Crimes like this don’t often happen on land. A 10-minute slow-motion slaughter captured by a cellphone camera shows a group of unarmed men at sea in an undisclosed location, possibly 15 of them, being killed one by one by a semiautomatic weapon, after which the culprits pose for celebratory selfies.
This case shows the challenge of prosecuting crimes on the high seas. There were at least four ships on the scene, but no law required any of the dozens of witnesses to report the killings — and no one did. Law enforcement in the open ocean is limited, and jurisdiction is complicated. Authorities learned of the killings only when the video turned up on a cellphone left in a taxi in Fiji in 2014.
It’s still unclear who the victims were or why they were shot. An unknown number of similar killings take place each year — deckhands on the ship from which the video was shot later said they had witnessed a similar slaughter a week before.
After receiving the video from a source at Interpol in an email with the subject line “Brace yourself,” the Outlaw Ocean Project, a nonprofit journalism organization based in Washington, D.C., started an investigation that resulted in the 2021 conviction of Wang Feng Yu, the captain of the Taiwanese-flagged Ping Shin 101, who was taken into custody by the Taiwanese coast guard in 2020.
The details of this tireless investigation are chronicled in this first dramatic episode of the new podcast series “The Outlaw Ocean” from CBC Podcasts and the L.A. Times. Listen to it here:
Trygg Mat Tracking, a Norwegian research firm that focuses on maritime crime, identified the Ping Shin 101 by comparing video footage with images in a maritime database. Former deckhands were identified through Facebook posts and on other social media platforms in which they had discussed their time onboard. Interviews with these former deckhands, some of whom said they had witnessed the killings captured in the video, revealed the name of the captain and details of the incident.
Taiwanese officials, presented with the names of the men and ships in 2015 and 2016, said the victims appeared to be part of a failed pirate attack. But maritime security analysts cautioned that the claim of piracy had been used to justify attacks undertaken to counter a range of offenses, real or otherwise. The victims, they said, might have been crew members who had mutinied, thieves caught stealing, or simply rival fishermen.
Such killings will continue to go unchecked without better tracking of offshore violence, more transparency from flag registries and fishing companies, and more effort by governments to prosecute the perpetrators. And that matters because what occurs at sea affects everyone.
By some estimates, upwards of 90% of international trade is moved by sea, and seafood is a major source of protein for much of the world.
The Ping Shin 101 sank on July 7, 2014, less than two years after the shootings captured on the video. Wang, still the captain at the time, broadcast a distress signal citing a mechanical failure.
Taiwanese authorities issued an arrest warrant for Wang in December 2018. In August 2020, prosecutors got their break. A tuna long-liner called the Indian Star, owned by a Taiwanese company and flagged to Seychelles, arrived in Kaohsiung, a city on Taiwan’s southwestern coast. The fishing ship had a history of violations, including using forged licenses and fishing in forbidden areas.
More important to authorities, though, was the man who captained the vessel. Wang Feng Yu stepped ashore and, eight years after allegedly shouting the orders to kill in that grainy video, was finally arrested. The captain was shortly convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison for the killing, bringing a dramatic end to the seven-year investigation.
Ian Urbina is the director of the Outlaw Ocean Project, a nonprofit journalism organization based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on environmental and human rights concerns at sea globally. Listen and subscribe to “The Outlaw Ocean” podcast by clicking here.
This story originally appeared on The Outlaw Ocean and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
More from MediaFeed:
Totally unsettling unsolved American mysteries
The world is a crazy place with some pretty wild unexplained mysteries — like hundreds skeletons wrapped in tree roots, bleeding walls, haunted bunk beds and more. The creepiest part? The reasons for these strange happenings remain a mystery. Here are some of the strangest, creepiest and most fascinating mysteries we’ve found across the United States.
