
from
having
been
ises
of
double
the
actual
wages and anti-trafficking
structing
them
to
travel
on
tourDemocracy
in
Myanmar
Recruited
and
Deceived
costs,
prosecutors
say.
for
more
than
a month,
missing
an
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and
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theto anmen
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than
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the
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After
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kept
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freezer
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them if
back
two
decades,
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company
or
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visas,
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exempt
Singapore, laws;
where they
Thousands
of
maritime
eming
an
eye
and
his
pancreas,
and
which
an
autopsy
report
later
locked
up
for
weeks,
according
to
his
pancreas,
and
covered
in
cuts
and
bruises,
workdays
and
brutal
beatings,
to
return
many
labor
and
anti-trafficking
inonly
Singapore.
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the manning
ship
for
more
than
a
month,
missthey
are
denied
pay,
has
been
tied
to
trafficking,
sethem
from
the
protections
of
b Bush ployment agencies around the
interviews and affidavits taken agencies are what make it all posconcluded
haddebeen
inflicted
covered
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killed,
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vere
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t week ing
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an laws;
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ese pay,
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ceptive
recruitment
and
failure
they
arePolls
denied
injured,
and
disavowing
them
ifto
turkey covered
inflicted
before
death.
of
dollars
in
upfront
costs,
prosecutors
say.
supplying
crew
members
for
gatekeeper
demanded
sex
from
“Sick
and
resting,”
said
a
note
concluded
had
been
inflicted
berecruited Mr.on
Andrade
and
an autopsy report
later they
as captured
by
a injured,
“It’satlies
cheating
land,
payNetanyahu
hundreds
of
seafarers
in Inare philosophy
denied
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killed,
abandonedthem
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diners, which
And
Betting
the other villagers, has a wellships,
from
small
trawlers
to
gihard-line
that
blocksto his
taped
body.
Handwritten
in
By PETER
BAKER
“Sick
and
resting,”
said
a
note
taped
to
his
Thousands
of
maritime
employment
agenOnce
aboard,
the
men
endured
concluded
had
been
inflicted
before
death.
As
Netanyahu
Visits
then
beatings
and
death
at
sea,
documented
record of
trouble,
acdia,
Indonesia,
Mauritius,
the
progress.
Mr.
Netanyahu
considkilled,
abandoned
or
arrested
at
sea.
halls to ant
and JODI
RUDOREN carriers, and han20-hour workdays and brutal
container
cording to an examination of
Chinese
bycies
theon
ship’s
captain,
it only
ers Mr. Obama hopelessly
naïve
fore
death.
All
1
State
beatings,
to return
home un-and
“Sick
and
resting,”
said
a
note
then
shame
debt
when
these
body.
Handwritten
in
Chinese
by
the
ship’s
around
the
world
provide
a
vital
service,
Philippines
and
Tanzania.
Obama,
Reasons
sea.
WASHINGTON
— For Presicourt
records,
police
reports
and
about
one
of
the
world’s
most
vol“It’s
lies
and
cheating
on
land,
paychecks
in debt from
stated only that Mr. Andrade,paid31,and deeply
dentdling
Obama,
iteverything
was
a dayresting,”
of cele- from
case filessaid
in Singapore
and the
atile neighborhoods.
“Sick
and
said
a note
men
Shelley
to
Handwritten
in onthen
thousands of
dollars get
in upfront
Still,
its
have
largely
“It’s
lies
and
cheating
land,
rnor of bration.
totaped
Move
Onhis
He
had just signed
the
captain,
it
stated
only
that
Mr.body.
Andrade,
31,
had
supplying
crew
members
for home,”
ships,
from
small
Philippines.
In episodes
dating
“They
have
aowners
fraught
relationbeatings
and
death
at
to
plane
tickets.
While
many
had
fallen
ill
in
his
sleep.
costs,
prosecutors
say.sea,
taped
to
his
body.
Handwritten
in
By
JONATHAN
MARTIN
most important domestic measback
two decades,of
theTrancompany
ship,
and it’s fueled
by a belief
on
Thio,
a
board
member
Chinese
by
the
ship’s
captain,
it
then
beatings
and
death
at
sea,
escaped
accountability.
Last
Thousands
of
maritime
embehind, ure companies
operate
responsibly,
of
his
presidency,
his
health
then
shame
and
debt
when
these
has
been
tied
to
trafficking,
sethe
part
of
both
of
them
that
the
Mr. Andrade,
who
in Febfallen
ill
sleep.
trawlers
toBush
giant
container
carriers,
CONCORD,
N.H. —died
Jeb
Chinese
by in
thehis
ship’s
captain,
it
ployment
agencies
around
the
sient
Workers
Count and
Too, ahanmiprogram. So when Prime real. Burdened
by mistrust,
diother
is
trying
to screw
them, trip
shame
and
debt
when
these
stated
onlythen
that
Mr.
Andrade,
31,
year,
for
example,
prosecutors
rolled
across this state last week world provide
ng stu- care
a vital service, vere physical abuse, neglect, dethe
industry
over
all,
which
has
ruary
2011,
and
nearly
a
dozen
men
get
home,”
said
Shelley
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu
of
vided
by
ideology,
the
leaders
of
failure to
them up, thwart
their policies,
statedMr.
onlyAndrade,
that Mr. Andrade,
31, inmen
in adling
bus, chomping
on turkey supplying
who
died
2011,
and
everything
from
torecruitment
planeandgroup
tickcrewpaychecks
members
for ceptive
grant
workers’
advocacy
getsleep.
home,”
said
Shelley
opened
the
biggest
arrived at the
White House
had
fallen
illFebruary
in corner
his
the United
and Israel
them,
ambush
them,”
said trafficking
tmouth Israel
jerky
ducking
into diners,
drawn
little
is States
poorly
ships, from small
trawlers
to gi- pay hundreds of seafarers in Inother
men
inand
his
village
had
been
Thio,
a
board
member
of
Traninattention,
for ahad
hastilyfallen
arrangedill
visit,
it his
was sleep.
talked past each other for years Martin Indyk, the president’s for- general
dia, Indonesia, Mauritius, the
stores
and
town
halls
to
ant
container
carriers,
and
hanThio,
a
board
member
of
Trannearly
dozen
other
men
in
had
been
ets.
While
many
companies
operate
responsiwith a mostregulated.
Mr.
Andrade,
died
likely not the a
main
thing on
until
the rupture
over
Mr. his
Oba- village
merwho
special
envoy
toin
the
Middle
Philippines and Tanzania.
The
few
rules
on
the
Continued
onFebPageplead
A8
recruited
by
illegal
hisan
case to
voters. “manning
dling everything
Mr. Andrade,
who
died
in
Febsient
Workers
Count
Too, from
a paychecks
miADAM
DEAN
FORagreeTHE NEW
YORK
TIMES
ma’s push
for a
nuclear
East.
“They
each have
a number
Still, its owners have largely
Chris
Christie, the governor of to plane tickets. While many
sient
Workers
Count
Too,tricked
a miCapitol hisTomind.
ruary
2011,
and
nearly
a
dozen
bly,
over
all
the
industry,
which
agency,”
with
false
promof
cases
where
they
feel
the
other
ment
with
Iran
led
to
the
spectaWhite
House
officials,
it
was
escaped accountability.has
Last
Newgrant
Jersey, was
not far behind, advocacy
ruary 2011, and nearly a dozen grant
companies THE
operate
responsibly, OCEAN
OUTLAW
workers’
group
in bad faith.” advocacy
workers’
group
of respect to make time cle of Mr. Netanyahu denouncing acted
mingling
with
beer-sipping
stu-wages
Christ- a show
the industry over all, which has year, for example, prosecutors
other
men
in
his
village
had
been
ises
of
double
the
actual
other
men
in
his
village
had
been
Uzi Arad, Mr. Netanyahu’s for- dents at a pub near Dartmouth
for Mr. Netanyahu on that day the president’s efforts before a
drawn
little
attention,
is
poorly
opened
the biggest regutrafficking
drawn
littleRecruited
attention,
is poorly
and
Deceived
sich of backrecruited
merillegal
national security
adviser,
of Congress. by an
in March 2010. But Mr. Ne- joint meeting
with a regulated.
and
thenCollege
sentand
to chatting
an apartment
in
recruited
“manning
few rules on the
by
anway.
illegal
“manning
DEAN
FOR
NEW
YORK
TIMES
said no single
issue had caused 3-year-old in the State
tanyahu
did THE
notas
see
it that
As
Mr. Netanyahu
arrives at Page
many
described
their
first
genuine
election.
A4.
Capitol
ORKADAM
TIMES
lated.
The The
few
rules on the
books do
a drivSingapore,
where
they
were
the
rift.
“It
was
a
gradual
thing
He felt
squeezed
in,
not
accorded
the
White
House
on
Monday
for
agency,”
tricked
with
false
promabout
what
he
wanted
for
Christagency,” tricked with false prom- THE that
OUTLAW
OCEAN
OCEAN
widened over
time,” he said. mas.THE
rituals of such a visit. No pho- his first visit in more than a year, OUTLAW
And
Gov.
John
Kasich
of
h after the
not evento apply
to fishing
ships,
where
for weeks, according
ises were
of invited
double
the both
actual
wages
will probablylocked
say that up
ises
of
double
the actual
wages
tographers
to record
leaders
have
reasons
to put “History
in Singapore.
“And
the manning
Ohio swung a golf club at a drivtheir ing Recruited
andmismanaged
Deceived
moment. “That wasn’t a good the past behind them. They Recruited
will both leaders
and
Deceived
range
after
Rotary the and
interviews
andin Portsmouth
affidavits
taken abuses
then
sent
to
an
apartment
in
the
worst
tend
to
happen,
and
then
sent
to
an
apartment
in
agencies
are
what
make
it
all and
posrelationship.
It’s
not
one
party.”
to treat me,” he complained discuss a new security agreefielding questions from Rotary
e A4. way
enuine
Page
A4.mentthey
anging
bywere
local
prosecutors.
If the current animosity
be- Club
toelection.
an
American afterward.
and ways to
counter Iran.
members on topicsWhile
ranging they
Singapore,
where
were
sible.”
Singapore,
where
they
is lax.
and Is- from climate change toenforcement
The tortured relationship beBut few believe their relation- tween the United States
be deployed whether
to Taiwanwhether tween
rael is not unique in thewaited
history of to
locked
upBibi,
forasweeks,
deceased people are somehow
Barack and
they shipaccording
can ever
be moreto
than coolly
locked
up
for
weeks,
according
tomanning
in Singapore.
“And
twothe
govin
Singapore.
the
manning
casting
ballots
inseveral
some states. “And
Illegal
agencies
operate with even
each other, has been a story transactional. Undergirding their relations between theese
tuna
ships,
said,
a
mehow call interviews
and affidavits
taken agencies
it is what
the worstmake
in more it all
the Singapore-based company
“Youposdon’t win here, in my
of crossed signals, misunder- personal interviews
disconnect are different
are
andernments,
affidavits
taken
agencies
are
what
make
it
all
posgatekeeper
demanded
sex
from
tes.
opinion,
by just running
televistandings,
slights prosecutors.
perceived and worldWhile
views. Mr.they
Obama sees Mr.
Continued on Page
A10
by
local
greater impunity,
sending
men and
to
that recruited
Mr. Andrade
hu as captured by a
sible.”
ads,” Mr. Kasich said in an
local prosecutors.
While
they
them
forsion
assignments
at sea.
sible.”
in my waited to be deployed toby
Taiwaninterview
before meeting with
the
other
villagers,
has
a
wellships
notorious
for
poor
safety
and
laphilosophy that blocks
Step
Up
Marine
Enterprise,
deployed to Taiwaneditors at Thethe
Portsmouth
HerOnce aboard,
menhere;
endured Enterprise,
ese tuna
ships, severalwaited
said, ato be
Stepgot
Up
ald. “You’ve
to be Marine
documented
record
of trouble,
ac. televiMr. Netanyahu
considthe
Singapore-based
ese from
tuna
ships,
several
said,
acompany
bor
records;
instructing
them
to travNo
Justice,
No
Football
on
a
Missouri
Campus
you’ve
got to be on the
ground.
20-hour
workdays
and
brutal company
d
in
an
gatekeeper
demanded
sex
the
Singapore-based
cording
to
an
examination
of
Obama hopelessly naïve
People
want
to
see
you.
And
they
that
recruited sex
Mr.
Andrade
and
demanded
from
beatings,
only
torecruited
return
ung
want
to know
who
you are.”
elhome
on
tourist
orrecords,
transitpolice
visas,
which
them most
for assignments
at gatekeeper
sea.
that
Mr.
Andrade
and
court
reports
and
e ofwith
the world’s
volthe
other
villagers,
has
a
wellAll deeply
three men arein
staking
their from
By MARC TRACY
paid and
debt
for assignments at sea.
h
Her- andOnce
aboard, the menthem
endured
Republican
candidacies
on an
exempt
them
protections
of
files the
in Singapore
and the
the
other
villagers,
hascase
afrom
wellASHLEY SOUTHALL
hborhoods.
documented
record
of trouble,
acidea of
that
seems increasingly
thousands
dollars
in
upfront
A photo of Eril Andrade in his family’s abandoned house in the
Once
aboard,
the
men
endured
here;
20-hour
workdays
and
brutal
COLUMBIA,relationMo. — Students
Philippines.
Inship,episodes
dating
have a atfraught
documented
of trouble,
acContinued
Pagemany
A12record
Philippines.
He died on
a fishing
his body cut and
bruised.
cording to an examination
of onsay.
labor
and
anti-trafficking
laws;
the
University
of
Missouri
costs,
prosecutors
20-hour
and brutal
beatings,
only
un- workdays
ground.
JONATHAN
MARTIN
back twoofdecades, the company
have by
beena demonstrating
it’s fueled
belief
ontoforreturnByhome
court
records, policeThousands
reports
and
cording
toand
an disavowing
examination
emthem
are deweeks
for theand
ouster deeply
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paid
from
nd
they
beatings,
only
to
return
home un- and theof maritime
has been
tied if
to they
trafficking,
seof both versity
of them
that
the the CONCORD, N.H.case
filesBush
in Singapore
president,
protesting
—
Jeb
court
records,
police
reports
ployment
agencies around
the injured,and
thousands
of dollars
inpaid
upfront
”rying toschool’s
handling
of trip
racial
tenand
deeply
in
debt
from
nied
pay,
killed,
abandoned
or
In
Texas,
Night
Winds
Blow
In
Free
Electricity
vere
physical
abuse,
neglect,
descrew
them,
Philippines.
In episodes
dating
rolled
across
this
state
last
week
sions.
But
their
movement
recase
files
in
Singapore
and
the
world provide a vital service,
costs,
prosecutors
say. thousands of dollars in upfront
ng
their ceived
a boost policies,
over the weekendin a bus,
ceptive
recruitment
and
failure
to
IN
, thwart
their
the
thousands
of TXU Energy the dials when wholesale prices
backon
two
decades,
the
company
arrested
at sea.
chomping
turkey
supplying
crew
for
Philippines.
In episodes
dating
when dozens
of black football
HANNAH REYES FOR
THE NEW YORK
TIMES members
Thousands
of maritime
emcustomers who
arehundreds
at the van- are
highest
and turn them
back
on an
costs,
prosecutors
say.
By seCLIFFORD KRAUSS
hem,
ambush
them,”
said
pay
of
seafarers
in
Inplayers
issued
a
blunt
ultimahas
been
tied
to
trafficking,
jerky
and
ducking
into
diners,
of a company
bold
attempt
by the up when
By
JONATHAN
MARTIN
prices
are lowest.
ships, from
small
trawlers
toguard
gib
Bush
“It’s
lies
and
cheating
on
land,
then
back
two
decades,
the
and
DIANE
CARDWELL
ployment
around
or they won’t
play. Andrade
asingly
AResign
photo
ofagencies
Eril
inthe
his
family’s
abandoned
house
in
the
utility to change
people conIt is
possible because the
Texas
ndyk,
thetum:
president’s
fordia,howIndonesia,
Mauritius,
Thousands
of
maritime
and
town
halls
toabuse,
vere
physical
neglect,
deFueling the anger were a se-general stores
antemcontainer
carriers,
and
hanst
week
DALLAS
— In Texas,
wind
sume
energy.
TXU’s
free
overhas
more
wind
power
than any
world
provide
a
vital
service,
has
been
tied
to
trafficking,
sebeatings
and
death
at
sea,
then
shame
ONCORD,
N.H.
JebHe
Bush
ries Philippines.
of
on-campus
incidents:
ra-plead
cial
envoy
to
the —
Middle
farms
are
generating
so
much
enPhilippines
and
Tanzania.
12turkey
died
on
a
fishing
ship,
his
body
cut
and
bruised.
ployment
agencies
around
the
night plan, which is coupled with other state, accounting for roughhis casefor
to voters.
ceptive recruitment
andeverything
failure
to from
dling
cial supplying
slurs hurled at blackcrew
students members
ergyvere
that some
utilities paychecks
are givphysical
abuse,
slightlyneglect,
higher daytimedeis ly 10 percent of the state’s generhey
eachandhave
a number
ddiners,
across
this
state
week
Still, rates,
its owners
have largely
feces smeared
intolast
the shape
ing power
away.
Chrisworld
Christie,
the
of ofservice,
paygovernor
hundreds
seafarers
in
Inprovide
a
vital
one of dozens that have been of- ation. Alone among the 48 contigto
plane
tickets.
While
many
ships,
from
small
trawlers
to
giof a swastika on a wall in a resiBriana
Lamb, recruitment
an elementary feredand
ceptive
failure
to
by
more
than
50
retail
elecwhere
they
feel
the
other
uous states, Texas runsLast
its own
bus,to chomping
onstudents
turkey
escaped accountability.
New
Jersey,
was
not
far
behind,
dia,
Indonesia,
Mauritius,
the
dence hall. What many
supplying
crew
members
for
A
former
University
of
Missouri
player,
L’Damian
Washington,
companies
operate
responsibly,
school
teacher,
waits
until
her
halls
tricity companies in Texas over electricity grid that barely conant container carriers, and hanviewed as a sluggish response spoke to current players Sunday from his car in Columbia.
pay
hundreds
of seafarers
In- example, prosecutors
watch
strikes
9 p.m. to run her
faith.”
year,in for
ybadand
ducking into diners,
ls
ng
ate
Tricked While
on Land,
Tricked
While on Land,
Tricked While on Land,
orAbused
Killed
at Sea
Tricked WhileAbused
on Land,
orAbused
Killed at
Sea
or Killed
at Sea
Abused
or Killed at
Sea
‘Manning
Agencies’
Put Men in Debt,
Illegal ‘Manning Illegal
Agencies’
Put Men
in Debt,
Then inPut
Treacherous
Illegal ‘Manning Agencies’
Men in Debt,Maritime Jobs
W
hted Whom Weak in Polls
lls in Polls And Betting
Weak
All on 1 State
ng
And Betting
tate
All on 1 State
AUGUST KRYGER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
HANNAH REYES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Seven months later, his body men to ships notorious for poor
was sent home in a wooden cofsafety and labor records; infin: jet black from having been structing them to travel on tourkept in a fish freezer aboard a ist or transit visas, which exempt
and debt
when these men get home,” said Shelare sometimes unable or unwilling to protect
ship for more than a month, miss- them from the protections of
ley Thio,
member
of Transient
Workers
the rights of citizens far from home.
ing a
anboard
eye and
his pancreas,
and many
labor and anti-trafficking
in cuts workers’
and bruises,
Count covered
Too, a migrant
advocacy
abuse
laws; group
and disavowingThe
them
if of Filipino seamen has increased
which
an
autopsy
report
later
they
are
denied
pay,
injured,
in Singapore. “And the manning agencies are
in recent years, labor officials in the Philipconcluded had been inflicted be- killed, abandoned or arrested at
what make
it
all
possible.”
pines say, because the country’s maritime trade
fore death.
sea.
Step“Sick
Up Marine
Enterprise,
schools
on average, 20,000 graduates
and resting,”
said a notethe Singapore“It’s lies and cheating
on produce,
land,
to his body.
based taped
company
thatHandwritten
recruitedin Mr.
year atfor
fewer than 5,000 openings. As men
thenAndrade
beatings andadeath
sea,
Chinese by the ship’s captain, it then shame and debt when these
and the
other villagers, has a well-documented
grow desperate for work, they take greater
stated only that Mr. Andrade, 31, men get home,” said Shelley
recordhad
of fallen
trouble,
according
to
an
examination
risks. Roughly a third of them now use agencies
ill in his sleep.
Thio, a board member of TranMr.
Andrade,
who
died
in
Febof court records, police reports and case
files in Count
thatToo,
area illegal
— unregistered and willing to
sient Workers
miruary and
2011,the
andPhilippines.
nearly a dozen
Singapore
In episodes
dat- advocacy
break rules,
grant workers’
group the officials said.
ing back
two by
decades,
comSuch agencies, favored by
recruited
an illegalthe
“manning
THE NEW YORK TIMES
pany has
beentricked
tied to
trafficking,
ship operators and workers lookagency,”
with
false prom- THE OUTLAW OCEAN
of doubleabuse,
the actual
wages
severeises
physical
neglect,
ing to shave costs, compound the
and then sent to an apartment in Recruited and Deceived
deceptive
recruitment
and
failproblem of lawlessness on the
on. Page A4.
ure to locked
pay hundreds
of according
seafarers
up for weeks,
to in Singapore. “And the manning high seas. Scofflaw ships cast off
interviews
and affidavits
taken
in India,
Indonesia,
Mauritius,
the agencies
Philippines
are what stowaways
make it all pos-and deplete fishing stocks. Violence
by
local
prosecutors.
While
they
and Tanzania.
is rampant, and few nations patrol the waters,
sible.”
waited to be deployed to TaiwanStep UpacMarine
Enterprise,
Still,
its
owners
have
largely
escaped
much
less enforce violations of maritime laws
ese tuna ships, several said, a the Singapore-based
company
countability.
Lastdemanded
year, for sex
example,
or international pacts.
gatekeeper
from prosecutors
that recruited Mr. Andrade and
them
assignments
at sea. case in Camboopened
theforbiggest
trafficking
In aManila,
the other villagers, has
well- in late September, along a denseOnce aboard, the men endured
dian history,
involving more than 1,000
fisherdocumented
recordlyofpacked
trouble, actwo-block stretch of sidewalk on Ka20-hour workdays and brutal
cording
toUp
an examination
ofnear the bay, hundreds of seafarers
men, but
had
no
jurisdiction
to
charge
Step
law
Avenue
beatings, only to return home uncourt records, police reports and
paid andthem.
deeplyInin2001,
debt the
from
for recruiting
Supreme
Court looked for work. Recruiters from manning agencase files in Singapore and the
thousands
of
dollars
in
upfront
of the Philippines harshly reprimanded
Step
UpIn episodes
cies — dating
some legal, many not — carried signs
Philippines.
costs, prosecutors say.
