My name is Ian Urbina and I’m the director of The Outlaw Ocean Project, a journalism non-profit based in Washington D.C. that publishes stories about human rights and environmental issues connected with the sea.

I’m writing to you in light of our latest investigation, which concerns the Chinese squid fishing fleet and one of your squid fishing vessels, the Zhen Fa 7 (振发7). We have found that over a seven-month period from August 2020 to March 2021, one Zhen Fa 7 crew member died and a second was disembarked for emergency medical treatment after suffering serious mistreatment and abuse while…

Thank you for your interest in our company. After receiving your letter, we prioritised the matter and immediately contacted the vessel Zhen Fa No. 7. At the same time, we also entrusted an Indonesian employment company to investigate this matter.

According to feedback from the vessel Zhen Fa No. 7, we gathered that the daily living and work of all the sailors, including foreign crew members, on the vessel were normal. In addition, the ethnic beliefs and lifestyle habits of the foreign crew members were deeply respected on the vessel. There was nothing regarding your alleged appalling inciden…

Thank you for your previous statement in response to our questions about the experiences of crew on board the Zhen Fa 7. We have additional questions for your company, about the activities of other fishing vessels owned by Rongcheng Wangdao Dayang 荣成市王岛大洋水产有限公司. According to records by the Peruvian Ministry of Production, one of your vessels – Zhen Fa 9 – was fined for failing to submit fishing reports, results or other documents while in Peruvian waters in 2017. Do you have any explanation of why 振发9 was conducting unreported fishing at this time? Another vessel, Lu Rong Yuan Yu 6157, was obs…

I'm working on a magazine story about labor issues and other crimes at sea on board vessels of the Chinese fishing fleet. We have previously contacted your company for this story. We are reaching out to request a reply from the captain and bosun of the Zhen Fa 7, which we mention in the story, to our statements below.

Our reporting and several sources of information — including deckhands on the board the vessel, workers in Montevideo, Uruguay, photos and documents involved — have shown the following:

1. Officers insulted and struck deckhands when angry with them.
2. The bosun slapped and punc…