The Outlaw Ocean

A New York Times bestseller, The Outlaw Ocean is a riveting, adrenalin-fuelled tour of a vast, lawless and rampantly criminal world that few have ever seen: the high seas.

The oceans are some of the last untamed frontiers on our planet.

Too big to police, and under no clear international authority, these treacherous waters play host to the extremes of human behaviour and activity.

From traffickers, smugglers and pirates to vigilante conservationists, stowaways and seabound abortion-providers, Ian Urbina introduces us to the inhabitants of this hidden world and their risk-fraught lives. Through their extraordinary stories, he uncovers a globe-spanning network of crime and exploitation that emanates from the fishing, oil and shipping industries – but to which all of us are connected.

About the Author

Ian Urbina spent five years, more than three of them at sea, uncovering the stories in The Outlaw Ocean, which began life as a series of articles for The New York Times that won seven major awards. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times where his investigations have covered oil and mining disasters, sex trafficking, high-school shooting, criminal justice, worker safety and the environment. Several have been made into films, and he has been nominated for an Emmy. Urbina has degrees in history from Georgetown and the University of Chicago, and lives in Washington, D.C., with his family.

Praise for The Outlaw Ocean

'Just incredible'
– Naomi Klein

'Gripping and shocking...with the pace of a thriller'
– The Times

'An astonishing book about a world most of us don't even know exists'
– Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland

'An outstanding investigation of a global criminal culture on the high seas'
– Guardian

'Truly important... A complex portrait of an unseen and disturbing world'
– New York Times

Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2019