N MARTIN and a partner
back
two
decades,
the
company
company
in Manila
around their necks listing job openings or pointThousands
of maritime
em- for systematihas them
been tied
trafficking,
seH. — Jeb Bush
cally duping
knowingly
to to ed
to brochures
arrayed on tables. Fixers sold
ploymentmen,
agencies
around sending
the
vere
physical
abuse,
neglect,
destate last week
world
provide
a
vital
service,
abusive employers and cheating them, but Step
fake accreditation papers while a popular Tagaing on turkey supplying crew members for ceptive recruitment and failure to
Up’s
owners
faced
no
penalties.
log rap song,
pay
hundreds
of
seafarers
in In- “Seaman Lolo Ko” (“My Grandpa
g into diners, ships, from small trawlers to gidia,
Indonesia,
Mauritius,
the
authorities
have charged 11 Is a Seaman”),
boomed in the background.
d town halls to The
antPhilippine
container carriers,
and hanPhilippines
and
Tanzania.
oters.
from
paychecks
peopledling
tiedeverything
to Step Up
with
trafficking and ille“These days,” the singer, known as YonStill, its owners have largely
he governor of to plane tickets. While many
gal recruitment of Mr. Andrade and others from gas, rapped, “it’s the seaman getting duped.”
not far behind, companies operate responsibly, escaped accountability. Last
one person,
allegedly
Mariners,
who used to be the cheaters (on their
for example,
prosecutors
er-sipping the
stu- Philippines.
the industryBut
overonly
all, which
has year,
opened
the
biggest
trafficking
ear Dartmouth
a low-level
culprit,
has been
arrested and is spouses), he warned, are now the ones cheated
drawn little
attention,
is poorly
atting with
a regulated.
TheCelia
few rules
on the
Continued
Pageeveryone
A8
likely
to be tried:
Robelo,
46, who faces
a on(by
else).
State Capitol
potential life sentence for what prosecutors say
nted for ChristThe Trip
was
ohn Kasich
of a recruiting effort that earned her at most
club at a drivIn the summer of 2010, Mr. Andrade was
$20 in commissions.
tsmouth after
growing
restless. He had studied criminology
Mr.
Andrade’s
story
was
pieced
together
from Rotary
in college in hopes of becoming a police officer,
from interviews with his family, other seamen
topics ranging
ge to whether
recruited in or near his village, police officers, not realizing that there was a minimum height
are somehow
requirement of 5-foot-3. He was two inches shy.
lawyers and aid workers in Jakarta, Manila and
ome states.
His night watchman job at a hospital paid less
Singapore.
It
highlights
the
tools
—
debt,
trickn here, in my
than 50 cents an hour. When not working in his
ery, fear, violence, shame and family ties — used
running televisich said in
family’s rice paddy, he spent much of his time
toanrecruit men, entrap them and leave them at
meeting with
watching cartoons on television, according to
sea, sometimes for years under harsh conditions.
rtsmouth Herhis brother Julius, 38.
No
country
exports
more
seafarers
than
the
to be here;
on the ground.
When a cousin told him about possible work
Philippines, which provides roughly a quarter
you. And of
they
them globally. More than 400,000 Filipinos at sea, Mr. Andrade saw it as a chance to tour
you are.”
the world while earning enough money to help
sought work last year as officers, deckhands,
e staking their
HANNAH REYES FOR his
THE NEW
YORK TIMES
family.
He was introduced to Ms. Robelo,
cargo handlers and cruise workers.
dacies onfishermen,
an
s increasingly
A
photo
of
Eril
Andrade
in
his
family’s
abandoned
house
in
the
Mr. Andrade’s death shows that governments who prosecutors say was the local Step Up rePage A12
Philippines. He died on a fishing ship, his body cut and bruised.
Polls
etting
1 State
CMYK
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THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL MON
wo
CMYK
Nxxx,2015-11-09,A,009,Sc-4C,E1
,2015-11-09,A,009,Sc-4C,E1
THE NEW
YORK
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, NOVEMBER
9, 2015
shiT
A8
N
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL MONDAY
By DAN LE
TIANJIN, China
ferent circumstanc
ald-green sod and
ash and peach tre
inate the view outsi
apartment building
welcome sight in Va
a sprawling comple
condominiums in a
nomic development
But when Mr. Li
his neighbors look
fresh landscaping,
September near th
one of China’s dead
accidents, they s
else: the governme
deflect their ques
their anger — abou
explosions that dec
swath of the neighb
night of Aug. 12, kill
“The grass is a
formance,” Mr. Li,
man, said as he ya
blade from the tur
serted home. “Loca
want to impress the
Almost three mo
blasts damaged
homes and stunne
with apocalyptic
dents say they are
rebuild their lives i
campaign of intimi
ernment officials
putting the embarra
behind them and o
public criticism of t
Party.
The governmen
fered cash comp
homes damaged b
sions, but resident
plan has been tarn
reaucratic
apathy
Mr. Andra
plight, and that tho
causes.
Af
accept
the settleme
harassed and in
Step
Up,
roughed up by the p
worked
o
Many
residents
about the long-term
ship, in th
of toxic fallout fro
chemicals
wer
quit thatafte
the air. Some have p
t
havestabbed
children. Oth
ering
from physicab
routinely
logical damage, an
wha
howAsked
they will earn
a
“Imost
certainlylikely
can’t
anymore,” said Liu
whodeath,
lost an Mr.
eye
which
also
fracture
ply,
“Viole
vertebrae.
Before the disast
City, with its spacio
and proximity to p
was the bricks-an
bodiment
of China’
Down
a
ambitions. Many r
by rice
paw
optimistic
strivers
companies
near
the
behind
cin
jin or ran businesse
mote
jail. H
on its
operations.
But
2,000 feetonl
from
oners,
was a shipping yar
the
five-a
much
as 3,000
tons
chemicals
on the
tion Cente
blasts. Rui Hai Int
tling
shan
gistics
had set
up th
olation
of Chinese
visiting
chr
quiring that hazard
foot farther
as prfr
be stored
areas.
roof overlo
In contrast to th
ofth
across Most
the street,
plex remains a des
ers, includ
of broken furnitur
wife,
who
doned
clothing,
som
ored, apparently
absentia b
spread in the explo
twisted
metal, dis
thorities
a
frames, tattered bla
they
u
carded
toysare
stretc
across
ed once-leafy
becaus
Rusted skeletons
carstion
lie justtreaty
outside
development.
tries.
Nxxx,2015-11-09,A,009,Sc-4C,E1THE 9,
NEW
qui
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, NOVEMBER
2015YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL
Nxxx,2015-11-09,A,009,Sc-4C,E1
sta
Month
Months
After
the
E
Mon
Months After Months
the Explosions
in
A
Stru
After
the
A
Struggle
to
Rebu
Months
After
the
Explosion
A
S
Months
A
A Struggle
to
Rebuild
Lives
an
Months After
the Explosions
in
Tianjin
‘S
A
Struggle
to
Re
Months
After
the
Ex
Struggle
toExplosions
Rebuild
Lives
Months
After the
in T
A
Strugg
A Struggle
toARebuild
Lives
and
Homes
StruggleLives
to Rebuild
A Struggle toARebuild
and H
rou
THE NEW YORK TIMES INT
AsN
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL
MONDAY,
N
mo
Clockwise
fro
Clockwise from top left, men
dea
in Manila advertised jobs at
in Manila
THE
YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015
N adv
Tricked
onNEW
Land
sea; the lining from Eril Anply
sea; the linin
drade’s coffin; Celia Robelo,
accused of recruiting Mr.
d
,
Sea
And Indebted,
Then Abused at Sea
iners, who used to be the cheatFrom Page A1
ers (on their spouses), he
case in Cambodian history, in- warned, are now the ones cheatvolving more than 1,000 fisher- ed (by everyone else).
men, but had no jurisdiction to
charge Step Up for recruiting The Trip
them. In 2001, the Supreme Court
In the summer of 2010, Mr.
of the Philippines harshly reprimanded Step Up and a partner Andrade was growing restless.
company in Manila for systemat- He had studied criminology in
ically duping men, knowingly college in hopes of becoming a
sending them to abusive employ- police officer, not realizing that
ers and cheating them, but Step there was a minimum height requirement of 5-foot-3. He was
Up’s owners faced no penalties.
The Philippine authorities two inches shy. His night watchhave charged 11 people tied to man job at a hospital paid less
Step Up with trafficking and ille- than 50 cents an hour. When not
gal recruitment of Mr. Andrade working in his family’s rice padand others from the Philippines. dy, he spent much of his time
But only one person, allegedly a watching cartoons on television,
low-level culprit, has been ar- according to his brother Julius,
rested and is likely to be tried: 38.
When a cousin told him about
Celia Robelo, 46, who faces a potential life sentence for what possible work at sea, Mr.
prosecutors say was a recruiting Andrade saw it as a chance to
effort that earned her at most tour the world while earning
enough money to help his family.
$20 in commissions.
Mr. Andrade’s story was He was introduced to Ms. Robepieced together from interviews lo, who prosecutors say was the
with his family, other seamen re- local Step Up recruiter. She said
cruited in or near his village, po- the pay was $500 per month, in
lice officers, lawyers and aid addition to a $50 allowance, his
workers in Jakarta, Manila and brother and mother recounted to
Singapore. It highlights the tools the police.
Mr. Andrade agreed to sign up,
— debt, trickery, fear, violence,
shame and family ties — used to handed over about $200 in “prorecruit men, entrap them and cessing fees” and left for Manila,
leave them at sea, sometimes for 220 miles north of here. He paid
$318 more before flying to Singayears under harsh conditions.
No country exports more sea- pore in September 2010. He refarers than the Philippines, ceived his plane ticket on his 31st
which provides at least a quarter birthday. A company representaof them globally. More than tive met him at the airport and
400,000 Filipinos sought work took him to Step Up’s office in
last year as officers, deckhands, Singapore’s crowded Chinatown
fishermen, cargo handlers and district.
If Mr. Andrade’s experience
cruise workers. Mr. Andrade’s
death shows that governments was like those of the other Filipiare sometimes unable or unwill- no men interviewed by The New were deeply in debt, some more
ing to protect the rights of citi- York Times, he would have been than $2,000, from recruiters’
told then that there had been a fees, lodging expenses, health
zens far from home.
checkups, tourist visas and seaThe abuse of Filipino seamen mistake: His pay would be less
men’s books (mandatory marihas increased in recent years, la- than half of what he had been extime paperwork). They had borbor officials in the Philippines pecting. And after multiple derowed from relatives, mortgaged
say, because the country’s mari- ductions, the $200 monthly wage
their homes and pawned family
time trade schools produce, on would shrink even more.
possessions: “our one fishing
average, 20,000 graduates a year
A half-dozen other men from
boat,” “my brother’s home” and
for fewer than 5,000 openings. As Mr. Andrade’s village, who prosa carabao (a water buffalo), they
men grow desperate for work, ecutors said were also recruited
said.
they take greater risks. Roughly by Step Up, recalled in interStanding on a 35-foot wooden
a third of them now use agencies views that the paperwork flew
boat late one recent night, about
that are illegal — unregistered by in a whirlwind of fast-moving
40 miles from the Philippine
and willing to break rules, the of- calculations
and
unfamiliar
shore, Condrad Bonihit, a friend
ficials said.
terms (“passport forfeiture,”
of Mr. Andrade’s, explained why
Such agencies, favored by ship “mandatory fees,” “sideline
poor villagers gravitated to illeoperators and workers looking to earnings”).
gal manning agencies.
shave costs, compound the probFirst, they were required to
“It takes money to make
lem of lawlessness on the high sign a contract, they said, that
money,” Mr. Bonihit said as he
seas. Scofflaw ships cast off typically stipulated a three-year
helped hoist a 50-foot net gyratstowaways and deplete fishing binding commitment, no overing with anchovies. To get jobs
stocks. Violence is rampant, and time pay, no sick leave, 18- to 20legally requires coursework at
few nations patrol the waters, hour workdays, six-day workan accredited trade school that
much less enforce violations of weeks and $50 monthly food decan cost $4,000 or so, he said, far
maritime laws or international ductions, and that granted capmore than most villagers can afpacts.
tains full discretion to reassign ford. And the wages quoted by
In Manila, in late September, crew members to other ships.
Step Up are often nearly double
along a densely packed two- Wages were to be disbursed not
what the men might make
block stretch of sidewalk on monthly to the workers’ families
Kalawdeeply
Avenue near
bay, hunbutmore
only after completion
the
were
inthe
debt,
some
Evenofthough
Mr.
Mr. is
At
sea,Andrade,
though, the reality
dreds of seafarers looked for contract, a practice that is illegal
from theFilipino
promises on
than
$2,000, from
from
recruiters’
Bonihit and different
the other
work. Recruiters
manning
at registered agencies.
land, Mr. Bonihit said, adding
agencies
— some legal,
many not
Next, some ofmen
them traveled
signed a that
fees,
lodging
expenses,
health
to Singapore
at
dif- in
he had lasted 10 months
— carried signs around their bill to pay for food supplies in adjob he
got through
Step Up.
checkups,
visas
seaferent
times the
over
the
past five
necks listing tourist
job openings
or and
vance;
like most
of the deducWhen the once-a-week beatings
pointed to
brochures
arrayed on tions,
the $250 years,
fee was kept
by of crew
men’s
books
(mandatory
marinearly
all of
them
de- too
members became
tables. Fixers sold fake accredi- the agency. Then came the
to bear, heidentical
left his ship in
time
They
bor- scribed
in much
virtually
tationpaperwork).
papers while a popular
Ta- had
“promissory note,”
confirming
port. With help from missiongalog rap
song,relatives,
“Seaman Lolo
that the mariner
would apay
a aries, he flew home,
rowed
from
mortgaged
terms
two-bedroom
apartment
he said.
Ko” (“My Grandpa Is a Sea- “desertion penalty,” usually
“You
go withStep
pride,” Up’s
he said of
their
pawned
family
onif the
16th
above
man”),homes
boomed and
in the
back- more
than $1,800,
he left.
The floor,
his experience, “come back with
ground.
that to where
collect shame.”
possessions:
“our one document
fishingnotedoffice,
they waited before
“These days,” the singer, their wages, crew members
boat,”
brother’s
home”
and and after voyages.
known “my
as Yongas,
rapped, “it’s
would have to fly back to Singaseaman getting
duped.”buffalo),
Mar- porethey
at their own expense.
a the
carabao
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Mr. Andrade, like the other
said.
job by
at Step
sea,Up,Mr. Andrade stayed in
Susan Beachy contributed re- deckhands recruited
search
from
New
York.
came from a village
(Linabuan
Standing on a 35-foot wooden
the apartment
for about a week,
population is roughly
boat late one recent night,Sur’s
about
according
3,000). The men said they had to family members
never before traveled
abroad, with him briefly by
40Themiles
from the Philippine
who spoke
Outlaw Ocean
on the high seas, heard
shore,
Condrad Bonihit, aworked
friend
phone.or dealt
Pots and pans were
the term “trafficking”
with why
a manning
agency. None
oflawlessness
Mr. Andrade’s,
explained
stacked
in the corners, and the
on the high seas,
and
could explain why they might
how weak
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illewalls
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inate
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o
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By DAN LEVIN
Displaced
homeowners
are
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circumstances,
the
emerald-green TIANJIN,
sod and
newly
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mo
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bett
rentin
settle
for
compensation
and
tryplanted
to
neapartment
buil
parts
of
this
northeastern
city
or
ash
and
By
DAN
LEVIN
Displaced
h
inate
the
view
outside
Li
Junhua’s
do
so.
bunking
with
relatives
in
distant
ald-green
sod
and
newly
ash
and
peach
trees
that
domone
TIANJIN,
China
—
ferent
circumstances,
the
emerTIANJIN, China — Under difThe
gove
datio
for
co
gotiate
better
settlements.
welcome
sight
renting
apartments
as
they
wait
inate
the
He
denied
that
the
autho
apartment
building
would
be
acircumstances
bunking
with
rei
parts
of this
northeastern
city
or
ash
and
peach
trees
that
domhad
signed
DAN
LEVIN
Displaced
homeowners
are
the
view
outside
Li
Junhua’s
the
ferent
ald-green
sod
and
newly
planted
TIANJIN,
China
—
Under
different circumstances, inate
theByemer‘Something You Share’
let
residen
Dis
gotiat
a
sprawling
com
The
government
has
offered
to
for
compensation
and
try
to
ne2010, Mr.
apartmen
had
pressed
residents
to
a
welcome
sight
in
Vanke
Port
City,
parts
of
this
nor
renting
apartments
as
they
wait
inate
the
view
outside
Li
Junhua’s
bunking
with relatives
in ald-green
distant do
apartment
would
be
a domsodso.and tio
ne
ash building
and
peach
trees
that
ferent
circumstances,
the emerald-green sod and TIANJIN,
newly
planted
g restless.
China
— Under
difprivate
dev
feren
The
condominiums
let
residents
sell
their
homes
to
gotiate
better
settlements.
welcome
settlements.
“This
kind
of
in
a
sprawling
complex
of
high-rise
renting
apartme
for
compensation
and
try
to
nenology in
apartment
building
would
be
a
He
denie
welcome
sight
in
Vanke
Port
City,
parts
of
this
northeastern
city
or
ash and peach trees
tlin
inate the the
viewemeroutside
Li Junhua’s
ald-green
sod and newly planted
ash and peach ferent
trees that
domcircumstances,
ecoming a
more
than
met
let
re
nomic
private
developers
for
30
percent
government
has
offered
to
adevelopm
sprawli
dation
doesn’t
exist,”
he
said
condominiums
inThe
athat
showcase
ecofor
compensatio
gotiatebuilding
better
settlements.
welcome
sight
in
Vanke
Port
City,
had
presse
a Junhua’s
sprawling
complex
of high-rise
renting
apartments
as
they
wait
izing that
inate
the
view
outside
apartment
would
be
a trees
vis
ash
and
peach
dominate
the
view
outside
Li
ald-green
sod
and
newly
planted
height rethem,
or
to
prote
priva
more
than
what
they
paid
for
But
when
M
let
residents
sell
their
homes
to
condomin
Displaced
residents
from
nomic
development
zone
here.
gotiate
better
se
The
government
has
offered
to
a
sprawling
complex
of
high-rise
settlements
condominiums
in
a
showcase
ecofor
compensation
and
try
to
neapartment
building
welcome
sight
in
Vanke
Port
City,
foo
He was
inate
the
view
outside
Li
Junhua’s
apartment building
would
be
a
ash and peach trees that dommess
take
money
more
ght watchthem,
or
to
keep
the
homes
and
his
neighbors
lo
nomic
dev
private
developers
for
30
percent
ferent
complexes,
many
of
w
But
when
Mr.
Li
and
many
of
The
governm
condominiums
in
a
showcase
ecolet
residents
sell
their
homes
to
dation
does
nomic
development
zone
here.
gotiate
better settlements.
sight in Van
a
sprawling
complex
of high-rise
roo
apartment
building
would bewelcome
a
welcome sight ininate
Vanke
paid less
thePort
viewCity,
outside
Li Junhua’s
pare
appraisals
them,
fresh
landscap
take
money
for
repairs
based
on
more
than
what
they
paid
for
met
for
the
first
time
durin
When not
But
wh
‘Someth
his
neighbors
look
at
the
acres
of
let
residents
se
nomic
development
zone
here.
private
developers
for
30
percent
Displaced
But
when
Mr.
Li
and
many
of
The
government
has
offered
to
a
sprawling
complex
condominiums
in
a
showcase
ecosight in Vanke Port City,
a sprawling complex
of high-rise
apartment
building would be welcome
a
s rice padgize
a
proved
by M
take
September
nea
appraisals
by
companies
apthem,
or
to condominiums
keep
the ferent
homes
and
protests,
have
been
using
his
neigh
fresh
landscaping,
installed
in
private
develop
his time
comp
more
than
what
they
paidwhen
for
But
Mr.
Li
and
many
of
his sight
neighbors
look
at
the
of
in
a
shm
let
residents
sell
their
homes
to
nomic
development
zone
here.
ers
aacres
sprawling
complex
of
high-rise
condominiums inwelcome
a showcase
ecoin Vanke
Port
City,
television,
share
dents
can
appra
one
of
China’s
d
proved
by
the
government.
Resimessaging
app
WeChat
to
take
money
for
repairs
based
on
fresh
lan
September
near
the
epicenter
of
more
than
met
for wha
the
orMr.
to condominiums
keep
the
homes
and
hisdevelopers
neighbors
look
the acres
of
fresh
landscaping,
installed
inmany
nomic
development
zo
her Julius,
private
for
30at
percent
Butthem,
when
Li
and
of
wif
in a
showcase
economic development
zone
here.complex
a sprawling
of high-rise
tacki
for
unusab
prove
accidents,
they
dents
can
also
get
aby
full
refund
pare
compensation
offers,
s
appraisals
companies
apSeptembe
one
offresh
China’s
deadliest
industrial
protests,
h
them,
orMr.
to
kee
takethe
money
for
based
on
landscaping,
installed
in
September
near
epicenter
of acres
more
than
they
paid
for
But
when
Li
look
at repairs
the
of what
abs
nomic
development
zone
here.
him about
But when Mr.condominiums
Li and
manyhis
of aneighbors
in
showcase
ecoBua
ances.
dents
else:
the
gover
for
unusable
furniture
and
applisea, Mr.
gize
about
negotiation
tactic
one
of
Ch
proved
by
the
government.
Resiaccidents,
they
see
something
messaging
take
money
for
September
near
the
epicenter
of
appraisals
by
companies
apone
of
China’s
deadliest
industrial
them,
or
to
keep
the
homes
and
his
neighbors
look
at
fresh
landscaping,
installed
in
tho
But when Mr. Li and many of
his neighbors look
at the
acres of zone here.
chance to
nomic
development
wom
The
stat
for
un
deflect
their
q
ances.
videos
ofapolice
office
accidents
dents
can
also
get
full
refund
else:money
the
government’s
efforts
tolandscaping,
e earning
pare
compe
appraisals
by
one
of
China’s
deadliest
proved
bysomething
the
accidents,
they
take
for
based
on
fresh
September
near
the
epicenter
ofResithe
his
neighbors
look
atrepairs
theshare
acres
of industrial
fresh landscaping,Butinstalled
in Li
when Mr.
and see
many
of government.
his family.
a
ne
dia
have
ha
their
anger
—
a
ances
tacking
homeowners.
The
state-controlled
news
meelse:
the
for
unusable
furniture
and
applideflect
their
questions
—
and
gize
about
proved
by
the
g
accidents,
they
see
something
dents
candeadliest
also
a full refund
else: thelook
government’s
efforts
to
Ms. Robeappraisals
by installed
companies
September
nearhome
the
one
of
China’s
industrial
edn
fresh
landscaping,
in ap- ous.
September nearhis
theneighbors
epicenter
of
at
the acres
of get
y was the
But
explosions
that
The
But
such
activity
is
risrt
dia
have
hailed
the
plan
as
generdeflect
ances.
their
anger
—
about
the
chemical
share
video
else:
the
government’s
efforts
to
dents
can
also
for
unusable
furniture
and
applideflect
their
questions
—
and
of China’s deadlie
by the
government.
accidents,
they September
see proved
something
r. She said
tio
near
the
epicenterone
ofResione of China’s deadliest
industrial
fresh landscaping,
installed
in
ficial
money
wo
swath
of
the
ne
month, in
dia
ha
woman
who
had
agreed
to
ous.
Buttheir
residents
say
that
the
their ang
explosions
that
decimated
a large
Theindustrial
state-controlled
news
metacking
hom
deflect
— unusable
and
for
fur
anger
—ances.
about
the chemical
they
see
else:
the
government’s
efforts
toalso
dents
candeadliest
get
aquestions
full accidents,
refund
trie
one
China’s
accidents, they September
see their
something
wance, his
near
the
epicenter
of of
busin
buy
new
hV
night
of
Aug.
12,
ous.
B
a
negotiator
for
some
explosion
money
would
not
be
enough
to
counted to
swath
of
the
neighborhood
on
the
dia
have
hailed
the
plan
as
generBut such
about
the
chemical
ances.
decimated
a large
state-controlled
news
methe governmen
their
questions
—their
andanger
for unusable
furniture
andelse:
appliaccidents,
they
see —
something
else: the government’s
effortsdeflect
to that The
J
one of explosions
China’s
deadliest
industrial
resid
tate
prices
“The
grass
mone
homeowners
backed
out
aft
swath
of
buy
new
homes
because
real
esnight
of
Aug.
12,
killing
173
people.
ous.
But
residents
say
that
the
woman
wh
explosions
that
decimated
a
large
to sign up,
swath
of
the
neighborhood
on
the
The
dia
have
hailed
the
plan
astop
genertheirstate-con
questio
their
anger
—Clockwise
about
chemical
ances.
else:
the
government’s
effortsdeflect
to
deflect their questions
—they
and
Ro
from
left, have
men
accidents,
see
something
that
0 in “proerably
in
formance,”
Mr.
ficials
threatened
to
revok
buy
nt
night
ofre
A
tate
prices
climbed
consid“The
grass
is aneighborhood
political
perathe
negotiat
money
would
not
behave
enough
to
ofthe
the
on
night
of Aug.
12,
killing
173
people.
dia
hailed
ous.
But
residents
say
that
their
anger
—
about
explosions
that
decimated
aswath
large
or Manila,
The
state-controlled
news
medeflect
their
questions
—
and
their
anger
—
about
the
chemical
Clockwise
from
top
else:
the
government’s
efforts
to
in
Manila
advertised
jobs
at
Clockwise
from
top
left,
men
eral
e. He paid
man,
said
aswh
hp
Those
w
business
license,
accordin
tate
erably
in
recent
years.
“The
gsw
formance,”
Mr.
Li,
39,
a
businesshomeowner
buy
new
homes
because
real
esnight
of
Aug.
12,
killing
173
people.
ous.
But
reside
“The
grass
is
a
political
permoney
would
not
be
enough
to
Jailed
explosions
that
decim
swath
of
the
neighborhood
on
the
dia
have
hailed
the
plan
as
genertheir
anger
—
about
the
chemical
that
decimated
a large
g to Singa“
deflect advertised
their
questions
—sea;
and
Clockwise
from
top
left,
men
in
Manila
advertise
plex,
the
lining
from
Eril
Anin Manila
jobs
at
Clockwise from explosions
top left, men
Robelo
cr
blade
from
the
ernment
o
residents.
Residents
also
erably
10. He reformance
man,
said
as
he
yanked
a
green
Those
who
work
for
the
govficials
thre
tate
prices
have
climbed
consid“The
grass say
isa alarge
political
per-neighbor
formance,”
Mr.
Li,
39,12,
ahomes
businessmoney
would
nl
buy
new
because
real
esswath
of the
night
ofthe
Aug.
killing
173 people.
ous.
But
residents
that
the
what had
explosions
that
decimated
swath of the neighborhood
on
the
“I
on his 31st
their
anger
—
about
chemical
them
Clockwise
from
top
left,
men
in
Manila
advertised
jobs
at
sea;
the
lining
from
Indian
L
serted
home.
“L
terprises
rlI
drade’s
coffin;
Celia
Robelo,
that
local
including
from“The
Eril
in Manila advertised
jobs atsea; the lining
“When
Tho
man,
said
blade
from
the
turf
near
his
deernment
or
for
state-owned
enbusiness
erably
in
recent
years.
epresentaformance,”
Mr.
Li,
39,
a lawyers,
businessman,
said
as
heAnyanked
aa green
buy
new
tate
prices
climbed
considnight
of
Aug.
12,homes
killin
grass
is have
political
permoney
would
not
be
enough
to
swath
of the
neighborhood
on
the
night of Aug. 12, killing
173 people.
nev
“Imen
called
explosions
that
decimated
a large
rport and
ange
Clockwise
from
top
left,
in Manila
advertised
jobs
at
from
top
left,
men
want
to
impress
sea;
the
lining
from
Eril
Andrade’s
coffin;
Celia
they
refuse
eral
with
apartments
in
the
ernm
blade
fro
serted
home.
“Local
officials
just
residents.
accused
of
recruiting
Mr.
terprises
risk
losing
their
jobs
if
drade’s
coffin;
Celia
Robelo,
sea; theClockwise
lining from
Eril
Annever
met
Those
who
work
for
the
govman,
said
as
he
yanked
a
green
blade
from
the
turf
near
his
detate
prices
have
s office in
erably
in
recent
years.
“The
grass
is
a
p
formance,”
Mr.
Li,
39,
a
businessnew12,
homes
real esnightbuy
of Aug.
killingbecause
173 people.
“The grass isswath
a political
perof the neighborhood
on the
any at
ofany
the
Th
Chinatown
intheir
Manila
advertised
jobs
Clockwise
from
top
left,
men
plex,
were
unwilling
to
repr
people
wh
Almost
three
serted
ho
terpri
sea;
the
lining
from
Eril
AnManila
advertised
jobs
at
Clockwise from top left,
menin
drade’s
coffin;
Celia
Robelo,
want
to
impress
superiors.”
accused
of
recruitin
that
local
la
they
refuse
the
settlements,
and
blade
from
the
turf
near
his
deernment
or
for
state-owned
enserted
home.
“Local
officials
just
Andrade,
in
jail
with
her
son;
accused
of
recruiting
Mr.
communic
drade’s
coffin;
Celia
Robelo,
erably
in
recent
formance,”
Mr.
Li,
39
Those
who
work
for
the
govman,
said
as
he
yanked
a
green
tate
prices
have
climbed
considPHOTOGRAPHS
BY HANNAH
FOR THE perNEW YORK TIMES
“The grass
is aREYES
political
formance,” Mr. Li,
39, of
a businesscom
night
Aug. 12, killing 173 people.
lease
ter-in-law
them
because
they
were
afr
blasts
damag
negotiation
xperience
want
to
im
sea;
the
lining
from
Eril
Anin
Manila
advertised
jobs
at
they
Clockwise
from
top
men
eral
with
ap
people
who
to
lead
group
Almost
three
months
after
the
serted
home.
“Local
officials
just
terprises
losing
their
jobs
if
drade’s
coffin;
Robelo,
the lining
from
Eril
Anin
Manila advertised accused
jobs at sea;
accused
ofderecruiting
Mr.risk
Andrade,
in
jail
wit
want
toleft,
impress
their
superiors.”
Those
who
w
man,
said
as
he
yan
blade
from
the
turf
near
ernment
or
for
state-owned
enMr.
Andra
workers
on
ahis
local
fishing
Andrade,
ingrass
with
son;
of recruiting
Mr.
erably
in
recent
years.
formance,”
Mr.
Li,
39,
aatried
businessman, said
as
he Bong
yanked
ajail
green
her Filipiter
“The
is Celia
a her
political
perchem
said.
The
Philippine
anti-traffickdefendants
said,
denying
ties
to
site
advertising
Step
Up’s
servsaid,
because
controlled
she
never
angering
the
authorities.
homes
and
stu
ened
by
th
peopl
Almost
plex,
were
The New
blasts
damaged
over
17,000
negotiations
have
been
threatwant
to
impress
their
superiors.”
drade’s
coffin;
Celia
Robelo,
sea;
the
lining
from
Eril
Anin
Manila
advertised
jobs
at
they
refuse
the
settlements,
and
Clockwise
from
top
left,
men
Almost
three
months
after
the
blade
from
turf
ernment
or
for
serted
home.
“Local
officials
terprises
risk
losing
their
jobs
if
accused
of
Mr.
Celia
Robelo,
sea; the lining from Eril
An- drade’s
Andrade,
in
jail
with
her
son;
workers
onthe
f
icesrecruiting
contains
just
two.
first
is
ing
force
did not
respond
toa local
whoson;
gotthe
which
jobs.
seafarer
who
had
sued
for
un-on
Those
who
work
for
the
govman,
said
asjust
he
yanked
a task
green
blade
from
turf
near
deprosecutor
boat.
They
want
to
work
workers
on ahis
local
fishing
Andrade,
in jailcoffin;
with her
Mr
formance,”
Mr.
Li,
39,
a The
businesshave been
ping
The
government
has
no
with
apocalyp
cials,
reside
requests
for
comment.
paid wages.
Mr. Andrade’s relatives say from a man saying the agency
negot
some
of
them
becau
blasts
homes
and
stunned
the
nation
ened
by
the
police
and
other
offipeople
who
tried
to fishery
lead
group
Almost
three
months
after
the
ad been a
blasts
damaged
over
17,000
serted
home.
“Local
terprises
risk
lod
want
to
impress
their
superiors.”
accused
of
recruiting
Mr.
drade’s
coffin;
Celia
Robelo,
sea;
the
lining
from
Eril
Anin
Manila
advertised
jobs
at
they
refuse
the
settlements,
and
said.
The
Philippine
anti-traffickdefendants
said,
denying
ties
to
a
blade
from
the
turf
near
his
deernment
or
for
state-owned
enserted
home.
“Local
officials
just
Andrade,
in
jail
with
her
son;
accused
of
recruiting
Mr.
drade’s
coffin;
Celia
Robelo,
workers
on
a
local
fishing
boat.
They
want
to
sends
men
to
boats
with
unsafe
they
lost
track
of
him
shortly
afTaiwanese
police
and
The
court
revoked
the
recruitshe
man,
said
as
he
yanked
a
green
about
wha
larger
ships
for
more
money,
boat.
They
want
to
work
on
workers
on
a
local
fishing
sions
ld be less
ahave
full
inventory
dents
say
they
“The
ened
angering
th
homes
ao
conditions.
The second
with
apocalyptic
scenes,
resicials,
residents
said.
ter receiving his final texthomes
mes- working
officials
said
they
had
no
record
er to
license
of the
JEAC,
then
Step leased
pore
oroff
at
negotiations
been
threatblasts
damaged
over
17,000
and
stunned
the
nation
want
to
impress
their
they
refuse
the
d been expeople
who
lead
group
Almost
three
months
after
serted
home.
“Local
officials
just
ing
task
force
didon
not
respond
to
seafarer
who
had
sued
for
unterprises
risk
losing
their
jobs
ifwith
want
to impress
their
superiors.”
Andrade,
in
jail
her
son;
accused
oftried
recruiting
Mr.
drade’s
coffin;
Celia
Robelo,
sea; the
lining
from
Eril
Anblade
from
near
his
pro
workers
on
a turf
local
fishing
Andrade,
in
jail
with
her
son;
accused of recruiting
Mr.
boat.
They
want
to
larger
ships
for
mor
isthe
from
a
woman
who
wrote
in denews
sage.
“Bro,
this
is ships
Eril,”
Mr.
of
having
questioned
Shao
Chin
Up’s partner
firm
in
Manila,
andwork
signed
up
despite
reports
of
abuse.
larger
for
more
money,
boat.
They
want
to
work
on
ultiple dechemicals
that
were
at
the
rebuild
their
liv
door,
sat
in
The
gov
with
apo
cials,
dents
say
they
are
struggling
to
“The
officials
just
closed
the
homes
and
stunned
the
nation
ened
by
the
police
and
other
offi2013
that
Step
Up
had
offered
no
Andrade wrote on Sept. 15,with
2010.
apocalyptic
scenes,
resiChung, theAlmost
captain
ofthree
Mr.who
ordered
JEAC
to
pay
the settlements,
back
asmont
prosecu
people
trie
negotiations
have
been
threatblasts
damaged
over
17,000
want
to
impress
their
superiors.”
they
refuse
the
requests
for comment.
thly wage
paid
wages.
three
months
after
the
serted
home.
“Local
just
som
workers
on
aand
local
fishing
Andrade,
in
jail
with
her
son;
accused
of
recruiting
Mr.
coffin;
Celia
boat.
They
want
toofficials
work
on
workers
onAlmost
a local
Andrade,
in jaildrade’s
with larger
her
son;
larger
ships
for
more
money,
after
placing
her
brother on
despite
reports
of
aofe
“I
amfishing
now
here
in
Singapore
I help
Andrade’s
ship,
about
death.
wages.
The only
thing
worse ping
“If
no
yard
at
the
time
ofhand
the
campaign
of
int
despite
reports
of
abuse.
ships
forRobelo,
more
money,
e.
inflicted
the
leased
a
dents
say
rebuild
their
lives
in
the
face
of
a his
“Th
door,
sat
in
their
office
and
then
with
apocalyptic
scenes,
resicials,
residents
said.
dents
they
are
struggling
to
a say
ship
from
which
he
went
missnegotiations
ha
blasts
damaged
o
homes
and
stunned
the
nation
ened
by
the
police
and
other
offiwas
not able towant
text earlier
I impress
ran The
The
ship,
Hung
Yu
212, was
cited something
than
the
companies’
sending
people
who
tried
to
lead
group
Almost
three
months
after
the
blasts
damaged
over
17,000
Taiwanese
police
and
fishery
court
revoked
the
recruitto
their
superiors.”
abo
men from
most
boat.
They
want
to
work
on
workers
on
a
local
fishing
Andrade,
in
jail
with
her
son;
accused
of
recruiting
Mr.
ing.
larger
ships
for
more
money,
boat.
They
want
to
work
on
workers
on
a
local
fishing
despite
reports
of
abuse.
out
of
phone
credit.”
sions,
but
the
state-cont
ernment
offic
for
illegal
fishing
in
2000,
2011
“unlettered
countrymen
to
a
forsaid
Zhu
H
lo
said,
ad
chemicals
t
rebuild
th
campaign
ofsay
intimidation
by
govdespite reports of
abuse.
door,
who prosinflicted
the
plan
upon
everyone,”
dents
they
are
struggling
tostunned
rebuild
lives
in
thethe
face
of
a damaged
“The
officials
just
closed
the
ened
by
the
poli
with
apocalyptic
scenes,
resicials,
residents
said.
Intheir
2009,
human
rights
groups
negotiations
have
been
threatblasts
over
17,000
homes
and
stunned
the
nation
officials
said
they
had
no
record
er
license
of
JEAC,
then
Step
and
2012,homes
according
toand
the
comeign land
and
letting them
suffer
role
as
“he
por
Almost
three
months
after
stanc
recruited
cruiter.
She
said
the
pay
was
$500
per
month,
New
York
Times,
he
would
have
been
told
then
larger
ships
for
more
money,
boat.
They
want
to
work
on
workers
on
a
local
fishing
Andrade,
in
jail
with
her
son;
news
media
has
said
that
Ru
putting
the
emb
criticized
Step
Up
for
not
helping
gineer
in
th
despite
reports
of
abuse.
larger
ships
for
more
money,
ping
yard
a
boat.
They
want
to
work
on
campaign
ernment
officials
intent
on
missions
that
regulate
tuna
fishinhumane
treatment
in
the
inflict
rec
said
Haipeng,
37,
aoffisafety
rebuild
their
lives
in
the
face
ofenaandficially
of intimidation
bystruggling
gov‘Total Strangers’scenes,
door,
sat
in
their
office
then
in interwith
apocalyptic
sc
cials,
residents
s
dents
say
they
are
toZhu
“The
officials
just
closed
the
homes
and
stunned
the
ened
the
police
and
other
with apocalyptic
resihaving
questioned
Shao
Chin
Up’s
partner
firm
in17,000
Manila,
and
more
to raise aover
ransom
for
the
blasts campaign
damaged
sig
thori
ingnation
in the Indian
and Atlantic
hands
ofby
an of
abusive
employer,”
she
had
work flew
handled
some
of
the
indu
behind
them
an
despite
reports
of
abuse.
larger
ships
for
more
boat.
They
work
on
localallowance,
fishing
sions,
but
ernment
in addition
toona a$50
his
brother
and
Like
ma
putting
the
embarrassing
episode
had
been
aresidents
mistake:
His
pay
would
Established
in 1988,want
theernment
man-tocrew
said
Zb
ofthat
theofficials
Win there
Far
161, a lives
Taigineer
ininflicted
the
Vanke
complex.
despite
reports
of
abuse.
larger ships
forworkers
more money,
campaign
ofwas
intimidation
by
govOceans.
A
secretary
at“The
Hung
Fei
intent
on
the
court
said
inmoney,
its
decision,
the
plan
upon
everyone,”
promised
dents
say
they
are
s
rebuild
their
in
the
face
of
a
officials
door,
sat
in
their
office
and
then
st-moving
with
apocalyptic
scenes,
resicials,
said.
dents say
they
are
struggling
to
Chung,
the
captain
of
Mr.
ordered
JEAC
to
pay
the
back
homes
and
stunned
the
nation
as
ernm
ning company, then known as wanese tuna vessel that was at- Mr. Andrade
had died
natural
Fishery
Co.,
based in
Kaohsiung,
that they had conspired
to denyof
each
perso
most
volatile
and
toxic
public
criticism
unfamiliar
news
media
putting
th
behind
them
and
on
suppressing
Zhu
ginee
despite
reports
ofbyabuse.
larger
ships
for
more
money,
boat.
They want
work
on their
ernment
officials
on
Like
many
of
his
neighbors,
Step
Up lives
Employment
Agency,
putting
the
embarrassing
episode
by
Somali
pirates.
pi- half
said
Zhu
Haipeng,
37,
aMr.
safety
enrebuild
their
lives
into
despite reports
of abuse.
campaign
ofTheintimidation
govTaiwan,
said
recently
that
the
mother
recounted
totothe
police.
be
less
than
of
what
he
had
been
expecting.
workers
their
pay.
door,
sat
in
the
inflicted
the
plan
upon
everyone,”
a commiss
dents
say
they
are
struggling
tointent
rebuild
in Andrade
the
facetacked
of
aThe
“The
officials
just
closed
the
orfeiture,”
Andrade’s
ship,
about
his
death.
wages.
only
thing
worse
with
apocalyptic
scenes,
resiecuti
Mr.
Andrade
had
“
causes.
After
being
recruited
by
initially recruited
domestic
labor,
rates
used died
the
boat,
allegedly
Mr.
had
of
natural
stances.
In
late
August,
th
Party.
owner
was
traveling
and
was
not
This
was
roughly
when
Mr.
set
the
co
handled
so
behind
public
criticism
of
the
Communist
tests
after
“sideline
Lik
putting
the
embarrassing
episode
behind
them
and
on
suppressing
Mr.
Zhu
took
part
in
public
progineer
in
the
Vanke
complex.
despite
reports
of
abuse.
larger
ships
for
more
money,
campaign
of
intimida
ernment
officials
intent
on
providing
workers
for
cooking,
fishing
illegally
in
the
Indian
inflicted
the
plan
said
Zhu
Haipeng,
37,
a
safety
enrebuild
their
lives
in
the
face
of
a
campaign
of
intimidation
by
govavailable
to212,
answer
questions.
Lim
andsat
Step
Up Concepcion
shifted
away
door,
in
their
office
and
then
men’s
hous
The
ship,
Hung
Yu
was
cited
than
the
companies’
sending
dents
say
they
are
struggling
to
sibili
Mr. Andrade
agreed
to
sign
up,
handed
over
And
after
multiple
deductions,
the
$200
monthcauses.
After
bei
som
Step
Up,
Mr.
also
Mr.
Andrade
had
died
of
natural
causes.
being
recruited
thorities
announced
that
23
and child
care jobs After
in Ocean
near the Seychelles,
to at- by
The
governm
Mr. Andrade had diedcleaning
of natural
most
vola
public
cri
Efforts
to suppressing
interview
other
crew
Party.
from using
registered
manning
over
thefts
Visiting
behind
them
and
on
Mr.
Z
public
criticism
of the
tests
after
the
explosions,
first
quired to
ernment
officials
Like
many
of
his
neighbors
putting
the
embarrassing
episode
said
Zhu
Haipen
gineer
inCommunist
the
complex.
despite
reports
of abuse.
of
intimidation
by
govIn 1995,
it adopted
a tack
ernmentSingapore.
officials
intent
aon
Maersk
container
ship
inofcampaign
the
plan
upon
everyone,”
for
illegal
fishing
inofficials
2000,
2011
“unlettered
countrymen
to
ainflicted
forrebuild
their
lives
in
the
face
aVanke
members
were
unsuccessful.
detai
agencies
in the
Philippines
and ernment
Step
Up,
Mr.
C
lo
Mitchell,
worked
on
aAfter
Taiwanese
tuna
causes.
being
recruited
byAndrade’s
said, that
Step
Up,
Mr.
Concepcion
also
and
Rui
H
Mr.
Andrade
had
died
of
natural
about
$200
in
“processing
fees”
and
left
for
Maly
wage
would
shrink
even
more.
fered
cash
c4
causes.
After
being
recruited
by
stances.
In
new
name and
agenda.
“Supplies
Party.
an episode
made
famous
by the
which
the
The
government
quickly
ofpublic
criticism
of
the
Communist
tests
On
April
6,
2011,
Mr.
Party.
began
to
rely
instead
on
Filipino
over
thefts
at
Vanke
Port
City
for
vier,
9,
an
The
ship
Mr.
Andrade
died
on.
Left,
the
Singapore
office
putting
the
embarras
behind
them
and
onof
suppressing
Mr.
Zhu
in compublic
prohree-year
gineer
inonthe
Va
ernment
officials
intent
onpart
Like
many
hisZhu
neighbors,
putting the
embarrassing
episode
said
Haipeng,
37,
a took
safety
enand
2012,
according
to
the
Philippines,
China,
Indonesia,
eign
land
and
letting
them
suffer
campaign
ofmovie
by
gov“Captain
Phillips.”
The
gatio
worked
a
T
rol
ship,
in
the
South
Atlantic,
but
where
Step
Up intimidation
Marine
Enterprise,
which
recruited
Mr.
cadaver
arrived
at
port
in thorities
Singadomestic
workers
inMr.
Singapore
Step
Up,
Concepcion
also
nearby.
M
worked
on
a
Taiwanese
tuna
ecutives
who
bore
some
re
Mr.
Andrade
had
died
of
na
no overcauses.
After
being
recruited
by
homes
damage
Step
Up,
Mr.
Concepcion
also
an
The
got
Andrade
had
died
of
natural
hir
fered
cash
compensation
for
Vietnam,
Myanmar,
Nepal,
India
Andrade,
operated.
Its sign
gone;
the
storefront
now
Win government
Far
161iscrew
was
held hosover
nila, 220 miles northMr.
of here.
Hethem
paid
$318
more
A
half-dozen
other
men
from
Mr.
which
the
residents
blamed
The
quickly
ofbehind
them
and
on
public
criticism
ofon
the
Communist
tests
after
the
first
pore
onAndrade’s
the
Hung explosions,
Yu
212.
Dr.workers
Weemany
to
recruit
through
their
relatives
employed
Like
putting
theParty.
embarrassing
episode
behind
and
on
suppressing
Mr.
took
part
in
public
, 18- to 20- legally requires coursework at records.
gineer
in
the
Vanke
complex.
advertises
anofficials
agencyand
owned
by the
Step
UpZhu
owner’s
son.
missions
that
regulate
tuna
fishernment
intent
inhumane
treatment
in
the
Sin
ship,
in
the
Sou
fisherman,”
a business
card
said.
fici
tage
tortured
for
10
months,
quit
after
the
fatally
onproanatural
Taiwanese
tuna
ship,
in
the
South
Atlantic,
but
sibility
the
accident
had
Keng
Poh, for
aAfter
forensic
pathologist
inworked
villages
back
home.
Ms.cook
Robecauses.
being
recruite
Step
Up,
Mr.
Concepcion
also
sions,
but
resid
rickshaw
worked
onmanain hisAfter
Taiwanese
tuna
ernment
of
ay workMr.
Andrade
had
died
of
fered
ca
causes.
being
recruited
by
homes
damaged
by
the
exploto
do
repair
which
The
government
quickly
ofMr.
Andrade
had
died
of
natural
workers
hired
by
the
government
“With
Over
25
years
of
experifered
cash
compensation
for
during
which
two
members
died
an
accredited
trade
school
that
A
short
Filipino
40s,
public
criticism
of
the
Party.
over
thefts
at
Vanke
Port
City
for
behind
them
and
on
suppressing
Mr.
Zhu
took
p
public
criticism
of
the
Communist
tests
after
the
explosions,
first
at
Singapore’s
Health
Sciences
lo,
for
example,
was
brought
in,
before
flying to
Singapore
in
September
village,
who
prosecutors
said
also
recruited
hisaster
wife’s
Like
many
ofthehis
neighbors,
putting
the
embarrassing
episode
ing
inwere
Indian
and
Atlantic
hands
of
abusive
y food decan cost
quit
after
the
she
stabbed
the
captain,
who
had
ence in fishing but
Vessel,
Strive
ship,
in
the
Atlantic,
but
the an
were
ran- employer,”
$4,000 or so, he said, far ship,
known as
theMr.
detained
or
placed
under
in
quit We2010.
after
the
cook
fatally
Up,
Mr.
Concepcion
plan
has
been
worked
on
aothers
Taiwanese
tuna
ecutives
wh
inBong,
themanaged
South
Atlantic,
Authority,
conducted
an autopsy
even
though
she
had
no South
experi-Step
homes
d
causes.
After
being
recruited
by
couple
said
Step
Up,
Concepcion
also
sions,
but
residents
say
that
the
cal
official
anted capMr.
Andrade
hadbefore
died
of
natural
worke
fered
cash
compensation
for
causes.
After
being
homes
damaged
by
the
exploto
do
repairs,
and
then
against
loParty.
which
the
residents
blamed
The
government
quickly
ofYou Better!”
somed.
more than
most villagers
can recruited
afapartment by
for Step Up
with a To Serve
public
criticism
of
the
Communist
Party.
tests
after
the
over
thefts
at
Vanke
Port
City
for
behind
them
and
on
suppressing
Mr.
Zhu
took
part
in
public
prosix
days
later.fatally
He
concluded
that
Oceans.
A
secretary
at
Hung
Fei
from
ence,
by
her
sister-in-law,
Rosethe
court
said
in
its
decision,
was
disappeare
stabbed
the
cap
pro
routinely
beaten
crew
members.
o reassign ford.He
received
his
plane
ticket
on
his
31st
birthday.
by
Step
Up,
recalled
in
interviews
that
the
paperquit
after
the
cook
gation.
stabbed
the
captain,
who
had
worked
on
a
Taiwanese
reaucratic
apa
For
years,
the
agency
was
run
And the
wages quoted by
ship,
in
the
South
Atlantic,
but
That recruited
same year, when
eight Up, plan
Chinese woman,
Lina,the
affidavits
sibility
for
quit
after
cook
fatally
sions,
bu
Step
Mr.
Concepcion
also
worked
on
a
Taiwanese
tuna
has
been
tarnished
by
buthe
cause
of
death
was
acute
lyn
Robelo,
who
had
worked
as
a
homes
damaged
by
the
exploto
do
causes.
After
being
by
work.
StepStepUp,
Mr.
Concepcion
also
sions,
but
residents
say
that
the
cal
officials
ignoring
their
deher ships.
The
government
Mr.
Andrade
had died
oftonatural
workers
hired
by
the
government
fered
cash
compensation
for
over
thefts
atKalib
Va
which
residents
blamed
government
ofby Victor Lim,
now quickly
incriticism
his
Up are often nearly
double
jailedthe
in Party.
say. New recruits
were The
told
public
ofseamen
the
Communist
after
the
explosions,
first
cials
Fishery
Co.,ship,
based
in
thatFilipino
they
had
conspired
to
deny
routinely
beaten
eac
myocarditis,
anKaohsiung,
inflammatory
Asked
what
he
thought
was
the
domestic
helper
forthe
Mr.
Lim.
In
stabbed
who
had
Since
then,
news
about
th
bursed not whatAthecompany
routinely
crew
members.
plight,
and
that
in
the
South
Atlantic
quit
after
thewere
cook
fatally
detained
or
stabbed
thedown
captain,
who
had
plan
has
mid-60s,
andAtlantic,
his
wife,
Mary,
ac- beaten
representative
met
him
at
the
airmake
work
flew
by
in
atests
whirlwind
ofcaptain,
fast-moving
calworked
on
agovernment
Taiwanese
tuna
Tanzania
for
months
on
charges
keep their
voices
and
to South
reaucratic
apathy
toward
their
ship,
in
the
but
sions,
but
residents
say
that
the
cal
o
Step
Up,
Mr.
Concepcion
also
worked
onmen amight
Taiwanese
tuna
plan
has
been
tarnished
by
budisease of
the
heart
muscle.
His
fered
cash
compe
After
Mr.
Andrade
died,
offihomes
damaged
the
exploto
do
repairs,
and
then
against
locauses.
After
being
recruited
by
naldo
B.
s’ families
which
the
re
The
quickly
ofworkers
hired
by
government
fered
for
Party.
form
over
thefts
at
Vanke
Port
City
for
cording to compensation
court
records. workers
Its of illegal
Taiwan,
said
recently
that
the
their
pay.
fishing
after
their
capavoid moving around
much. cash
Asked
what
he
t
a
cPe
most
likely
cause
of
his
friend’s
routinely
beaten
members.
aster
has
all
but
disapp
report
gave
little more
detail.
Asked
what
he
thought
was
the
cials
from Step
Up
and
Hung
Feicrew
police
had
accept
the
settl
quit
after
the
cook
fa
stabbed
the
captain,
who
had
gation.
ion of ship,
the
routinely
beaten
crew
members.
MONGOLIA
reaucrati
ship,
in
the
South
Atlantic,
but
plight,
and
that
those
unwilling
to
quit
after
the
cook
fatally
main
office,
on in
the second
floor
plan
has
been
tarnished
by
butain sions,
fled,
Step
Up officials
re- unfamiliar
Some
of the
men
were required
Atin
sea,the
though,
the Step
reality
is Up,
worked
on
a
Taiwanese
tuna
reaucratic
apathy
toward
their
South
Atlantic,
but
homes
damaged
by
but
residents
say
that
the
cal
officials
ignoring
their
deport
and
took
him
to
Step
Up’s
office
SingaMr.
Concepcion
also
culations
and
terms
(“passport
forfeiThe
body
was
then
flown
to
the
Fishery
Co.,
the
owner
of
the
Taiworkers
hired
b
fered
cash
compensation
for
crew
m
homes
damaged
by
the
exploto
do
repairs,
and
then
against
lot is illegal different from the promises on to leave before 7 a.m. and return of a shopping mall, The
inves
which
the
residents
blamed
government
quickly
ofowner
was
traveling
and
was
not
was
roughly
when
Mr.
most
likely
cause
set
acrossroutinely
from
a This
death,
Mr.
Concepcion
said,
simfused
to
hire
lawyers
or
post
bail,
from
the
state
news
media
Asked
what
he
thought
was
the
most
likely
cause
of
his
friend’s
harassed
and
stabbed
the
captain,
who
Since
the
beaten
crew
members.
Philippines,
where
Dr.
Noel
Marwanese
fishing
ship
he fatally
had
Asked
what
he
thought
was
the
Andrade’s
plight,
an
accept
the
settlements
have
been
quit
after
the
cook
stabbed
thebut
captain,
had
MONGOLIA
reaucratic
apathy
toward
their
ship,
the
South
Atlantic,
but
plight,
and
that
those
unwilling
todamaged
quitland,after
cook
fatally
sex-toy
shop and in
awho
massage
paradvocates
said.cal
after
dark.a
Others
were
confined
Mr. Bonihitthe
said,
adding
sions,
residents
plan
has
been
tarnished
by
buworked
on
Taiwanese
tuna
homes
by
the
explotobut
do
repairs,
an
sions,
residents
say
that
the
officials
ignoring
tinez
— the pathologist
in Kalibo,
there
worked
on,their
offered
todepay the
his
workers
hired
government
died
beca
cash
compensation
for
ture,”
“mandatory
fees,”
“sideline
earnings”).
available
to
answer
questions.
Lim
and
Step
Up
shifted
away
signed a that pore’s
death,
Mr.
Conce
me
ply,
“Violence.”
cials
have
not
released
an
lor,
is small
andfered
cramped. Asked
most
likely
cause
of
his
friend’s
to Chinatown
the apartment,
which district.
Bong
he had lastedcrowded
10 months in most
Mr.
Lim,
his
sonthought
and
Step
Up
death,
Mr.
Concepcion
said,
simroughed
up
by
t
routinely
beaten
crew
mem
aster
has
what
he
was
the
likely
cause
of
his
friend’s
accept
th
harassed
and
in
some
cases
stabbed
captain,
who
had
routinely
beaten
crew
members.
MON
the
provincial
capital
—
perfamily
about
$5,000,
according
to
where
in
plight,
and
that
those
unwilling
to
N.
KOREA
accept
the
settlements
have
been
quit
after
the
cook
fatally
captain,
who
had
plies in stabbed
ad- the job hethe
plan
has
been
tarnis
reaucratic
apathy
toward
their
the
Atlantic,
but
Within
the past
year or so, damaged
the by
lockedSouth
all the time.
got throughship,
Step Up. inkept
did bunot respond
to the
repeatedexplore- sions,
but
residents
say
that
the
cal
officials
igtV
plan
has
been
tarnished
Zh
homes
by
to
do
repairs,
and
then
against
loEfforts
to
interview
other
crew
from
using
registered
manning
formed
a
second
autopsy.
He
disa
2012
letter
from
the
Philippine
Mr.
Peralta
ply,
“Violence.”
he deduc- When the once-a-week
formation
about
the
status
death,
Mr.
Concepcion
said,
simply,
“Violence.”
If
Mr.
Andrade’s
experience
was
like
those
Beijing
First,
they
were
required
to
sign
a
contract,
Many
reside
from
the
st
Asked
what
he
thought
wa
company’s
sign
was
removed,
most
likely
cause
of
his
friend’s
beatings
quests
for
comment
for
this
artiAt
night,
20
or
more
men
lay
harassed
death,
Mr.
Concepcion
said,
simroughed
up
by
the
police.
Yellow
routinely
beaten
crew
members.
Asked
what
he
thought
was
the
accept
the
settlements
have
been
harassed
and
in
some
cases
stabbed
the
captain,
who
had
beaten
crew
members.
agreed
with
the
first, instead
citMONGOLIA
Embassybeen
in Singapore.
(The
reaucratic
apathy
“Were to
i
plight,
and
that
unwilling
totarnished
quit
the
cook
s kept routinely
by of crew members
plan
has
bytheir
bureaucratic
their
leavingapathy
only one
for toward
a business
became
too after
cle.
But
in in
a lawsuit
decided
bythose
on flattened
cardboard
on the fatally
broke
sions,
but
residents
say
that
the
cal
officials
ignoring
demembers
were
agencies
the
Philippines
and
Mi
River
investigation
or
about
wh
ing aunsuccessful.
heart
attack
as
the
cause
of his
death
benefit
provided
to
a seaply,
“Violence.”
ment,”
Mru
came the much to bear, he left his ship in ply,
cials
have
about
the
long-t
most
likely
cause
of
frie
death,
Mr.
Concepcion
said,
simroughed
“Violence.”
owned routinely
byof
Mr. his
Lim’sby
son,
Bryan,
Many
residents
are
worried
Asked
what
he
thought
was
the
the
Supreme
Court
of the
Philipfloor,
inches
apart.
If Bong
pointmost
likely
cause
friend’s
harassed
and
in
some
cases
‘Something
You
Share’
of
the
other
Filipino
men
interviewed
The
they
said,
that
typically
stipulated
a
three-year
roughed
up
by
the
police.
Yellow
beaten
crew
members.
Asked
what
he
thought
was
the
N.
KOREA
plight,
and
that
those
accept
the
settlements
have
been
stabbed
the
captain,
who
had
death.
Dr.
Martinez’s
autopsy
reMONGOLIA
farer
by
a
legal
manning
agency
Robelo,
“th
reaucratic
apathy
toward
their
Tianjin
plight,
and
that
those
unwilling
to
onfirming
knoc
plan has
been
byhis buAgency.
port. With help from missioned at you, three of the seafarers called 123 Employment
pines to
intarnished
2001,
Mr. instead
Lim and
On
April
6,health
2011,will
Mr.
Andrade’s
began
rely
on
Filipino
S.
KOREA
vie
there
be
public
trials.
River
formation
of
toxic
fallout
port also
noted
extensive
unexMr.
Concepcion
said,
in cause
the Philippines
is typically
atdeath,
ply,
“Violence.”
Beijing
have
left
uld paymost
a aries,
Many
about
the
long-term
effects
most
likely
ofKOREA
his
friend’s
Mr.
said,
simroughed
up
by
the
police.
Yellow
‘Something
Yshtha
Singapore
tax ‘Something
records
indicate
he flew home,
he routinely
said.of hisrecounted,
partners
offered
an argument
itdeath,
meant
you
were
toConcepcion
Asked
what
he
thought
was
the
Many
residents
are
worried
likely
cause
friend’s
accept
the
settlement
harassed
and
in
some
cases
You
Share’
beaten
crew
members.
MONGOLIA
N.cadaver
plight,
and
that
those
unwilling
to
accept
the
settlements
have
been
bruises
and in
cuts,
inflictleast
$50,000.)
The
family arrived
de- plainedat
ment
lo
knew
reaucratic
toward
their
usually
port
SingaDown
a
dirt
road,
surrounded
workers
in
Singapore
revenuedomestic
of apathy
that they would
repeat in later
“You go with pride,” he said of sleep in his room, where, they that it has had annual
nea
Zhao
Yingmiao,
33,
sustai
River
investigatio
chemicals
that
ply,
“Violence.”
about
the
of
toxic
fallout
from
tons
of
edthe
before
death,
on and
Mr.
clined,
instead
filing asaid,
complaint
death,
Mr.
Concepcion
simgally,
he cs
ply,
“Violence.”
Beijing
e left. The
Many
residents
are
worried
about
the
long-term
health
effects
most
likely
cause
of
his
friend’s
death,
Mr. Concepcion
said,
simharassed
in
‘Something
You
Share’
roughed
up
by
the
police.
Yellow
about
$1
million
in
recent
years.
interviews
about
trafficking
allehis experience,
“come Asked
back with ‘Something
said, he demanded
sex.
“No
was
what
he
thought
was
the
accept
the
settlements
have
been
harassed
and plight,
in Down
some
cases
You Share’
MONGOLIA
Tianjin
been
and
that
those
unwilling
to
Andrade’s
brow,
upper
and
lower
against
Step
Up in Ms.
November
villagers
g
Down
dirt
ro
pore
on
the
Hung
Yu
212.
Dr.
Wee
by
rice
paddies,
Robelo
sat
to
recruit
through
their
relatives
to collect shame.”
broken
foot
when
the
em
S.
KOREA
a
dirt
surrounded
The comment section
a webgations.road,
“Total
strangers,”
the“Violence.”
there
will
bB
the
air.
Some
ha
River
ofa
toxic
f
chemicals
were
blasted
ply,
about
the
long-term
health
effects
nose,
upperinto
right
chest
and
of
toxic
fallout
from
theharassed
tons
ofwith
2011
Singapore’s
of lip,
death,
Mr.of‘Something
Concepcion
said,
simto Singapo
ply, “Violence.” most likely
roughed
up
by
the
pol
members
Many
residents
are
worried
cause ofroughed
his friend’s
You
Share’
and that
inMinistry
some
cases
up by
the police.
Yellow
the cheatuses), he
nes cheat-
Step Up, Mr. Concepcion also
worked on a Taiwanese tuna
ship, in the South Atlantic, but
quit after the cook fatally
stabbed the captain, who had
routinely beaten crew members.
Asked what he thought was the
most likely cause of his friend’s
Even though Mr. Andrade, Mr.
Bonihit and the other Filipino
men traveled to Singapore at different times over the past five
years, nearly all of them described in virtually identical
terms a two-bedroom apartment
on the 16th floor, above Step Up’s
office, where they waited before
and after voyages.
job at sea, Mr. Andrade stayed in
the apartment for about a week,
according to family members
who spoke with him briefly by
phone. Pots and pans were
stacked in the corners, and the
walls were greasy from frying
fish. The floor was so dirty that
moss grew in patches, and with
the windows sealed, the rooms
reeked of urine and sweat, according to interviews and court
records.
A short Filipino man in his 40s,
known as Bong, managed the
apartment for Step Up with a
Chinese woman, Lina, affidavits
say. New recruits were told to
keep their voices down and to
avoid moving around much.
Some of the men were required
to leave before 7 a.m. and return
after dark. Others were confined
to the apartment, which Bong
kept locked all the time.
At night, 20 or more men lay
on flattened cardboard on the
floor, inches apart. If Bong pointed at you, three of the seafarers
sleep in his room, where, they
said, he demanded sex. “No was
said, because Bong controlled
who got which jobs.
Mr. Andrade’s relatives say
they lost track of him shortly after receiving his final text message. “Bro, this is Eril,” Mr.
Andrade wrote on Sept. 15, 2010.
“I am now here in Singapore I
was not able to text earlier I ran
Established in 1988, the manning company, then known as
Step Up Employment Agency,
initially recruited domestic labor,
providing workers for cooking,
cleaning and child care jobs in
Singapore. In 1995, it adopted a
new name and agenda. “Supplies
Philippines, China, Indonesia,
Vietnam, Myanmar, Nepal, India
fisherman,” a business card said.
“With Over 25 years of experience in fishing Vessel, We Strive
To Serve You Better!”
For years, the agency was run
by Victor Lim, now in his
mid-60s, and his wife, Mary, according to court records. Its
main office, on the second floor
of a shopping mall, across from a
sex-toy shop and a massage parlor, is small and cramped.
Within the past year or so, the
company’s sign was removed,
leaving only one for a business
owned by Mr. Lim’s son, Bryan,
site advertising Step Up’s services contains just two. The first is
from a man saying the agency
sends men to boats with unsafe
working conditions. The second
is from a woman who wrote in
2013 that Step Up had offered no
help after placing her brother on
a ship from which he went missing.
crew of the Win Far 161, a Taiwanese tuna vessel that was attacked by Somali pirates. The pirates used the boat, allegedly
fishing illegally in the Indian
Ocean near the Seychelles, to attack a Maersk container ship in
an episode made famous by the
movie “Captain Phillips.” The
Win Far 161 crew was held hostage and tortured for 10 months,
during which two members died
before the others were ransomed.
Filipino seamen were jailed in
Tanzania for months on charges
of illegal fishing after their captain fled, Step Up officials refused to hire lawyers or post bail,
advocates said.
Mr. Lim, his son and Step Up
did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this article. But in a lawsuit decided by
the Supreme Court of the Philippines in 2001, Mr. Lim and his
Down a dirt road, surrounded
by rice paddies, Ms. Robelo sat
behind cinder-block walls in a remote jail. Housing about 223 prisoners, only 24 of them women,
the five-acre Aklan Rehabilitation Center has the feel of a bustling shantytown. Chickens and
visiting children scurried underfoot as prisoners squatted on a
Most of the 10 Step Up workers, including Mr. Lim and his
wife, who have been charged in
absentia by the Philippine authorities are in Singapore, and
they are unlikely to be prosecuted because there is no extradition treaty between the countries.
Jailed since May 2013, Ms.
Robelo cried while explaining
what had led to her arrest.
“When I got a name,” she said,
“I called it to Singapore.” She
never met or spoke directly with
any of the Lims, she said; she
PHOTOGRAPHS BY HANNAH REYES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
communicated only with her sister-in-law in Singapore. Before
Mr. Andrade’s death, she said,
defendants said, denying ties to a said. The Philippine anti-traffick- she never heard from the men
seafarer who had sued for un- ing task force did not respond to prosecutors say she recruited,
requests for comment.
paid wages.
some of them her relatives,
Taiwanese police and fishery about what happened in SingaThe court revoked the recruiter license of JEAC, then Step officials said they had no record pore or at sea. She said she had
Up’s partner firm in Manila, and of having questioned Shao Chin signed up only three men, not 10,
ordered JEAC to pay the back Chung, the captain of Mr. as prosecutors charge.
wages. The only thing worse Andrade’s ship, about his death.
“If no one has work, a job is
than the companies’ sending The ship, Hung Yu 212, was cited something you share,” Ms. Robe“unlettered countrymen to a forfor illegal fishing in 2000, 2011 lo said, adding that she saw her
eign land and letting them suffer and 2012, according to the com- role as “helping the boys,” not ofinhumane treatment in the missions that regulate tuna fish- ficially recruiting them. She said
hands of an abusive employer,” ing in the Indian and Atlantic she had been told that the $2
the court said in its decision, was Oceans. A secretary at Hung Fei promised (but never paid) for
that they had conspired to deny Fishery Co., based in Kaohsiung, each person she referred was not
Taiwan, said recently that the a commission but intended to offworkers their pay.
This was roughly when Mr. owner was traveling and was not set the cost of driving to the
Lim and Step Up shifted away available to answer questions. men’s houses for paperwork.
from using registered manning Efforts to interview other crew
Visiting the jail, her husband,
agencies in the Philippines and members were unsuccessful.
Mitchell, 44, and children — XaOn April 6, 2011, Mr. Andrade’s vier, 9, and Gazrelle, 7 — stood
began to rely instead on Filipino
domestic workers in Singapore cadaver arrived at port in Singa- nearby. Mr. Robelo has been unto recruit through their relatives pore on the Hung Yu 212. Dr. Wee employed since he sold his auto
in villages back home. Ms. Robe- Keng Poh, a forensic pathologist rickshaw to raise $2,800 to pay
lo, for example, was brought in, at Singapore’s Health Sciences his wife’s first lawyer, who, the
even though she had no experi- Authority, conducted an autopsy couple said, took the money and
PHOTOGRAPHS
HANNAHthat
REYESdisappeared
FOR THE NEW
YORK doing
TIMES any
days later. HeBY
concluded
ence, by her sister-in-law, Rose- six
without
lyn Robelo, who had worked as a the cause of death was acute work.
myocarditis, an inflammatory
domestic helper for Mr. Lim.
In Kalibo, a prosecutor, ReyAfter Mr. Andrade died, offi- disease of the heart muscle. His naldo B. Peralta Jr., said the local
cials from Step Up and Hung Fei report gave little more detail.
police had not interviewed other
The body was then flown to the crew
Fishery Co., the owner of the Taimembers
from
Mr.
wanese fishing ship he had Philippines, where Dr. Noel Mar- Andrade’s ship about how he
worked on, offered to pay his tinez — the pathologist in Kalibo, died because they were elsefamily about $5,000, according to the provincial capital — per- where in the Philippines, beyond
a 2012 letter from the Philippine formed a second autopsy. He dis- Mr. Peralta’s jurisdiction.
Embassy in Singapore. (The agreed with the first, instead cit“Were it not for her recruitdeath benefit provided to a sea- ing a heart attack as the cause of ment,” Mr. Peralta said of Ms.
farer by a legal manning agency death. Dr. Martinez’s autopsy re- Robelo, “these victims would not
in the Philippines is typically at port also noted extensive unex- have left the country.” Ms. Robeleast $50,000.) The family de- plained bruises and cuts, inflict- lo knew she was recruiting illeclined, instead filing a complaint ed before death, on Mr. gally, he claimed, because some
against Step Up in November Andrade’s brow, upper and lower villagers gave her money to send
2011 with Singapore’s Ministry of lip, nose, upper right chest and to Singapore.
Manpower. Officials at the min- right armpit.
Back in the village, hidden beistry and on a government antiMr. Andrade’s pancreas and hind a thicket of banana trees,
trafficking task force said last one eye were missing. The two the empty metal lining from Mr.
month they were waiting for a pathologists could not be Andrade’s coffin sat alongside
formal request from the Philip- reached, but a provincial police the now-abandoned house that
pine government before investi- investigator suggested that the he had hoped to repair. A halfgating.
organs could have been dam- dozen unpaid electric bills were
Police officials and prosecu- aged in an accident aboard the wedged into the cracked front
tors in Mr. Andrade’s province, ship or removed during the first door, addressed to his mother,
Aklan, voiced frustration at what autopsy. Removing an eye is not Molina, who died in 2013 from livthey said was a lack of response typical in an autopsy, several pa- er failure. Inside, water dripped
from the federal authorities in thologists in New York said, add- through the ceiling.
Manila. Celso J. Hernandez Jr., a ing that the pancreas might have
Julius, Mr. Andrade’s brother,
lawyer with the Philippine Over- been missing because it some- said that unless officials in Maseas Employment Administra- times decomposes faster than nila got more involved, he did not
tion, the agency responsible for other organs.
believe he would ever get justice
protecting Filipino workers sent
Shaking his head, Emmanuel for his brother’s death. “It’s not
abroad, said he had no records Concepcion, a friend of Mr. right,” he said of Ms. Robelo’s inon Mr. Andrade’s death or on Andrade’s, said he knew what carceration. The real culprits
Step Up. “The illegal manning conditions on long-haul fishing who should be in jail, he added,
agencies are invisible to us,” he boats were like and doubted that are in Singapore and at sea.
Adam Wu contribut
By DAVID BA
NEW DELHI —
ister Narendra Mod
fered a severe pol
on Sunday when th
har, the country’s th
ulous state, overw
jected his party in s
elections.
Mr. Modi, who ha
the Bihar elections
dum on his first 17
dia’s leader, ackn
feat shortly after no
Recriminations
within his Bharatiy
ty, or B.J.P. Some
questioned whethe
had erred in the clo
the Bihar campaign
hard-right appeals
tionalism over his m
message of “vikas,
ment, for all Indians
Those appeals —
Modi depicted his
favoring Muslims
cows, a revered Hin
bol — fell flat in Bi
ately poor state in
where millions of p
a living as subsist
without electricity,
even two meals a da
While pollsters h
close election, the
were anything bu
and its allies won le
many seats in the
state assembly as th
ance” of parties tha
to oppose Mr. Modi.
One prominent
binding commitment, no overtime pay, no sick
leave, 18- to 20-hour workdays, six-day workweeks and $50 monthly food deductions, and
that granted captains full discretion to reassign
crew members to other ships. Wages were to be
disbursed not monthly to the workers’ families
but only after completion of the contract, a practice that is illegal at registered agencies.
Next, some of them signed a bill to pay for
food supplies in advance; like most of the deductions, the $250 fee was kept by the agency.
Then came the “promissory note,” confirming
that the mariner would pay a “desertion penalty,” usually more than $1,800, if he left. The
document noted that to collect their wages,
crew members would have to fly back to Singapore at their own expense.
Mr. Andrade, like the other deckhands recruited by Step Up, came from a village (Linabuan Sur’s population is roughly 3,000). The
men said they had never before traveled abroad,
worked on the high seas, heard the term “trafficking” or dealt with a manning agency. None
could explain why they might need a copy of
any contract they signed as proof of a two-way
agreement. They still did not know why it was
troubling that a boss in a foreign country should
confiscate their passports, which rendered them
powerless to leave.
By that point, most of the men were deeply
in debt, some more than $2,000, from recruiters’
fees, lodging expenses, health checkups, tourist
visas and seamen’s books (mandatory maritime
paperwork). They had borrowed from relatives,
mortgaged their homes and pawned family possessions: “our one fishing boat,” “my brother’s
home” and a carabao (a water buffalo), they said.
Standing on a 35-foot wooden boat late one
recent night, about 40 miles from the Philippine shore, Condrad Bonihit, a friend of Mr. Andrade’s, explained why poor villagers gravitated to illegal manning agencies.
“It takes money to make money,” Mr. Bonihit said as he helped hoist a 50-foot net gyrating with anchovies. To get jobs legally requires
coursework at an accredited trade school that
can cost $4,000 or so, he said, far more than most
villagers can afford. And the wages quoted by
Step Up are often nearly double what the men
might make through an accredited company.
At sea, though, the reality is different from
the promises on land, Mr. Bonihit said, adding
that he had lasted 10 months in the job he got
through Step Up. When the once-a-week beatings of crew members became too much to bear,
he left his ship in port. With help from missionaries, he flew home, he said.
“You go with pride,” he said of his experience, “come back with shame.”
Even though Mr. Andrade, Mr. Bonihit and
the other Filipino men traveled to Singapore at
different times over the past five years, nearly
all of them described in virtually identical terms
a two-bedroom apartment on the 16th floor,
above Step Up’s office, where they waited before and after voyages.
As he headed toward his first job at sea, Mr.
Andrade stayed in the apartment for about a
week, according to family members who spoke
with him briefly by phone. Pots and pans were
stacked in the corners, and the walls were greasy
from frying fish. The floor was so dirty that moss
grew in patches, and with the windows sealed,
the rooms reeked of urine and sweat, according
to interviews and court records.
A short Filipino man in his 40s, known as
Bong, managed the apartment for Step Up with
a Chinese woman, Lina, affidavits say. New recruits were told to keep their voices down and
to avoid moving around much. Some of the men
were required to leave before 7 a.m. and return
after dark. Others were confined to the apartment, which Bong kept locked all the time.
At night, 20 or more men lay on flattened
cardboard on the floor, inches apart. If Bong
pointed at you, three of the seafarers recounted,
it meant you were to sleep in his room, where,
they said, he demanded sex. “No was not an option,” one of the men said, because Bong controlled who got which jobs.
Mr. Andrade’s relatives say they lost track
of him shortly after receiving his final text message. “Bro, this is Eril,” Mr. Andrade wrote on
Sept. 15, 2010. “I am now here in Singapore I was
not able to text earlier I ran out of phone credit.”
Established in 1988, the manning company,
then known as Step Up Employment Agency,
initially recruited domestic labor, providing
workers for cooking, cleaning and child care
jobs in Singapore. In 1995, it adopted a new
name and agenda. “Supplies Philippines, China,
Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Nepal, India
amily.
Robes the
said
th, in
e, his
eply
ed to
fisherman,” a business card said. “With Over 25
Step Up did not respond to repeated requests
site advertising
Step Up’sdeservin debt,
some
Eveninthough
Mr.Vessel,
Andrade,We
Mr.Strive
said, because
Bong controlled
years
ofmore
experience
fishing
for comment
for this article.
But in a lawsuit
ices contains just two. The first is
2,000, from recruiters’ Bonihit and the other Filipino who got which jobs.
To Serve
You Better!”
cided by the
Supreme
the Philippines
in
n up,
from of
a man
saying the agency
dging
expenses,
health
men traveled to Singapore at difMr. Andrade’s
relatives
say Court
“prothe agency
was
Lim
and afhis partners
argusends menoffered
to boatsan
with
unsafe
s, tourist visasFor
and years,
seaferent
times over
therun
pastby
fiveVictor
they lost2001,
trackMr.
of him
shortly
anila,
workinginconditions.
The second
ooks
marinearly
allhis
of wife,
them Mary,
de- ter
final
textwould
mes- repeat
paid (mandatory
Lim, now
in hisyears,
mid-60s,
and
ac-receiving
menthis
that
they
later interviews
ingaperwork).
They had bor- scribed in virtually identical sage. “Bro, this is Eril,” Mr. is from a woman who wrote in
cording
to court records. Its main office, on the
about trafficking allegations. “Total strangers,”
e re-relatives,
rom
mortgaged terms a two-bedroom apartment Andrade wrote on Sept. 15, 2010. 2013 that Step Up had offered no
s 31st
second
floor
of
a
shopping
mall,
across
from
the here
defendants
said,I denying
ties
to aher
seafarer
mes
help after
placing
brother on
on the 16th floor, above Step Up’s “I am now
in Singapore
enta- and pawned family
ons:
“our
one
fishing
a
ship
from
which
he
went missoffice,
where
they
waited
before
a sex-toy shop and a massage parlor, is small
was notwho
able to
text
earlier
ran
had
sued
forI unpaid
wages.
t and
ce inbrother’s
my
and and after voyages.
andhome”
cramped.
The court revoked ing.
the recruiter license of
town
ao
(a water buffalo), they
Within thejob
past
year
or
so, the
company’s
JEAC, then Step Up’s criticized
partner Step
firmUpinforManila,
not helping
at
sea,
Mr.
Andrade
stayed
in
ience
‘Total and
Strangers’
sign
was
removed,
leaving
only
one
for
a
busiordered
JEAC
to
pay
the
back
ing
on
a
35-foot
wooden
more
to
raise
awages.
ransomThe
for the
the
apartment
for
about
a
week,
Filipisite advertising
Step
Up’s
servwere deeply
in about
debt, someaccording
more
Even
though
Mr. members
Andrade, Mr. said,
because Bong
controlled
Established
in
1988,
the
maneNew
one recent
night,
crew
of
the
Win
Far
161,
a Taito
family
owned
by Mr. Lim’s
Bryan,
onlyjobs.
thing worse ices
than
the just
companies’
contains
two. The first issending
thanness
$2,000,
from recruiters’
Bonihitson,
and the
other called
Filipino 123
who got which
ning
company,
then
known
as
sbeen
fromfees,the
Philippine
wanese
tuna
vessel
that
was
who
spoke
with
him
briefly
by
the agency
lodging expenses,Agency.
health men
traveled to Singapore
at dif- inMr. Andrade’s
relativescountrymen
say from a man
Employment
Singapore
tax records
“unlettered
tosaying
abyforeign
land and ateen
a
Step
Uptrack
Employment
Agency,
ondrad
Bonihit,tourist
a friend
tacked
Somali
pirates. The piphone.
Pots times
andover
pans
were
sends
men
to
boats
with
unsafe
checkups,
visas
and
seaferent
the
past
five
they
lost
of
him
shortly
afe less
dicate
that
hadyears,
annual
revenues
ofde-about
letting
them
suffer
inhumane
treatment
the
working
conditions.
The
second
books (mandatory
mariall ofand
themthe
ter receiving
his final
text mesinitially
recruited
domestic
labor,
ndrade’s,
explained
whyit has
rates
used
the
boat,inallegedly
stacked
in
thenearly
corners,
n ex- men’s
is from
a woman illegally
whothe
wrotecourt
in thesaid
paperwork).
They
had
bor- years.
scribed
in virtually
identical providing
sage. “Bro,
this is
Eril,”
Mr.
workers
for abusive
cooking,
gravitated
to illefishing
in
Indian
walls
were
greasy
from frying
$1
million
in
recent
hands
of
an
employer,”
elagers
de- time
rowed from relatives, mortgaged terms a two-bedroom apartment Andrade wrote on Sept. 15, 2010. 2013 that Step Up had offered no
wage agencies.
cleaning
and
child
care
jobs
in
ning
Ocean
near
the
Seychelles,
to atfish.
The
floor
was
so
dirty
that
The
offloor,
a website
advertheir homes
and comment
pawned family section
in here
its decision,
they her
had
conspired
to
helpthat
after placing
brother
on
on the 16th
above Step Up’s
“I am now
in Singapore Iwas
Intext
1995,
it adopted
a from
tackwhich
a Maersk
ship in
moss grew
patches,
and with
akes money
to “our
make
possessions:
one fishing
he went container
missoffice,inwhere
they waited
before Singapore.
was not able to
earlier
I ran a ship
from
tising
Step
contains
just
two. The
deny
workers
theiring.pay.an episode made famous by the
boat,”
“my
brother’s
home”
and
and after
voyages.the
new
and
agenda. “Supplies
out ofname
phone
credit.”
theservices
windows
sealed,
rooms
Mr. Bonihit
said
as heUp’s
prosa
carabao
(a
water
buffalo),
they
In 2009,
human
rights
groups
As
he
headed
toward
his
first
firstnet
is from
saying
the and
agency
sends
roughly
when
Mr.
Lim
and StepThe
Philippines, This
China,was
Indonesia,
movie
“Captain
Phillips.”
reeked
of urine
sweat,
ac- men
hoist
gyrat-a man
uited a 50-foot
said.
job at sea, Mr. Andrade stayed in ‘Total Strangers’
Vietnam,
Myanmar,
Nepal,
India
nterWin
Far
161
crew
was held hoscording
to
interviews
and
court
h anchovies.
To
get
jobs
to
boats
with
unsafe
working
conditions.
The
Up
shifted
away
from
using
registered
manning
Standing on a 35-foot wooden the apartment for about a week,
flew
fisherman,”
ainbusiness
card said.
tage
andFar
tortured
for 10 months,
records.
requires
at
Established
1988,
the
manboatcoursework
late
one
recent
night,
about
crew
of
the
Win
161,
a
Taiaccording
to
family
members
second
isthe
from
a woman
who wrote
in
2013
that
agencies
in of
the
Philippines
and
began
to rely
oving
Over 25then
years
experining company,
known
as
milesschool
from that
Philippine
wanese during
tuna vessel
that two
was atwhich
members died
who
spoke with
briefly
edited 40
trade
A short
Filipino
manhim
in his
40s,by “With
miliar
Step
Up
had
offered
no
help
after
placing
her
Step
Up
Employment
Agency,
instead
on
Filipino
domestic
workers
in
Sin-ranshore,
Condrad
Bonihit,
a
friend
tacked
by
Somali
pirates.
The
piphone.
Pots
and
pans
were
$4,000 or so, he said, far known as Bong, managed the ence in fishing Vessel, We Strive before the others were
ture,”
initially recruited domestic labor, rates used the boat, allegedly
of Mr. Andrade’s, explained why stacked in the corners, and the To
Serve
You
Better!”
somed.
an most
villagers
can
afdeline
apartment
for
Step
Up
with
a
on a ship
from
which
went
to recruit
their
workers for
cooking, through
poorbrother
villagers gravitated
to illefishing illegally
in relatives
the Indian in vilwalls
were he
greasy
frommissing.
frying providinggapore
For years,
the
agency
was
nd the gal
wages
quoted
by human
same
year,
eight
Chinesefish.
woman,
Lina,
and child
care jobs
in run
manning
agencies.
Ocean Robelo,
nearThat
the Seychelles,
to at- when
The floor
was affidavits
so dirty
that cleaning
In
2009,
rights
groups
criticized
lages
back
home.
Ms.
for
example,
was
edare
to often
Singapore.
a tack
by
VictorIn 1995,
Lim,it adopted
now in
his a Maersk
container
shipwere
in
moss
grew in patches,
and with
Filipino
seamen
jailed in
“It nearly
takes double
money to say.
makeNew
recruits
were
told
to
that money,”
Step
for said
notkeep
more
raise
arooms
ransom
brought
in,
even
she
had
experience,
new name
and agenda.
“Supplies
an
made
famous
by
the on charges
the windows
sealed,
the
Mr.Up
Bonihit
ashelping
he their
and
his wife,
Mary,though
ac-episode
he
might
make
Tanzania
forno
months
voices to
down
and
to mid-60s,
-year men
Philippines,
China,
Indonesia, movieRoselyn
“Captain Phillips.”
The
reeked Far
of urine
andasweat,
according
helped
hoist
a 50-foot
netof
gyratfor
the
crew
the
Win
161,
Taiwanese
by
her
sister-in-law,
Robelo,
whotheir
hadcapto
court
records.
Its
an
accredited
company.
of
illegal
fishing
after
avoid
moving
around
much.
overing with anchovies. To get jobs cording to interviews and court Vietnam, Myanmar, Nepal, India Win Far 161 crew was held hosto
main
office,
on
the
second
floor
tain
fled,
Step
Up
officials
reSome
of
the
men
were
required
a, 20though,
the
reality
is
fisherman,”
a business
said. tage and
tuna
vessel
that was
by Somali pirates.
worked
ascard
a domestic
helper
Lim.
torturedfor
for Mr.
10 months,
records.
legally
requires
coursework
at attacked
worka shopping
mall, of
across
a which
“With
Over 25 years
experi-from
fusedtwo
to hire
lawyers
to that
leave before
a.m. and
return
during
members
died or post bail,
t from anthe
promises
accredited
tradeonschool
A short 7Filipino
man in
his 40s, of
The
pirates
used
theknown
boat,
allegedly
fishing
il- in fishing
After
Mr.
Andrade
died,
officials
from Step
d decan cost
ence
Strive
before advocates
the others
were ran$4,000adding
or so, he said,
far dark.
as Bong,
the sex-toy
shop Vessel,
and a We
massage
parsaid.
after
Others
weremanaged
confined
Mr.cap-Bonihit
said,
To
Serve
You
Better!”
somed.
morelegally
than mostin
villagers
can
afapartment
for
Step
Up
with
a
nearwhich
the Seychelles,
Up and
andcramped.
Hung Fei FisheryMr.
Co.,
thehisowner
ofStep
the Up
is small
to the Ocean
apartment,
Bong lor,For
had lasted
10 monthsthe
in Indian
Lim,
son and
ssign
years, the agency was run
ford. And the wages quoted by Chinese woman, Lina, affidavits
ships.
Within
the
past
year
or
so,
the
kept
locked
all
the
time.
he got Step
through
Step
Up.
did
not
respond
to
repeated
to
attack
a
Maersk
container
ship
in
an
episode
Taiwanese
fishing
ship
he
had
worked
on,
of- reUp are often nearly double say. New recruits were told to by Victor Lim, now in his Filipino seamen were jailed in
d not
company’s
sign
was
removed,
he
once-a-week
mid-60s,
and
his
wife,
Mary,
acquests
for
comment
for
this
At
night,
20
or
more
men
lay
whatmade
the beatings
men
might
make
Tanzania
for
months
on
charges
keep
their
voices
down
and
to
famous by theavoid
movie “Captain
Phillips.”
fered
to pay hisItsfamily
about
$5,000,
according
toartimilies through an accredited
cording only
to court
of illegalcle.
fishing
cap- decided by
around
onerecords.
for a business
members became toocompany.
Butafter
in atheir
lawsuit
on flattened moving
cardboard
on much.
the leaving
of the
The
Win
161
crew
wasapart.
and tora 2012
letter
from
the
main office,
on the
second
floor
tain Philippine
fled,
Up Embassy
officials
re-of in
Some
ofheld
the men
were pointrequired
sea,his
though,
the
is inches
owned
by
Mr.
Lim’s
son,
Bryan,
bear, heAtleft
shipFar
in reality
theStep
Supreme
Court
theSinPhilipfloor,
Ifhostage
Bong
llegal
different from the promises on to leave before 7 a.m. and return of a shopping mall, across from a fused to hire lawyers or post bail,
tured
for
10
months,
during
which
two
members
gapore.
(The
death
benefit
provided
to
a
seafarcalled
123
Employment
Agency.
ith help
from
missionpines
in
2001,
Mr.
Lim
and
his
ed
at
you,
three
of
the
seafarers
sex-toy
shop
and
a
massage
paradvocates said.
land, Mr. Bonihit said, adding after dark. Others were confined
ned
a home,
tax
records
indicate
flew
said.
partners
offered
an argument
recounted,
it meant
youwhich
wereBong
to Singapore
lor, is small
and
cramped.
the
apartment,
that died
hehe
had
lasted 10 the
months
in towere
Mr. Lim,
his soninand
Step
Up
before
others
ransomed.
er
by
a
legal
manning
agency
the
Philippines
n ad- the job he got through Step Up. kept locked all the time.
Within
thehad
pastannual
year or so,
the did
respond
to repeated
rethat
it has
of not that
they
would repeat
in later
go
with pride,” he saidsame
of sleep
his room,
where,
they
educ- When the That
year, in
when
eight
Filipino
seamen
ismillion
typically
atrevenue
least
$50,000.)
The for
family
declined,
company’s
sign was
removed,
once-a-week
beatings
quests
for
comment
this artiAt night,
20 sex.
or
more
men
lay about
$1
in
recent
years.
interviews
about
trafficking
alleerience,
“come
back
with
said,
he
demanded
“No
was
pt by of crew members became too on flattened cardboard on the leaving only one for a business cle. But in a lawsuit decided by
were
jailed in Tanzania
for months
on
charges
of
instead
filing
a
complaint
against
Step
Up
in
NoThe
comment
section
of
a
webgations.
“Total
strangers,”
the
not inan floor,
option,”
one
of
the
men
the much
owned
by
Mr.
Lim’s
son,
Bryan,
to bear, he left his ship
the Supreme Court of the Philipinches apart. If Bong point-
ming
ay a
ually
. The
ollect
mbers
inga-
other
p Up,
buan
ughly
had
road,
heard
dealt
None
might
they
-way
not
hat a
hould
which
s to
men
fishing
after their
captain
Step
port.illegal
With help
from missioned at you,
three of fled,
the seafarers
aries, he flew home, he said.
Up
officials
refused
to
hire
lawyers
or
post
“You go with pride,” he said of sleep in his room, where, they
his experience,
“come
back
with
said,
he
demanded
sex.
“No
was
bail, advocates said. Mr. Lim, his son and
shame.”
pines in 2001, Mr. Lim and his
where
Step Up Marine Enterprise, which recruited Mr.
where Step Up Marine Enterprise, which recruited Mr.
Andrade,
operated.
Its issign
is the
gone;
the storefront
now
Andrade, operated.
Its sign
gone;
storefront
now
advertises
agency
owned
Up
owner’s son.
advertises anan
agency
owned
by the by
Stepthe
Up Step
owner’s
son.
vember 2011 with Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower. Officials at the ministry and on a government anti-trafficking task force said last month
they were waiting for a formal request from the
Philippine government before investigating.
Police officials and prosecutors in Mr. Andrade’s province, Aklan, voiced frustration at
what they said was a lack of response from the
federal authorities in Manila. Celso J. Hernandez Jr., a lawyer with the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration, the agency responsible for protecting Filipino workers sent
abroad, said he had no records on Mr. Andrade’s
death or on Step Up. “The illegal manning agencies are invisible to us,” he said. The Philippine
anti-trafficking task force did not respond to requests for comment.
Taiwanese police and fishery officials said
they had no record of having questioned Shao
Chin Chung, the captain of Mr. Andrade’s ship,
about his death. The ship, Hung Yu 212, was cited for illegal fishing in 2000, 2011 and 2012, according to the commissions that regulate tuna
fishing in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. A secretary at Hung Fei Fishery Co., based in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, said recently that the owner was
traveling and was not available to answer questions. Efforts to interview other crew members
were unsuccessful.
On April 6, 2011, Mr. Andrade’s cadaver arrived at port in Singapore on the Hung Yu 212.
Dr. Wee Keng Poh, a forensic pathologist at Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority, conducted
an autopsy six days later. He concluded that
the cause of death was acute myocarditis, an
inflammatory disease of the heart muscle. His
report gave little more detail.
The body was then flown to the Philippines,
where Dr. Noel Martinez — the pathologist in
Kalibo, the provincial capital — performed a second autopsy. He disagreed with the first, instead
citing a heart attack as the cause of death. Dr.
Martinez’s autopsy report also noted extensive
unexplained bruises and cuts, inflicted before
death, on Mr. Andrade’s brow, upper and lower
lip, nose, upper right chest and right armpit.
Mr. Andrade’s pancreas and one eye were
missing. The two pathologists could not be
reached, but a provincial police investigator
suggested that the organs could have been
damaged in an accident aboard the ship or removed during the first autopsy. Removing an
eye is not typical in an autopsy, several pathologists in New York said, adding that the pancreas
might have been missing because it sometimes
decomposes faster than other organs.
Shaking his head, Emmanuel Concepcion,
a friend of Mr. Andrade’s, said he knew what
conditions on long-haul fishing boats were like
and doubted that Mr. Andrade had died of natural causes. After being recruited by Step Up,
Mr. Concepcion also worked on a Taiwanese
tuna ship, in the South Atlantic, but quit after
the cook fatally stabbed the captain, who had
routinely beaten crew members. Asked what he
thought was the most likely cause of his friend’s
‘Something You Share’
Down a dirt road, surrounded by rice paddies, Ms. Robelo sat behind cinder-block walls
in a remote jail. Housing about 223 prisoners,
only 24 of them women, the five-acre Aklan
Rehabilitation Center has the feel of a bustling
shantytown. Chickens and visiting children
scurried underfoot as prisoners squatted on a
Most of the 10 Step Up workers who have
been charged in absentia by the Philippine authorities are in Singapore, and they are unlikely
to be prosecuted because there is no extradition
treaty between the countries.
Jailed since May 2013, Ms. Robelo cried
while explaining what had led to her arrest.
“When I got a name,” she said, “I called it
to Singapore.” She never met or spoke directly
with any of the Lims, she said; she communicated only with her sister-in-law in Singapore.
Before Mr. Andrade’s death, she said, she never
heard from the men prosecutors say she recruited, some of them her relatives, about what
happened in Singapore or at sea. She said she
had signed up only three men, not 10, as prosecutors charge.
“If no one has work, a job is something you
share,” Ms. Robelo said, adding that she saw
her role as “helping the boys,” not officially recruiting them. She said she had been told that
the $2 promised (but never paid) for each person she referred was not a commission but intended to offset the cost of driving to the men’s
houses for paperwork.
Visiting the jail, her husband, Mitchell, 44,
and children — Xavier, 9, and Gazrelle, 7 —
stood nearby. Mr. Robelo has been unemployed
since he sold his auto rickshaw to raise $2,800
to pay his wife’s first lawyer, who, the couple
said, took the money and disappeared without
doing any work.
In Kalibo, a prosecutor, Reynaldo B. Peralta
Jr., said the local police had not interviewed other crew members from Mr. Andrade’s ship about
how he died because they were elsewhere in the
Philippines, beyond Mr. Peralta’s jurisdiction.
“Were it not for her recruitment,” Mr. Peralta said of Ms. Robelo, “these victims would
not have left the country.” Ms. Robelo knew
she was recruiting illegally, he claimed, beSusan Beachy contributed research from New
York.
cause some villagers gave her money to send
to Singapore.
Back in the village, hidden behind a thicket
of banana trees, the empty metal lining from Mr.
Andrade’s coffin sat alongside the now-abandoned house that he had hoped to repair. A halfdozen unpaid electric bills were wedged into the
cracked front door, addressed to his mother, Molina, who died in 2013 from liver failure. Inside,
water dripped through the ceiling.
Julius, Mr. Andrade’s brother, said that unless officials in Manila got more involved, he
did not believe he would ever get justice for his
brother’s death. “It’s not right,” he said of Ms.
Robelo’s incarceration. The real culprits who
should be in jail, he added, are in Singapore
and at sea.
December 29, 2015
Late Edition
Today, morning rain tapering to a
shower, cloudy, warmer, high 50.
Tonight, cloudy, low 45. Wednesday,
mostly cloudy, afternoon rain, high
52. Weather map is on Page B12.
VOL. CLXV . . . No. 57,095
$2.50
NEW YORK, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015
Iraqis Retake
Center of City
In Grip of ISIS
JURORS DECLINE
CHARGES IN DEATH
OF CLEVELAND BOY
A Victory in Ramadi
Could Prove Pivotal
SHOT BY POLICE OFFICER
Prosecutor Cites ‘Perfect
Storm of Human
Error’ in Case
By FALIH HASSAN
and SEWELL CHAN
BAGHDAD — Breaking a seven-month occupation by the Islamic State, Iraqi troops on Monday retook most of Ramadi, the
most populous city in western
Iraq, overrunning a government
compound held by the terrorist
group at the city center and dealing a setback to its deadly grip on
large parts of the country.
Iraqi soldiers continued to face
stiff resistance by Islamic State
fighters in several pockets, and
their hold on Ramadi — achieved
after a week of fierce fighting
with help from American jets that
pounded enemy positions — remained tenuous. In Washington,
Pentagon officials warned that it
would be premature to declare
outright victory.
But if the government manages to hold Ramadi, it could
prove pivotal to the efforts to
beat back the Islamic State in
Iraq and, ultimately, to reverse
the group’s gains in Syria as well.
The Obama administration is
hoping that a victory in Ramadi
could also help vindicate its strategy of relying largely on air power to aid Iraqi and other partners
fighting on the ground.
The Ramadi campaign is the
latest in a string of defeats for the
Islamic State, also known as ISIS
and its Arabic acronym, Daesh.
The group has lost as much as 40
percent of the Iraqi territory it
conquered last year.
Iraq’s prime minister, Haider
al-Abadi, who announced the
city’s “liberation” on Twitter on
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
and MITCH SMITH
REUTERS
A military vehicle carrying members of the Iraqi security forces flew the national flag as it drove through Ramadi on Monday.
‘Repo Men’ of the High Seas
A Last Resort for Owners of Stolen or Seized Ships
By IAN URBINA
MIRAGOÂNE, Haiti — In
Greece, Max Hardberger posed
as an interested buyer; in Haiti,
as a port official; in Trinidad, as a
shipper. He has plied guards with
booze and distracted them with
prostitutes, spooked port police
officers with witch doctors, and
duped night watchmen into leaving their posts. His goal: to get on
board a vessel he is trying to retrieve and race toward the 12-
mile line where the high seas begin and local jurisdiction ends.
Mr. Hardberger is among a
handful of maritime “repo men”
THE OUTLAW OCEAN
Recovery Operations
who handle the toughest of graband-dash jobs in foreign harbors,
usually on behalf of banks, insurers or shipowners. A last-resort
solution to a common predica-
ment, he is called when a vessel
has been stolen, its operators
have defaulted on their mortgage
or a ship has been fraudulently
detained by local officials.
“When we show up, things go
missing,” Mr. Hardberger said.
Tens of thousands of boats or
ships are stolen around the world
each year, and many become part
of a global “phantom fleet” involved in a broad range of
crimes. Phantom vessels are frequently used in Southeast Asia
for human trafficking, piracy and
illegal fishing; in the Caribbean
for smuggling guns and drugs;
and in the Middle East and North
Africa to transport fighters or circumvent arms or oil embargoes,
according to Rear Adm. Christopher Parry, a maritime security
expert formerly with Britain’s
Royal Navy.
Usually the vessels are not recovered because they are difficult to find on the vast oceans,
the search is too expensive and
the ships often end up in ports
with uncooperative or corrupt ofContinued on Page A8
Colleges Rush
To Embolden
Entrepreneurs
By NATASHA SINGER
HOUSTON — The original
charter of Rice University, drafted in 1891, established a school
here dedicated to the advancement of literature, science and
art. These days, Rice seems
equally dedicated to the advancement of the next Mark Zuckerberg.
The university offers academic
courses in entrepreneurship
strategy and financing, extracurricular start-up workshops and a
summer program for students
seeking to start companies. In
August, Rice announced a multimillion-dollar “entrepreneurship
initiative” to develop more
courses and programs in the subject. And administrators say they
hope to erect an entrepreneurial
center to house classes and services supporting student projects.
“We want Rice to be one of the
schools at the top of the list of
schools that prospective students
CLEVELAND — A grand jury
declined on Monday to charge a
Cleveland patrolman who fatally
shot a 12-year-old boy holding a
pellet gun, capping more than a
year of investigation into a case
that added to national outrage
over white officers killing African-Americans.
In announcing the decision,
Timothy J. McGinty, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, said he
had recommended that the grand
jurors not bring charges in the
killing of the boy, Tamir Rice, who
was playing with the gun outside
a recreation center in November
2014.
Mr. McGinty said the fatal encounter had been a tragedy and a
“perfect storm of human error,
mistakes and miscommunications.” But he said that enhancement of video from the scene had
made it “indisputable” that
Tamir, who was black, was drawing the pellet gun from his waistband when he was shot, either to
hand it over to the officers or to
show them that it was not a real
firearm. He said that there was
no reason for the officers to know
that, and that the officer who
fired, Timothy Loehmann, had a
reason to fear for his life.
The case began when a caller
to 911 said a male was pointing a
gun at people in a Cleveland
park. The caller added that the
gun was “probably fake,” and
that the person waving it was
“probably a juvenile.” But those
caveats were not relayed to Officer Loehmann or his partner,
Frank Garmback, who was driving the patrol car. Officer Loehmann, who is white, opened fire
within seconds of arriving at the
park. Officer Garmback was also
spared any charges.
The shooting in Cleveland
came just two days before a
grand jury in Missouri declined
to indict a white police officer in
Apology, if Not Closure, for ‘Comfort Women’
By CHOE SANG-HUN
LIBRADO ROMERO/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Meadowlark Lemon (36) in a Harlem Globetrotters game at Madison Square Garden in 1973.
MEADOWLARK LEMON, 1932-2015
Master of Hook Shots and Hardcourt Comedy
By BRUCE WEBER
Meadowlark Lemon, whose
halfcourt hook shots, no-look behind-the-back passes and vivid
clowning were marquee features
of the feel-good traveling basketball show known as the Harlem
Globetrotters for nearly a quarter-century, died on Sunday in
Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 83.
His death was confirmed by his
wife, Cynthia Lemon, who did not
specify the cause.
A gifted athlete with an entertainer’s hunger for the spotlight, Lemon, who dreamed of
playing for the Globetrotters as a
boy in North Carolina, joined the
team in 1954, not long after leaving the Army. Within a few years,
he had assumed the central role
of showman, taking over from the
Trotters’ long-reigning clown
prince Reece Tatum, whom everyone called Goose.
Tatum, who had left the team
around the time Lemon joined it,
was a superb ballplayer whose
on-court gags — or reams, as the
players called them — had established the team’s reputation for
laugh-inducing wizardry at a
championship level.
SEOUL, South Korea — More
than 70 years after the end of
World War II, South Korea and
Japan reached a landmark agreement on Monday to resolve their
dispute over Korean women who
were forced to serve as sex
slaves for Japan’s Imperial Army.
The agreement, in which Japan
made an apology and promised
an $8.3 million payment that
would provide care for the women, was intended to remove one
of the most intractable logjams in
relations between South Korea
and Japan, both crucial allies to
the United States. The so-called
comfort women have been the
most painful legacy of Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, which lasted
from 1910 until Japan’s defeat in
1945.
The Japanese and South Kore-
INTERNATIONAL A4-8
BUSINESS DAY B1-6
Iran Hands Over Its Uranium
A Big-Picture Business Group
Iran handed over almost its entire
stockpile of low-enriched uranium to
Russia, fulfilling a major step in the nuclear deal struck over the summer and
apparently leaving Iran with too little
fuel to make a nuclear weapon. PAGE A4
In Minnesota, an elite team quietly
shapes the economic agenda, tackling
issues like discrimination and inequality
that executives usually avoid. PAGE B1
A Menacing Shift in Burundi
A deadly conflict in the African nation
has taken on a divisive ethnic tone that
worries rights monitors and Western officials, making negotiations now underPAGE A4
way particularly crucial.
SCIENCE TIMES D1-6
NEW YORK A13-15
Theater’s Ownership Disputed
The Slave Theater in Brooklyn, above, a
bastion of civil rights struggles, was
sold and scheduled for demolition. But
who owns it? The Appraisal. PAGE A13
NATIONAL A9-12
G.O.P. Voice on Women’s Issues
Frustrated by the tone of Republican
presidential candidates, a group of 70
members of Congress spreads the message that the party cares about women’s
PAGE A12
issues. On Washington.
Governor Off the Grid
Near the end of a 50-year political career, Jerry Brown gravitates toward a
cabin in the California hills owned by his
PAGE A9
family for generations.
OBITUARIES A16-17
Motörhead Frontman Is Dead
Ian Fraser Kilmister, the jagged-voiced
heavy metal singer and bassist known
PAGE A16
as Lemmy, was 70.
SPORTSTUESDAY B7-12
Yankees Get Star, and Scrutiny
The team traded for Reds closer Aroldis
Chapman, who is being investigated in a
PAGE B7
domestic violence case.
Shared Schizophrenia Care
Programs are springing up across the
United States that give people with
schizophrenia more control over treatPAGE D1
ment decisions.
ARTS C1-7
Lara Croft Has Company
Male-dominated video games are making room for multidimensional, powerful
and intelligent female heroes who are
PAGE C1
neither victims nor objects.
Walter F. Mondale
PAGE A19
U(D54G1D)y+z!#!$!=!.
CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTY IMAGES
A statue symbolizing Korean
sex slaves in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
an foreign ministers, announcing
the agreement in Seoul, said each
side considered it a “final and irreversible resolution” of the issue.
The apology and the payment,
which, unlike a previous fund,
will come directly from the Japanese government, represent a
compromise for Japan’s prime
minister, Shinzo Abe, who has
often been reluctant to offer contrition for his country’s militarist
past.
The deal won praise from the
governing party of President
Park Geun-hye of South Korea
and from Secretary of State John
Kerry, but it was immediately
criticized as insufficient by opposition politicians in South Korea,
where anti-Japanese sentiments
still run deep, and by some of the
former sex slaves themselves.
“We are not craving for
money,” said Lee Yong-soo, 88,
one of the women. “What we demand is that Japan make official
reparations for the crime it had
committed.”
A8
N
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015
JOSUÉ AZOR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Max Hardberger, a maritime “repo man,” center; his longtime fixer, Oge Cadet, in red; and a hired rower got a closer look at ships in Miragoâne, Haiti, by pretending to be potential buyers.
Maritime ‘Repo Men’: A Last Resort for Stolen or Seized Ships
From Page A1
ficials.
But sometimes, when the boat or ship
is more valuable, firms like Mr. Hardberger’s Vessel Extractions in New Orleans are hired to find it. His company
occasionally handles jobs involving
megayachts, but more often the targets
are small-to-medium cargo ships that
carry goods between developing countries with poor or unstable governments.
To the local port authorities and law
enforcement officials in foreign countries, Mr. Hardberger and his ilk are
vigilantes who erode the rule of law in
places that are struggling to establish it.
“They deserve to be arrested,” Louhandy Brizard, 27, a Haitian Coast Guard officer, said about repo men during a sea
patrol looking for stolen boats.
Charles N. Dragonette, who monitored maritime crime for the United
States Office of Naval Intelligence until
2012, said that he believed that Mr.
Hardberger follows whatever rules exist. But, he added, “I do worry about
how these guys undercut local authorities, embarrassing them by stealing
ships from under their noses, and worsening the overall corruption problem by
paying bribes to local helpers to pull off
these heists.”
Most recoveries of stolen boats and
maritime repossessions are ho-hum affairs, typically involving paperwork and
banks working with local law enforcement. But when negotiations fail, waterborne jailbreaks sometimes occur.
Charles Meacham, a maritime repo
man based in Jacksonville, Fla., recounted how his teams spirited hundreds of boats out of a marina in Mexico
in 2009 after they were stolen from Florida by a drug cartel, a move that won
him a bounty on his head. Court papers
describe a job that Mr. Hardberger handled in 2009, where he retrieved a
freighter called the Virgin Express I
from the Dominican Republic, boarding
it by pretending to be a shipper, then
sailing the ship to the Turks and Caicos
Islands, where he handed it over to the
mortgage holder.
Citing past assignments in Cuba,
Egypt, Ghana, Honduras, Trinidad, Venezuela and elsewhere, Mr. Meacham
and a half dozen others in the industry
said that they each get on average one
or two “extraction” requests per year.
John Dalby, chief executive of Marine
Risk Management, said his firm was
currently working for a consortium of
banks to repossess a fleet of more than
a dozen freighters from nearly as many
ports around the world. “They have to
be taken all at once or else several will
run,” he said.
A review of contracts and court
records from some of these extraction
jobs and interviews with repo men, insurance investigators and coast guard
officers show that lawlessness offshore
The Outlaw Ocean
Articles in this series are examining lawlessness on the high seas and how weak
regulations and lax enforcement allow
misconduct to go unpunished.
ONLINE: Previous articles in the
series, and related coverage:
nytimes.com/oceans
Above, Mr. Hardberger inspected a map while on a patrol with
the Haitian Coast Guard. Left,
Douglas Lindsay, the lead partner with Maritime Resolve, a recovery firm based in England,
said ships are often detained by
port officials seeking a bribe.
ANDREW TESTA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
sometimes extends from corruption onshore. These documents and comments
shed light on the array of ploys used to
steal, seize, extort and recover ships.
They also reveal how maritime repo
men — and the scheming debtors,
dodgy port mechanics, testy guards,
disgruntled crews and dishonest port
officials that they are hired to outwit —
take advantage of the lack of policing
and jurisdictional ambiguity of the open
ocean.
The public perception of modern piracy usually involves Somalis in fast boats
capturing tankers on the high seas.
“More often overlooked but just as
prevalent is white-collar piracy,” Admiral Parry said. Buccaneers in business
suits hijack ships in port through opportunistic ruses rather than at sea with
surprise shows of force.
Consumers are affected by the theft
and corruption because it adds millions
of dollars to transport costs and insurance rates, raising sticker prices more
than 10 percent, maritime researchers
say.
Most corrupt detentions in port consist of “squeeze and release” bilking
schemes intended to get bribes, said
Douglas Lindsay, the lead partner with
Maritime Resolve, a recovery firm
based in England. “But squeeze long
enough and you strangle,” Mr. Lindsay
said. Shipping businesses can go bankrupt as cargo spoils, delivery deadlines
pass and owed wages accumulate.
“The fact is that in some ports in the
world possession isn’t, as the saying
goes, nine-tenths of the law,” Mr. Dragonette added. “It is the law.”
Ship Raiders and Port Pirates
Port scams are as old as shipping itself and seasoned repo men can identify
them by name. “Unexpected complications”: a shipyard makes repairs without permission, then sends the owner
an astronomical bill, often for more than
the value of the ship, hoping to force its
forfeiture. “Barratry”: buying off
crews, sometimes paying more than a
year’s wages to leave a ship’s keys and
walk away. “A docking play”: a shipowner defaults on his mortgage, but is
in cahoots with a marina, which charges
the repossessor hyperinflated docking
fees. “I swam out to it one night and
took the boat back,” said Steve Salem, a
repo man in Sarasota, Fla., recalling one
such case in the Abacos, a chain of islands in the Bahamas, in 2012.
Mr. Lindsay described a “classic
shakedown” case he handled in 2011 in
Guinea in West Africa where a ship was
being fraudulently detained with a $50
million fine for less than $10,000 in damage to a dock. “They fly you in, you find
the right official, and negotiate him
back to Planet Earth,” Mr. Lindsay said.
Stolen boats — about 5,000 were taken in the United States in 2014 — are
often relocated to “unfriendly jurisdictions,” where local governments are
sometimes less sympathetic to American owners and more susceptible to
bribes, the repo men said.
Mr. Meacham, the Florida-based repo
man, said he was once sent to Havana
to retrieve a stolen American-owned
megayacht being used by a hotel there.
Chartering the vessel into international
waters, he then told the Cuban captain:
Come with us to the United States or
take a lifeboat back to shore. The captain chose the former.
John Lightbown, the general manager of a Florida shipping company,
said that in some places criminals can
seize a $2 million ship for $2,000. “No
evidence, no invoices, no affidavits, no
appeals process,” said Mr. Lightbown,
who has hired Mr. Hardberger several
times. “They just need the filing fee that
goes to a local justice of the peace and
something extra under the table.”
To talk his way on board, Mr. Hardberger said, he has a collection of fake
uniforms and official-sounding business
cards; among them are “Port Inspec-
tor,” “Marine Surveyor” and “Internal
Auditor.” He also carries a glass vial of
magnetic powder to sprinkle on the hull
to reveal lettering that has been welded
off.
Mr. Dalby, from Marine Risk Management, said that rather than taking
ships from unfriendly ports, he preferred surreptitiously placing GPS
trackers on them while in transit, then
calling in the police.
“Occasionally the legal system solves
the problem,” added Mr. Hardberger,
who canceled plans for an extraction job
this month after a court in Haiti ordered
the release of a freighter called the Amber Express, which had been improperly detained in the Port of St.-Marc,
Haiti.
All of the repo men said they abide by
certain self-imposed rules. No violence
or weapons — better, they said, to hire
street youths for lookouts, bar owners
for diversions, and prostitutes to talk
their way on board to spy. Officials from
the Haitian Coast Guard, Interpol, and
the bar association in California, where
Mr. Hardberger is licensed, said they
had no records of complaints, disciplinary actions or arrest warrants for him.
Asked whether he ever pays off public officials, Mr. Meacham replied in
much the same way as his colleagues
had. “Bribery is illegal,” he said. “Negotiating a fine is not.”
Toil and Trouble
Often, maritime law works in crooks’
favor, said Michael Bono, a lawyer and
managing director of Vessel Extractions. Ship sales are more anonymous
and final than sales of other types of
property, he said. If someone buys a
stolen painting at an auction, explained
Edward Keane, a maritime lawyer in
New York, the rightful owner can later
make a claim and in many cases repossess it. But under international maritime law, he said, a vessel sold at a judicial auction has had its “face washed”
or “bottom scrubbed” clean of liens and
other previous debts, including mortgages.
About 50 miles west of Haiti’s capital,
in Miragoâne, known as a pirate’s paradise, Mr. Hardberger explained that
giving a stolen boat a fast makeover requires little more than “about $300, four
welders, and a fax machine.”
Joined by his longtime local fixer, Oge
Cadet, Mr. Hardberger, 67, crossed the
harbor in a row boat while they prospected a strip of beach where they hope
to build a dock to chop up old ships for
scrap. Mr. Cadet recounted an extraction job here in 2004. An American businessman had bribed local judicial officials to seize a 10-story-tall car carrier
called the Maya Express and sell the
ship to him in a rigged auction, according to court records.
To scare guards away, Mr. Hardberger paid a local witch doctor $100 to publicly put a curse on the one place in town
with cellphone reception. Though the
glare from a blowtorch used by Mr.
Hardberger’s team to cut through the
ship’s anchor chains almost got them
caught, they successfully sailed the ship
to the Bahamas, where a judge upheld
the repossession.
Referring to Haiti’s ports and legal
system, Justice John Lyons of the Bahamas wrote that “cronyism and corruption are the order of the day.”
Nxxx,2015-12-29,A,001,Bs-BK,E2
hting C M Y K
ASSAN
that
L CHAN
— reLate Edition
reaking a sevgton,
Today, morning rain tapering to a
on by the Isshower, cloudy, warmer, high 50.
at it on MonTonight, cloudy, low 45. Wednesday,
roops
mostly cloudy, afternoon rain, high
clare
Weather map is on Page B12.
f Ramadi,
A the
military vehicle carrying members of the Iraqi security forces flew the national 52.flag
as it drove through
y in western
VOL. CLXV . . . No. 57,095
$2.50
NEW YORK, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015
a government
manthe terrorist
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JURORS DECLINE
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MIRAGOÂNE,
Haiti — In
warned that
it most of Ramadi, the
have
defaulted
their mortgage
Mr. Hardberger
is among
a up
most populous city in western
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
MIRAGOÂNE,
Haiti
ships
often end
in ports
withonuncooperative
Iraq,
overrunning Max
a government
Greece,
Hardberger
posed
rethe
to declare
and MITCH SMITH
A
military
vehicle
carrying
members
of
the
Iraqi
security
forces
flew
the
national
flag
as
it
drove
through Ramadi
or
a
ship
has
been
fraudulently
handful
of
maritime
“repo
men”
compound held by the terrorist
Ho
CLEVELAND — A grand jury
Ncity
Greece,
Max
Hardberger
posed as an interor corrupt officials.
at
the
center and dealas
an
interested
buyer;
in
Haiti,
r the group
declined
on
Monday
to
charge
a
detained by local
officials.
a setback to its deadly grip on
char
Cleveland patrolman who fatally
rnment ing
manlarge
parts
of the country.
as
a port
official;
a official, in Triniested
buyer, in Trinidad,
Haiti as aas
port
But sometimes,“When
when we
theshow
boatup,
or things
ship
isa
ISIS
shot a 12-year-old
boy holding go
Iraqi soldiers continued to face
madi, it stiff
could
pellet gun, capping more than a
ed i
THE
OUTLAW
OCEAN
resistance
by
Islamic
State
shipper.
has plied
withguards with booze
dad,He
a shipper.
Heguards
has plied
more valuable, firms
like Mr.
Vesaesh.
year of investigation said.
into
a case
fightersto
in several pockets, and
missing,”
Mr.Hardberger’s
Hardberger
the efforts
that
added
to
national
outrage
their
hold on Ramadi
— distracted
achieved
booze
and
them with Recovery Operations
over white
killing Afrias
40 State
and
sel Extractions in Tens
New ofOrleans
areofficers
toor here
amic
after
ain
weekdistracted
of fierce fighting them with prostitutes; spooked
thousands
ofhired
boats
can-Americans.
men
with
help from American jets
that
prostitutes,
spooked
portwitch
police
In announcing
the decision,
ry
ly, it
to reverse
port
police
with
doctors and duped
find it. His company
handles
jobs
pounded
enemy
positions officers
— reshipsoccasionally
are stolenTimothy
around
the
world
J.
McGinty,
the
Cuyaart.
tenuous. In
Washington,
officers
with
witch into
doctors,
and their posts. His
n Syria asmained
well.
hoga County prosecutor, said he
Pentagon
officialswatchmen
warned that it
each year,
many
become
part equa
night
leaving
involving
megayachts,
but and
more
often
the
who handle the toughest
of grabhad recommended
that thetargrand
would
be
premature
to declare
duped
night
watchmen
into
leavinistration
is
A military vehicle carrying members of the Iraqi security forces flew the national flag as it drove through Ramadi on Monday.
jurors not bring charges in the
aider outright
victory.to get on board a vessel he is
of a global
“phantom
fleet”
inand-dash
jobs
harbors,
goal:
trying to
re-in foreign
gets are
small-to-medium
cargo
ships
carry
killing
of thethat
boy, Tamir
Rice, who
ory in Ramadi
But iftheir
the government
manmen
ing
posts.
His
goal:
to
get
on
was playing with the gun outside
A
Last
Resort
for
Owners
of
Stolen
or
Seized
Ships
the
ages to hold Ramadi, it could
volved
in
a
broad
range
of
usually
on
behalf
of
banks,
insura
recreation
center
in
November
trieve
and
race
toward
the
12-mile
line
where
the
goods
between
developing
countries
with
poor
dicate itsprove
stratpivotal
to
the
efforts
to
berg
board
a vessel he is trying to re2014.
r on
back the Islamic State in
Colleges
Rush
crimes.
Phantom
are
ersmile
or line
shipowners.
A
last-resort
Mr.vessels
McGinty said the
fatal freenely
on airbeat
pow‘Repo
Men’
of
the
High
Seas
high
seas
begin
and
local
jurisdiction
ends.
or
unstable
governments.
Iraq
and,
ultimately,
to
reverse
ahad
vessel
where the high seas be- ment, he is called when
trieve and race
toward
the 12Th
counter
been a tragedy and a
By IAN
URBINA
the group’s gains in Syria as well.
quently
used its
in
Southeast
Asia
other partners
solution
to ajurisdiction
common
predica“perfect
storm of human error,
Embolden
hasTo
been
stolen,
operators
gin and
local
ends.
The ObamaMr.
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is
Hardberger
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among
a
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mariTo
the
local
port
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and
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encour
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— for
In Owners
hoping that a victory
in Ramadi
und.
for
humanontrafficking,
piracy
andBy NATA
A Haiti
Last Resort
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that enhancedefaulted
their
mortgage
Mr. ofHardberger
is among
Entrepreneurs
could
also help vindicate
its strat“repo
men”
who handle
the toughest
of
forcement
officials
in fishing;
foreign
countries,
Mr.
ment
of video from the scene
had
stra
Greece,
Max Hardberger
posed
mpaign egy
is time
ofthe
relying largely on air powillegal
in
the
Caribbean
handful
ofseas
maritime
men”
made it “indisputable” that
is called when
a vessel or a ship has been fraudulently
mile line
where the high
be- ment, he“repo
By IAN URBINA
HOUSTON
er to aid Iraqi and
other
partners
as
an
interested
buyer;
in
Haiti,
Tamir,
who
was
black,
was
drawhas
been
stolen,
its
operators
gin
and
local
jurisdiction
ends.
grab-and-dash
jobs
in Haiti
foreign
Hardberger
his
ilkgunare
vigiricul
defeats for
the
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— In
fighting
on the ground.
by SINGER
localand
officials.
By NATASHA
for
smuggling
guns
ing
the pelletand
from drugs;
hischarter
waistMr. Hardberger is among a have defaulted on their mortgage detained
of Rice
Greece, Max
Hardberger posed
a port
official;
in Trinidad,
as
ahandful
The
Ramadi as
campaign
is the
band when he was shot, either to
of maritime “repo men” or a ship has been fraudulently lantes
known aslatest
ISIS
HOUSTON who
—
Theshow
originalup,
sum
harbors,
usually
on
behalf
of
erode
the
rule
of
law
“When
we
things
go
as
an
interested
buyer;
in
Haiti,
in a string of defeats for the
and
inUniversity,
the Middle
North
it over to and
the officers
detained by local officials.
edor toin 1891,
es
THE OUTLAW OCEAN
charter
of Rice
draft- hand East
shipper.
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plied
with
a port
official; guards
in Trinidad, as
a
Islamic State, also
known as ISIS
onym, Daesh.
show them
that it was not a real
“When we show up, things go missing,”
Mr.
Hardberger
said.
ed
in
1891,
established
a
school
THE
OUTLAW
OCEAN
seek
shipper.
He
has
plied
guards
with
insurers
or
shipowners.
A
in
places
that
are
struggling
to
andbanks,
its Arabic booze
acronym,
Daesh.
here
dedicated
firearm.
He
said
that
there
was
missing,” Mr. Hardberger said.
Africa
to
transport
fighters
or
cirand
distracted
them
with
Recovery
Operations
here dedicated to the advanceas muchThe
asgroup
40 has lost as much as 40 booze and distracted them with Recovery Operations
Tens
of thousands
ofreason
boats
for theor
officers to know
Tens of thousands of boats or ment
of literature,
science and no
Aug
port police
of litera
percent
the prostitutes,
Iraqi territory
it prostitutes,
spooked
port
police
last-resort
solution
tospooked
a common
and
that
the officer
who
establish
it.
“They
deserve
toment
be
ships are stolen around the world art.
cumvent
arms
or
oil
embargoes,
qi territory
itof last
These
days,
Rice
seems that,
officers with witch doctors, and
ships
are
stolen
around
the
world
conquered
year.
had a
who handle the toughest of grab- each year, and many become part equally dedicated to the advance- fired, Timothy Loehmann,
art.
These
d
duped
night
watchmen
into
leavmilli
with
doctors,
and
Iraq’s
prime officers
minister, Haider
reason to
fear for his Christoand-dash jobs in foreign harbors, of a global “phantom fleet” in- each
according
to Rear
Adm.
r.
predicament,
he witch
is called
when
arrested,”
Louhandy
Brizard,
27,
ment
ofyear,
the next
Mark
Zuckerand
many
become
part life. a caller
handle
the toughest
grabal-Abadi, who announced the ing their posts. His goal: to get on usuallywho
volved in a of
broad
range of
The case began when equally
on behalf
of banks, insurdedica
duped
night
watchmen
into
leavberg.
initia
city’s “liberation” on Twitter on board a vessel he is trying to re- ers or shipowners. A last-resort crimes. Phantom vessels are fre- of a
to 911
said a male
was
pointing a
nister, Haider
pher
Parry,
a maritime
security
global
“phantom
fleet”
inand-dash
jobs
harbors,
aContinued
vessel
has
been
operators
de-in foreign
a Haitian
CoastTheGuard
officer,
said
about
repo
trieve stolen,
and race toward
12university
offers
academic
gun at people in a Cleveland
ment of the
n
common predica- quently used in Southeast Asia
on Page
A5
ing
their
posts.
His
goal:its
tothe
get
onsolution to a have
courses in inentrepreneurship
nnounced the
cour
for
human
trafficking,
piracy
and
park.
The
caller
added
that
the
volved
a
broad
range
of
usually
on
behalf ofmen
banks, insur- a sea
expert
formerly
with
Britain’s
and financing,
extracur- for
faulted
on
their
mortgage
or
a
ship
has
been
patrol
looking
stolen
berg.
illegal fishing;during
in the Caribbean strategy
gun was
“probablyboats.
fake,”
and
board
a
vessel
he
is
trying
to
reon Twitter on
ricular start-up
workshops and
a that theare
Phantom
vessels
freers or shipowners.
A last-resort
ject.
for smuggling
guns and drugs; crimes.
person
waving it was
Royal
Navy.
summer
program
for students
trieve and race toward the 12The universi
and in the Middle
East and North
“probably a juvenile.”mariBut those
Charles
N.quently
Dragonette,
monitored
used
inwho
Southeast
start
companies.
In caveats wereAsia
solution to a common
predicaPage A5 fraudulently detained by local officials.
Africa to transport
fighters or cir- seeking to
not
relayed
to
OffiUsually
are
not
re- hope
courses
in
August, Rice
announced athe
multi- vessels
arms crime
or oil embargoes,
cer
Loehmann
or his
partner,
human
trafficking,
piracy
and
“When we show up, things go missing,” said cumvent
time
forfor
the
United
States
Office
of
Naval
“entrepreneurship
according to Rear Adm. Christo- million-dollar
Frank they
Garmback, are
who was
drivcent
strategy
and
fi
covered
because
diffiinitiative” fishing;
to develop in
more
pher Parry, a maritime security illegal
the patrol car. Officer Loehtheing
Caribbean
Mr. Hardberger.
Intelligence
until
2012,
said
that
he
believes
that
courses
and programs
in the
sub- mann,
expert
formerly with Britain’s
who is white, opened
fire
ricular
start-up
ices
cult
to
find
on
the
vast
oceans,
for
smuggling
guns
and seconds
drugs;
ject. And
administrators say
they within
Navy.
of arriving at the
to erect an whatever
entrepreneurial park.
Tens of thousands of boats or ships are sto- Royal
Mr.
Hardberger
follows
rules
But,
summer
prog
Usually
the
vessels are not re- hope
Officerexist.
Garmback was
also
“W
the
search
is
too
expensive
and
in
the
Middle
East
and
center
to house
classes
and servcovered because they are diffi- and
spared
anyNorth
charges.
seeking
to
sta
ices
supporting
student projects.
to find
on the vast “I
oceans,
The
shooting
in Cleveland
len around the world each year, and many be- cult
he
added,
do
worry
about
how
these
guys
unAfrica
to
transport
fighters
or
cirthe
ships
end
updays
inbefore
ports
scho
“We
want Rice
to be oneoften
of the came
the search is too expensive and
just two
a
August,
Rice
a
ships often endlocal
up in ports
schools at the arms
top of
theor
list oil
of grand
jury in Missouri
declined
cumvent
embargoes,
come part of a global “phantom fleet” involved the
dercut
authorities,
embarrassing
them
byinof- scho
with
uncooperative
corrupt
with uncooperative or corrupt ofschools
white
police officer
that prospective
students to indict aor
million-dollar
according
toPage
Rear
Adm. Continued
ChristoContinued on Page
A8
Continued
on
B2
on Page
A10
in a broad range of crimes. Phantom vessels are
stealing
ships
from
under
their
noses,
and
worsinitiative” to
Continued
onsecurity
Page
A8
pher Parry,
a maritime
frequently used in Southeast Asia for human ening the overall
corruption
by paying
courses and pr
expert
formerly problem
with Britain’s
ject. And admi
Royal
Navy.
Nothelpers
Closure,
for off
‘Comfort
Women’
trafficking, piracy and illegal fishing, in the Ca- Apology,
bribes toiflocal
to pull
these heists.”
hope to erect a
Usuallyofthe
vessels
are
not
re-themariThe apology
and
payment,
ribbean for smuggling guns and drugs, and in
Most recoveries
stolen
boats
and
which,
unlike
a previous
fund,
center
to house
By CHOE SANG-HUN
covered because they
are
diffiwill come directly from the Japathe Middle East and North Africa to transport SEOUL,
time
repossessions
ho-hum
affairs,
typically
South
Korea — More cult toare
icesasupporting
nese government,
represent
find
on
the
vast
oceans,
than 70 years after the end of
compromise for Japan’s prime
fighters or circumvent arms or oil embargoes, Worldinvolving
paperwork
and
banks
working
War II, South Korea
and the search
want R
is too
expensive
and
minister,
Shinzo
Abe, with
who “We
has
Meadowlark Lemon (36) in a Harlem Globetrotters game at Madison Square Garden in 1973.
Japan reached a landmark agreeoften been reluctant to offer conend
up
ports
schools at the
on Monday
to resolve
their the ships often
tritionin
for
his
country’s militarist
according to Rear Adm. Christopher Parry, a ment
local
law
enforcement.
But
when
negotiations
dispute over Korean women who
with uncooperative orpast.
corrupt
ofschools that pr
MEADOWLARK LEMON, 1932-2015
forcedwaterborne
to serve as sex
The deal won
praise from the
maritime security
expert formerly with Brit- were
fail,
jailbreaks sometimes
occur.
slaves for Japan’s Imperial Army.
governing party of President
Continued
on Page
A8
The agreement, in which Japan
Park
Geun-hye of South Korea Continue
By
SANG-HUN
ain’s Royal
Navy.Shots and Hardcourt Comedy made
Charles
Meacham,
a CHOE
maritime
repoof State
man
an apology
and promised
and from Secretary
John
Master
of Hook
an $8.3 million payment that
Kerry, but it was immediately
Usually the Hisvessels
arebynot
recovered
based
Jacksonville,
Fla., South
recounted
how
his
long-reigning beclown would
death was confirmed
his Trotters’
SEOUL,
Korea
—
criticized
as insufficient
byMore
oppoprovide carein
for the
womwife, Cynthia Lemon, who did not prince Reece Tatum, whom even, was intended to remove one
sition politicians in South Korea,
By BRUCE WEBER
eryoneon
called Goose.
the cause.
where
anti-Japanese
sentiments
of the
most intractable
logjams in A
cause
they arespecifydifficult
to find
the
vast
teams
spirited
hundreds
boats
out
of
a marithan
70 of
years
after
the
end of
statue
symbolizing
Korean
Meadowlark Lemon, whose
Tatum,
who
had
left
the
team
LIBRADO
ROMERO/THE
NEW
YORK
TIMES
A gifted athlete with an enrelations between South Korea sex slaves in front of the Japa- still run deep, and by some of the
halfcourt
hook
shots,
no-look
bearound
the
time
Lemon
joined
it,
former
sex
slaves
themselves.
tertainer’s
hunger
for
the
spotand
Japan,
both
crucial
allies
to
World
War
II,
South
Korea
and
oceans, the search is too expensive and the na in Mexico innese
2009
after
they were
stolen from
Embassy
in Seoul.
hind-the-back passes and vivid light, Lemon, who dreamed of was a superb ballplayer whose the United States. The so-called
“We are not craving for
n a Harlem
Globetrotters
at Madison Square Garden in 1973.
clowning were
marquee features playinggame
money,”
said
Lee
Yong-soo,
88,
for the Globetrotters as a on-court gags — or reams, as the comfort women have been the
Japan reached a landmark agreeof the feel-good traveling basket- boy in North Carolina, joined the players called them — had estab- most painful legacy of Japan’s co- an foreign ministers, announcing one of the women. “What we demand
is
that
Japan
make
official
ball show known as the Harlem team in 1954, not long after leav- lished the team’s reputation for lonial rule of Korea, which lasted the agreement
Seoul,Monday
said each
mentinon
to resolve their
Globetrotters for nearly a quar- ing the Army. Within a few years, laugh-inducing wizardry at a from 1910 until Japan’s defeat in side considered it a “final and ir- reparations for the crime it had
A Last Resort for Owners of Stolen or Seized Ships
I
College
To Em
Entre
REUTERS
LIBRADO ROMERO/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Co
T
Apology, if Not Cl
CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTY IMAGES
Apology, if Not Closur
championship level.
committed.”
A8
N
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015
JOSUÉ AZOR FOR THE
NEW YORK TIMES
Max Hardberger, a maritime “repo man,” center; his longtime fixer, Oge Cadet, in red; and a hired rower got a closer look at ships in Miragoâne, Haiti, by pretending to be potential buyers.
JOSUÉ
AZOR buyers.
FOR
THE
YORKrower
TIMES
Max rower
Hardberger,
a maritime
center; his
longtime
fixer, OgetoCadet,
in red;
and
aNEW
hired
got a clo
t, in red; and a hired
got a closer
look at“repo
shipsman,”
in Miragoâne,
Haiti,
by pretending
be potential
, in red; and a hired rower got a closer look at ships in Miragoâne, Haiti, by pretending to be potential buyers.
Maritime ‘Repo Men’: A Last Resort for Stolen or Seized Ships
Maritime
A Last
Resort
Last Resort
Resort
for‘Repo
StolenMen’:
or Seized
Seized
Ships
Last
for
Stolen
or
Ships
From Page A1
Florida by a drug cartel, a move that won him a
bounty on his head. Court papers describe a job
that Mr. Hardberger handled in 2009, where he
From Page A1
retrieved a freighter
called the Virgin Express
ficials.
I from the Dominican Republic, boarding it by
pretending
to be a shipper, then sailing the ship
is more valuable, firms like Mr. Hardto theberger’s
Turks and
Caicos
Islands,
where
Vessel
Extractions
in New
Or- he handleansto
arethe
hired
to find it.holder.
His company
ed it over
mortgage
occasionally
handles jobs involving
Citing
past assignments
in Cuba, Egypt,
Ghana,
Honduras,
Trinidad,
Venezuela
and
are small-to-medium cargo ships
that
elsewhere,
Mr. Meacham
and a half
dozen othcarry goods
between developing
counpoor said
or unstable
governers intries
the with
industry
that they
each get on
ments.
average
one or two “extraction” requests per
year. John
Dalby,officials
chief executive
officer of Maenforcement
in foreign countries,
Mr.
Hardberger
and
his
ilk
are is currine Risk Management, said his firm
vigilantes
who
erode
the
rule
of
law
in
rently working for a consortium of banks
to replaces that are struggling to establish it.
possess
a fleet
of more
than a dozen
“They
deserve
to be arrested,”
Louhan-freighters
from dy
nearly
as27,many
ports
around
the world.
Brizard,
a Haitian
Coast
Guard officer,
said
about
repo
men
during
a
sea
“They have to be taken all at once or else sevpatrol looking for stolen boats.
eral will
run,” he said.
Charles N. Dragonette, who moniAtored
review
of contracts
court records
maritime
crime for and
the United
of Naval
Intelligence
until
from States
some Office
of these
extraction
jobs
and inter2012,
said
that
he
believed
that
Mr.
views with repo men, insurance investigators
ficials.
is more valuable, firms like Mr. Hardberger’s Vessel Extractions in New Orleans are hired to find it. His company
occasionally handles jobs involving
are small-to-medium cargo ships that
carry goods between developing countries with poor or unstable governments.
enforcement officials in foreign countries, Mr. Hardberger and his ilk are
vigilantes who erode the rule of law in
places that are struggling to establish it.
“They deserve to be arrested,” Louhandy Brizard, 27, a Haitian Coast Guard officer, said about repo men during a sea
patrol looking for stolen boats.
Charles N. Dragonette, who monitored maritime crime for the United
States Office of Naval Intelligence until
2012, said that he believed that Mr.
how these guys undercut local authorities, embarrassing them by stealing
ships from under their noses, and worsening the overall corruption problem by
paying bribes to local helpers to pull off
these heists.”
Most recoveries of stolen boats and
maritime repossessions are ho-hum affairs, typically involving paperwork and
banks working with local law enforcement. But when negotiations fail, waterborne jailbreaks sometimes occur.
Charles Meacham, a maritime repo
man based in Jacksonville, Fla., recounted how his teams spirited hundreds of boats out of a marina in Mexico
in 2009 after they were stolen from Florida by a drug cartel, a move that won
him a bounty on his head. Court papers
describe a job that Mr. Hardberger handled in 2009, where he retrieved a
freighter called the Virgin Express I
from the Dominican Republic, boarding
it by pretending to be a shipper, then
sailing the ship to the Turks and Caicos
Islands, where he handed it over to the
mortgage holder.
Citing past assignments in Cuba,
Egypt, Ghana, Honduras, Trinidad, Venezuela and elsewhere, Mr. Meacham
and a half dozen others in the industry
how these guys undercut local authorisometimes extends from corruption on-
tor,” “Marine Surveyor” and “Internal
Auditor.” He also carries a glass vial of
and coast guard officers show
that
lawlessness
magnetic
powder
to sprinkle on the hull
to reveal lettering that has been welded
offshore sometimes extendsoff. from corruption
Mr. Dalby, from Marine Risk Management,
said that rather than
taking
onshore. Thesetor,”
documents
and
comments
shed
“Marine Surveyor”
and “Internal
ships from unfriendly
ports, he preferred
surreptitiously
placing
GPS
light on the array
of ploys
used
to and
seize,
Auditor.”
He also
carries
asteal,
glass
vial
of
tor,”
“Marine
Surveyor”
“Internal
trackers on them while in transit, then
calling
in
the
police.
magnetic
powder
to
sprinkle
on
the
hull
Auditor.”
He
also
carries
a
glass
vial
of
extort and recover ships. They“Occasionally
also reveal
how
the legal system
solves
to reveal powder
letteringto
that
hasadded
been
welded
the
problem,”
Hardberger,
sprinkle
onMr.the
hull
maritime repomagnetic
men
—
and
the
scheming
debtwho canceled
plans for an extraction
job
off.reveal lettering this
to
that
has
month
afterbeen
a court inwelded
Haiti ordered
the
release
of
a
freighter
called
the
Amors, dodgy port
mechanics,
testy
guards,
disDalby, from
Manoff.Mr.
ber Marine
Express, whichRisk
had been
improperly
detainedofficials
in than
the Port taking
of St.-Marc,
gruntled crewsagement,
and
dishonest
port
that
saidfrom
that
rather
Mr. Dalby,
Marine
Risk
ManHaiti.
All
of the repo
men
saidhe
they
by
ships
from
ports,
presaid
thatcertain
rather
than
taking
they are hiredagement,
to outwit
—unfriendly
take
advantage
ofabide
the
self-imposed rules. No
violence
ferredfrom
surreptitiously
GPS
or weaponsports,
—placing
better, they
said,
to hire
ships
unfriendly
he
prelack of policingtrackers
and jurisdictional
ambiguity
of
youths
for lookouts, bar owners
on them street
while
in
transit,
then
ferred surreptitiously
placing
GPS
for
diversions,
and
prostitutes
to talk
their
way
on
board
to
spy.
Officials
from
the open ocean.
calling inon
thethem
police.
trackers
while
transit,
then
the Haitianin
Coast
Guard, Interpol,
and
the bar
association
in California,
where
The publiccalling
perception
of the
modern
piracy
usu“Occasionally
legal
system
solves
in the police.
Mr. Hardberger is licensed, said they
hadlegal
no records
ofHardberger,
complaints,
disciplinproblem,”
added
Mr.system
“Occasionally
the
solves
ally involves the
Somalis
in fast-boats
capturing
ary actions or arrest
warrants for him.
whoproblem,”
canceled plans
forMr.
an extraction
Asked
whether
he ever pays offjob
pubthe
added
Hardberger,
tankers on the high
seas. “More
often
overlooked
officials,
Meacham replied in
this canceled
month after
a lic
court
inMr.
Haiti
who
plans
forthean
extraction
job
much
same
way as ordered
his colleagues
had. “Bribery ispiracy,”
illegal,” he said. Ad“Negobut just as
prevalent
is after
white-collar
Above,
Mr.
Hardberger
inspectthe
release
of a freighter
the Amthis
month
a court
iniscalled
Haiti
ordered
tiating a fine
not.”
ed a map while on a patrol with
miral Parry
said.
Buccaneers
in
business
suits
ber
Express,
which
had
been
impropthe
release
of
a
freighter
called
the
Amthe Haitian Coast Guard. Left,
Toil and Trouble
Douglas Lindsay,
the
lead part- which
erly
detained
inopportunistic
the
Portbeen
of St.-Marc,
ber
Express,
had
improphijack ships
inMaritime
port
through
ruses
ner with
Resolve,
a reOften, maritime law works
in crooks’
Haiti.
favor, said
Michael
Bono,
a lawyer and
erly
in
the
Port
of
St.-Marc,
covery firm
based detained
in England,
rather than
at
sea
with
surprise
shows
of
force.
managing
director
of
Vessel
Extracsaid ships are often detained by
All of the repo men
said
they
abide
by
Haiti.
tions. Ship
sales
are more
anonymous
port officials
seeking a bribe.
and
final
than
sales
of
other
types
Consumerscertain
are
affected
bysaid
the
theft
and
self-imposed
rules.
No
violence
All
of the
repo men
they
abide
byofa
property,
he said.
If someone
buys
stolen painting
an
corruption because
it adds
millions
ofauction,
dollars
or weapons
— better,
theyatNo
said,
toexplained
hire
certain
self-imposed
rules.
violence
Edward Keane, a maritime lawyer in
New
York,
the rightful
owner
can
later
repo man in
Sarasota,
Fla.,
recalling
one
street
youths
for
lookouts,
bar
owners
or
weapons
—
better,
they
said,
to
hire
to transport
costs and insurance
rates, raising
make a claim and in many cases repossuch case in the Abacos, a chain of isfor
diversions,
and
to talk
lands in thestreet
Bahamas,
in
2012.
sess prostitutes
it. But under
international
mariyouths
for
lookouts,
bar
owners
sticker prices
more
than
10 time
percent,
maritime
law, he said, a vessel
sold at a judiMr. Lindsay
described
a “classic
their
board
spy.hasOfficials
for
prostitutes
to from
talk
shakedown”
casediversions,
he way
handledon
in 2011
inand
cialto
auction
had its “face
washed”
Guinea
in
West
Africa
where
a
ship
was
or
“bottom
scrubbed”
clean
of liens and
researchers
say.
the Haitian
Guard,
Interpol,
and
their
way on
board
to spy.
Officials
from
being fraudulently
detained
withCoast
a $50
other
previous
debts, including
mort-
the Haitian
bar association
in California,
where
the
Coast gages.
Guard,
Interpol,
and
About 50 miles west of Haiti’s capital,
in Miragoâne,
known said
as a pirate’s
paraMr.bar
Hardberger
is
they
the
association
inlicensed,
California,
where
million fine for less than $10,000 in damage to a dock. “They fly you in, you find
the right official, and negotiate him
dise, Mr. Hardberger explained that
Repo Men’: A Last Resort for Stolen or Se
hip
rdOrany
ing
ets
hat
unrn-
aw
unare
in
h it.
anofsea
onited
ntil
Mr.
exout
oriing
orsby
off
and
afand
cewa-
epo
reunico
orwon
ers
ana
s I
ing
hen
cos
the
ba,
enam
try
one
ear.
ine
was
of
han
any
to
will
urt
Mr. Hardberger inspected a map while on a patrol with the Haitian Coast Guard.
Above, Mr. Hardberger inspected a map while on a patrol with
Most corrupt detentions in port consist
a marina, which the
charges
repossessor
Haitianthe
Coast
Guard. Left,hyDouglas
Lindsay,
the
lead
of “squeeze and release” bilking schemes inperinflated docking fees. “I swam out
to partit one
ner
with
Maritime
Resolve,
a retended to get bribes, said Douglas Lindsay, the
night and took the boat back,” said Steve Salem,
covery
firm
based
in
England,
lead partner with Maritime Resolve, a recova repo man in Sarasota, Fla., recalling one such
said ships are often detained by
ery firm based in England. “But squeeze long case in the Abacos, a chain of islands in the Baport officials seeking a bribe.
enough and you strangle,” Mr. Lindsay said. hamas, in 2012.
Shipping businesses can go bankrupt as cargo
Mr. Lindsay described a “classic shakespoils, delivery deadlines pass and owed wagdown” case he handled in 2011 in Guinea in
es accumulate.
West Africa where
ship
was being
fraudu- one
repoa man
in Sarasota,
Fla., recalling
“The fact is that in some ports in the world
lently detained with
$50inmillion
fine afor
lessof issuchacase
the Abacos,
chain
lands into
theaBahamas,
in 2012.
possession isn’t, as the saying goes, nine tenths than $10,000 in damage
dock. “They
fly you
Mr. Lindsay described a “classic
of the law,” added Mr. Dragonette. “It is the law.” in, you find the right
official, and negotiate him
shakedown” case he handled in 2011 in
back to Planet Earth,”
Mr.
Lindsay
said.
Guinea
in West
Africa
where a ship was
Ship Raiders and Port Pirates
being
fraudulently
detained
a $50
Stolen boats — about 5,000 were with
taken
million
fine
for
less
than
$10,000
in
Port scams are as old as shipping itself and in the United States in 2014 — are often relo-damage to a dock. “They fly you in, you find
seasoned repo men can identify them by
name.
cated to “unfriendly
where
localhim
the jurisdictions,”
right official, and
negotiate
“Unexpected complications”: a shipyard makes governments are back
sometimes
less sympathetic
to Planet Earth,”
Mr. Lindsay said.
Douglasthe
Lindsay,
leadAmerican
partner with
sometimes
from
corruption onStolen
— about
5,000 were
repairsextends
without
permission,
then sends
own- the to
owners
andboats
more
susceptible
totakMaritime Resolve, a recovery firm
shore. These documents and comments
en in the United States in 2014 — are
erlight
an astronomical
bill, used
oftentofor based
more in
than
the “But
bribes,
the repo
said.
England.
squeeze
long men
shed
on the array of ploys
often relocated to “unfriendly jurisdicvalue
the ship,
hopingships.
to forceenough
its forfeiture.
the Florida-based
repo man, are
steal,
seize,ofextort
and recover
and you strangle,”Mr.
Mr. Meacham,
Lindsay
tions,”
where local governments
They
also reveal buying
how maritime
reposometimes
said. Shipping
businesses
bankless sympathetic
to Ameri“Barratry”:
off crews,
paying
saidcan
he go
was
once sometimes
sent to Havana
to retrieve
a
men — and the scheming debtors,
rupt
as
cargo
spoils,
delivery
deadlines
can
owners
and
more
susceptible
more than a year’s wages to leave a ship’s keys
stolen American-owned megayacht being used to
dodgy port mechanics, testy guards,
pass and owed wages accumulate.
bribes, the repo men said.
and walk
away.
dockingport
play”: “The
a shipowner
a hotel
the vessel
into inter-repo
disgruntled
crews
and“A
dishonest
fact is that in by
some
ports there.
in the Chartering
Mr. Meacham,
the Florida-based
officials
that
they
are
hired
to
outwit
—
defaults on his mortgage, but is in
cahoots
with isn’t,
national
then
told
captain:
world
possession
as the waters,
saying he
man,
said
hethe
wasCuban
once sent
to Havana
take advantage of the lack of policing
and jurisdictional ambiguity of the open
ocean.
goes, nine-tenths of the law,” Mr. Dragonette added. “It is the law.”
to retrieve a stolen American-owned
megayacht being used by a hotel there.
tor
Au
ma
to
off
M
ag
shi
fer
tra
cal
“
the
wh
thi
the
be
erl
Ha
A
cer
or
str
for
the
the
the
Mr
ha
ary
A
lic
mu
ha
tia
To
O
fav
ma
tio
an
pro
sto
Ed
Ne
ma
ses
tim
cia
or
oth
ga
A
in
dis
giv
qu
we
J
Ca
ha
pe
to
scr
tio
ne
d worslem by
pull off
ts and
um afrk and
nforceil, wacur.
e repo
a., red hunMexico
m Florat won
papers
er hanved a
ress I
arding
r, then
Caicos
to the
Cuba,
ANDREW
TESTA
FORNEW
THE NEW
YORK
TIMES
ANDREW TESTA
FOR
THE
YORK
TIMES
d, Venacham
Douglas Lindsay, the lead partner with Maritime
dustry
sometimes extends from corruption onResolve,
a recovery
firm based
in England,
ships
ge
one
Maritime
Resolve,
recovery
firm
Douglas
Lindsay,
the leadasaid
partner
with
shore.
documents
extends from These
corruption
on-and comments
year.
based
in England.
long
shed are
light
oncomments
the array
of ploysMaritime
usedport
to
detained
by
officials
seeking
a squeeze
bribe.firm
Resolve,
a “But
recovery
er documents
andoften
Marine
steal, seize, extort and recover ships.
enough and you strangle,” Mr. Lindsay
based
England.
squeeze
long
n
ploys
used
m the
was array
Theyof
also
reveal
how to
maritime
repo in said.
Shipping “But
businesses
can go bankium
of
men
and theships.
scheming enough
debtors, and
extort
and —recover
strangle,”
Mr. Lindsay
rupt you
as cargo
spoils, delivery
deadlines
e than how
dodgymaritime
port mechanics,
guards,
pass andbusinesses
owed wages accumulate.
reveal
repotesty said.
Shipping
can go bankmany
disgruntled crews and dishonest port
“The fact is that in some ports in the
d
the
scheming
debtors,
rupt
as
cargo
spoils,
delivery
ave to
officials that they are hired to outwit —
world possession isn’t, as deadlines
the saying
ralmechanics,
will
testy guards,
take advantage
of the lack of pass
policing
and owed
wages accumulate.
goes, nine-tenths
of the law,” Mr. Dragand jurisdictional
open fact
onette
“It some
is the law.”
crews and
dishonestambiguity
port of the“The
is added.
that in
ports in the
court
ocean.
they
are
hired
to
outwit
—
world
possession
isn’t,
as the saying
raction
The public perception of modern piraShip Raiders and Port Pirates
en, in-of the
age
lackinvolves
of policing
cy usually
Somalis in fast
boatsnine-tenths of the law,” Mr. Draggoes,
guard
capturing
tankers
on
the
high
seas.
Port“It
scams
are law.”
as old as shipping itional ambiguity of the open
onette added.
is the
fshore
“More often overlooked but just as
self and seasoned repo men can identify
prevalent is white-collar piracy,” Admithem by name. “Unexpected complicac perception
of modern
pira- in business tions”: a shipyard makes repairs withral Parry
said. Buccaneers
suits hijackinships
port through opporout permission, then sends the owner
volves Somalis
fastinboats
tunistic ruses rather than at sea with
an astronomical bill, often for more than
ankers surprise
on theshows
high
seas.
Port scams
areof as
old as
shipping
itof force.
the value
the ship,
hoping
to force its
ng lawoverlooked
but are
just
as by the
Consumers
affected
selftheft
and seasoned
men can
identify
forfeiture. repo
“Barratry”:
buying
off
weak
and corruption
because
it addsthem
millionsby crews,
paying more
than a
white-collar
piracy,”
Adminame.sometimes
“Unexpected
complicallow
of dollars to transport costs and insuryear’s wages to leave a ship’s keys and
id. Buccaneers
in
business
tions”:
a
shipyard
makes
repairs
ance rates, raising sticker prices more
walk away. “A docking play”: awithshipships
in than
port10through
percent, oppormaritime researchers
out permission,
thenonsends
the owner
owner defaults
his mortgage,
but is
he
say.than at sea with
in cahootsbill,
with often
a marina,
charges
es rather
an astronomical
forwhich
more
than
Most corrupt detentions in port conthe repossessor hyperinflated docking
ws of force.
the
value
of
the
ship,
hoping
to
force
its
sist of “squeeze and release” bilking
fees. “I swam out to it one night and
s are affected
by the to
theft
forfeiture.
schemes intended
get bribes,
said
took “Barratry”:
the boat back,” saidbuying
Steve Salem,off
a
Come with us to the United States or take a lifeboat back to shore. The captain chose the former.
John Lightbown, the general manager of
a Florida shipping company, said that in some
places criminals can seize a $2 million ship for
$2,000. “No evidence, no invoices, no affidavits,
no appeals process,” said Mr. Lightbown, who has
Ship several
Raiderstimes.
and Port
Pirates
hired Mr. Hardberger
“They
just
need the filing fee that goes to a local justice of
the peace and something extra under the table.”
To talk his way on board, Mr. Hardberger
said he has a collection of fake uniforms and
official-sounding business cards, among them
are “Port Inspector,” “Marine Surveyor” and
“Internal
Auditor.”
He also
carries
a glass
on because
it adds millions
crews,
sometimes
paying
morevial
than a
magnetic
powder
to sprinkle
on the
hull to
re-and
transportof
costs
and insuryear’s
wages to leave
a ship’s
keys
raising sticker
prices
more
walk
away.
“A
docking
play”:
a
shipveal lettering that has been welded off.
cent, maritime researchers
owner defaults on his mortgage, but is
Mr. Dalby, from
Marine Risk Management,
in cahoots with a marina, which charges
said inthat
than
taking hyperinflated
ships from docking
unupt detentions
port rather
conthe
repossessor
eeze and friendly
release” bilking
“I swam
out to it one night
ports, hefees.
prefers
surreptitiously
plac-and
tended to ing
get GPS
bribes,
said
took
the boat
back,”
Steve then
Salem, a
trackers
on them
while
insaid
transit,
calling in the police.
“Occasionally the legal system solves the
problem,” added Mr. Hardberger, who canceled
plans for an extraction job this month after a
court in Haiti ordered the release of a freighter
called the Amber Express, which had been improperly detained in the Port of St.-Marc, Haiti.
All of the repo men said they abide by certain self-imposed rules. No violence or weapons — better, they said, to hire street youths for
lookouts, bar owners for diversions, and prostitutes to talk their way on board to spy. Officials
the Haitian Coast Guard. Left,Asked whether he ever pays off pubandreplied
Trouble
lic officials, Mr.Toil
Meacham
in
Douglas Lindsay, the lead partmuch the same way as his colleagues
ner with Maritime Resolve, ahad.
re-“Bribery is illegal,”
Often,
maritime
he said. “Nego- law
Above, Mr. Hardberger inspecttiating
a fine is not.”
favor,
said
from
the
Haitian
Coast
Guard,
Interpol,
and
theMichael B
covery
firm
based
in
England,
ed a map while on a patrol with
managing
said
ships
are
often
detained
by
the
Haitian
Coast
Guard.
Left,
bar association in California,
where Mr. Hard-director o
Toil and Trouble
tions. Ship sales are
Douglas
Lindsay, the
lead partport
officials
seeking
a
bribe.
berger is licensed, said they had no records
of
ner with Maritime Resolve, a re-
Often, maritime
law final
works in
crooks’
and
than
sales
favor, said
Bono,
a lawyer
and If
covery firm baseddisciplinary
in England,
complaints,
actions
orMichael
arrest
warproperty,
he said.
managing director of Vessel Extracsaid ships are often detained by
painting
at an
rants
for him.
tions. Ship salesstolen
are more
anonymous
port officials
seeking a bribe.
and final than sales
of other
types ofa m
Edward
Keane,
Asked whether he everproperty,
pays he
off public
of- buys a
If someone
New
York,explained
the rightfu
repo man in Sarasota, Fla., recalling
one said.
stolen
painting atthe
an auction,
ficials,
Mr.
Meacham
replied
in
much
same
make
a
claim
and
such case in the Abacos, a chain
of
isEdward Keane, a maritime lawyer
in in m
way
asin
had.
“Bribery
is
illegal,”
New
York, the rightful
owner
canunder
later
repo
man
inhis
Sarasota,
Fla., recalling
one
lands
the colleagues
Bahamas,
in 2012.
sess
it.
But
in
a claim and
in many
cases
repos- a ve
such Mr.
case inLindsay
the Abacos,described
a chain of is- a make
time
law,
he
said,
“classic
he
said.
“Negotiating
a
fine
is
not.”
lands in the Bahamas, in 2012.
sess it. But under international mari-
shakedown”
case hea handled
2011
auction
time
law,in
he said,cial
a vessel
sold at has
a judi-had
Mr. Lindsay described
“classic in
shakedown”
case
he handled
2011 in a ship
cial auction
had“bottom
its “face washed”
Guinea in
West
Africainwhere
was has or
scrubbed”
Guinea
in West
Africa wheredetained
a ship was with
or “bottom
of liens and
being
fraudulently
a $50scrubbed”
otherclean
previous
debts
being fraudulently detained with a $50
other previous debts, including mortmillion
fine
for
less
than
$10,000gages.
in damgages.
million
fine for
less
than
$10,000
in damage
to ato
dock.
“They “They
fly you in,fly
youyou
find in, you
age
a dock.
find
About
50 miles west
of Haiti’s
capital, wes
About
50 miles
the
right
official,
and negotiate
him
in Miragoâne,
as a pirate’s parathe
right
official,
and negotiate
him known
in Miragoâne,
known
dise, said.
Mr. Hardberger explained that
back
Planet
Earth,”
Mr.takLindsay
dise,
Mr.
Hardberge
Stolen to
boats
— about
5,000 were
giving a stolen boat
a fast
makeover
reen inStolen
the United
States
2014 —5,000
are were
boats
— inabout
quires taklittle moregiving
than “about
$300, four
a stolen
boat a
often
to “unfriendly
jurisdicwelders,
and a fax
machine.”
en relocated
in the United
States
in 2014
— are
quires
little more than
tions,” where local governments are
Joined by his longtime local fixer, Oge
often
relocated
to
“unfriendly
jurisdicsometimes less sympathetic to Ameriwelders,
and a fax
Cadet, Mr. Hardberger,
67, crossed
the ma
can
owners where
and morelocal
susceptible
to
tions,”
governments
harbor are
in a row boat
while by
theyhis
prosJoined
longti
bribes,
the repo men
said.
sometimes
less
sympathetic topected
Ameria strip of Cadet,
beach where
hope
Mr.they
Hardberge
Mr. Meacham, the Florida-based repo
to build ato
dock to chop up old ships for
cansaidowners
andsent
more
susceptible
man,
he was once
to Havana
inana extracrow boat
scrap. Mr. Cadetharbor
recounted
repo American-owned
men said.
to bribes,
retrieve the
a stolen
tion job here in 2004.
An American
busipected
a
strip
of beach
megayacht
being used bythe
a hotel
there.
Mr. Meacham,
Florida-based
repo
nessman
had bribed
local a
judicial
to build
dockoffito cho
to seize a 10-story-tall car carrier
man,hesaid
he was
once
sent tocials
Havana
waters,
then told
the Cuban
captain:
scrap.
Mr.
Cadet
rec
called
the
Maya
Express
and
sell
the
Come
with us to the
United States
or
to retrieve
a stolen
American-owned
ship to him in tion
a rigged
auction,
job here
in ac2004. A
take
a
lifeboat
back
to
shore.
The
capmegayacht being used by a hotel
there.
cording
to court records.
tain chose the former.
nessman had bribed
Chartering
thethe
vessel
into
international
To scare guards away, Mr. HardbergJohn Lightbown,
general
mancials
to seize
10-sto
paid a local witch
doctor
$100 to a
pubwaters,
he then
told the
Cuban er
captain:
ager
of a Florida
shipping
company,
licly put a curse on
the onethe
placeMaya
in town Exp
called
said
that
in
some
places
criminals
can
Come with us to the United States
or
with cellphone
reception.
seize a $2 million ship for $2,000. “No
ship
to Though
him inthea rig
take anolifeboat
to shore.
glare capfrom a blowtorch used by Mr.
evidence,
invoices, back
no affidavits,
no The
cording
to
courtthe
recor
Hardberger’s team to cut through
tain chose
thesaid
former.
appeals
process,”
Mr. Lightbown,
ship’s
anchor
chains
almost
got
them
To
scare
guards
aw
who John
has hired
Mr. Hardberger
several
Lightbown,
the
general
mancaught, they successfully
sailed
the ship
times. “They just need the filing fee that
er
paid
a
local
witch
d
ager
Florida
to the Bahamas, where a judge upheld
goes
to a of
localajustice
of the shipping
peace and company,
licly
put
a
curse
on
the
the
repossession.
said that
some
places criminals can
something
extrainunder
the table.”
with ports
cellphone
recep
Referring
and legal
To talk a
his$2
waymillion
on board,
Mr. Hardseize
ship
for $2,000.
“No to Haiti’s
system, Justice John
Lyons
of theaBahaberger said, he has a collection of fake
glare
from
blowto
evidence,
no
invoices,
no
affidavits,
no
mas wrote that “cronyism and corrupuniforms and official-sounding business
team to
appeals
saidInspecMr. Lightbown,
cards;
amongprocess,”
them are “Port
tion are the orderHardberger’s
of the day.”
Toil and Trouble
Often, maritime law works in crooks’ favor,
said Michael Bono, a lawyer and managing director of Vessel Extractions. Ship sales are more
anonymous and final than sales of other types of
property, he said. If someone buys a stolen painting at an auction, explained Edward Keane, a
maritime lawyer in New York, the rightful owner
can later make a claim and in many cases repossess it. But under international maritime law, he
said, a vessel sold at a judicial auction has had its
“face washed” or “bottom scrubbed” clean of liens
and other previous debts, including mortgages.
About 50 miles west of Haiti’s capital, in
Miragoâne, known as a pirate’s paradise, Mr.
Hardberger explained that giving a stolen boat
a fast makeover requires little more than “about
$300, four welders, and a fax machine.”
Joined by his longtime local fixer, Oge Cadet, Mr. Hardberger, 67, crossed the harbor in a
row boat while they prospected a strip of beach
where
they
hope
build a dock
to chop
upanchor
old chains
ship’s
who has
hired
Mr.to
Hardberger
several
caught,
they successfu
ships
for
scrap.
recounted
extractimes.
“They
justMr.
needCadet
the filing
fee that an
to
the
Bahamas,
whe
goes
to
a
local
justice
of
the
peace
and
tion job here in 2004. An American businessthe repossession.
something extra under the table.”
manTohad
bribed local judicial officials to
seize
Referring to Haiti’
talk his way on board, Mr. Harda 10-story-tall
called
the Maya
system,ExJustice John L
berger said, hecar
has carrier
a collection
of fake
mas wrote
uniforms
business
press
and and
sellofficial-sounding
the ship to him
in a rigged
auc- that “cron
cards;
among them
are “Port
Inspection are the order of th
tion,
according
to court
records.
To scare guards away, Mr. Hardberger paid
a local witch doctor $100 to publicly put a curse
on the one place in town with cellphone reception. Though the glare from a blowtorch used by
Mr. Hardberger’s team to cut through the ship’s
anchor chains almost got them caught, they successfully sailed the ship to the Bahamas, where
a judge upheld the repossession.
Referring to Haiti’s ports and legal system,
Justice John Lyons of the Bahamas wrote that
“cronyism and corruption are the order of the
day.”

The Outlaw Ocean - Long Island University

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