Related: These wild historic facts sound fake, but aren’t
Rastan / iStock
In 1981, Jean Hillard’s car swerved off the road and into a lake near Langby, Minnesota. The next day, her frozen body was found. Her eyes were wide open, her skin was solid that it couldn’t even be pierced with a needle, and her temperature was so low that it wouldn’t register on a thermometer. However, Hillard thawed and was found to be alive. She made a full recovery, miraculously … and mysteriously.
trendobjects / iStock
In July 1951, 67-year-old Mary Reeser was found in her St. Petersburg, Florida, apartment. However, only her lower leg and spine were recognizable, as the rest of her body was simply ash. It appeared that she had been cremated on the spot, although that process usually entails burning a body for over three hours at a temperature of 3,000 degrees fahrenheit. And the other mysterious part? Only her body was burned; nothing in her apartment was scorched, not even the newspapers sitting next to her ashes.
Wiki Commons
Imagine waking up to find blood on your floor. That’s what happened to Atlanta homeowner Minnie Winston in 1987. She reportedly ran to her husband, who was perfectly fine. But once she came back to the blood, she found even more. It was coming out of the floors, the walls, and even under appliances in their kitchen. Police were not able to find the cause of the bleeding, but they were able to confirm that it was indeed human blood.
beest / iStock
During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, a tree in New Haven Green, Connecticut, came crashing down. The spooky part? There were human skulls over 200 years old in its roots, and archeologists found more body parts and even coffin nails, too.
Experts believe over 5,000 bodies were buried in unmarked graves in the area, and no one is sure why, but it is believed these are the remains of people killed by an unknown epidemic.
Wiki Commons
Until 2021, Robert William Fisher was one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives. On April 10, 2001, Fisher allegedly murdered his wife and two children. Officials believe he then blew up their home in Scottsdale, Arizona, and then vanished. He remains the only suspect, and law enforcement are still unsure if he ended his life or is living under a new name.
United States FBI
The infamous 1962 escape from Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay ended in 33 prisoners who attempted to escape losing their lives. However, three prisoners were successful: John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morri. It’s still unclear where they went, as they were never caught.
dbvirago / iStock
In the 1970s, something strange started happening in the towns of Jerome and Bliss, Idaho. Humans, cattle, deer, and more animals were found dead, with all the blood drained from their bodies, and their genitalia removed. While no forensic evidence has ever been found, local law enforcement blamed the murders on cults, although they haven’t arrested anyone or found the alleged cult in question.
BrilliantEye / iStock
In the 1940s, over two dozen “gassings” were reported throughout Mattoon. Victims reported coughing, nausea, vomiting and even paralysis right after smelling something odd in their home. None of the victims died, and many even chalked up the reports to mass hysteria. However, many believe it was caused by the “Mad Gasser” or some paranormal creature.
vovashevchuk / iStock
In 1941, a farmer in Odon saw smoke coming from his home while working on his farm. With the help of the fire department, they put out the fire. However, as soon as they put one fire out, another would start in another room of the house. By the end of the day, they had put out 28 fires. Not taking any chances, the farmer, who believed a poltergeist was at work, tore down the home and built a new one. No official cause was ever found.
OlgaKorica / iStock
In 2013, Landon Jones from Cedar Falls, Iowa, was diagnosed with a bacterial infection in his left lung. After the infection, Jones claimed he never felt hungry or thirsty and needed to be reminded to eat. Doctors still don’t know what caused this to happen.
patat / iStock
In 1876, chunks of meat rained down on a farm in Kentucky. While no one knows for sure what really happened (or even what type of meat fell from the sky), some believe that vultures had overeaten and vomited above the farm from the air.
EzumeImages / iStock
From 1939 to 1945, Provincetown residents reported being attacked by a group of tall kids dressed in black who growled at their victims. And in 1945, a group of police officers reported seeing a “black flash” leap over a 10-foot fence. A month or so after the police sighting, a townsman reportedly threw boiling water at the “black flash,” who screamed and ran away. No further sightings were reported.
innovatedcaptures / iStock
In 1966, teens from Paulding, Michigan reported an odd light above a valley. While some have suggested swamp gas was the cause, many more believe that light was actually from a lantern of a brakeman from the area who was killed trying to stop a train. Many scientists said the light was probably from headlights, but no official cause has been found.
HenrikNorway / iStock
In 1927, Camden was under attack by a phantom sniper. Bus and car windows were shattered, a police officer was shot, and yet bullets or casings were never found. The other odd part? No one ever saw the alleged sniper. One witness claims to have heard a man laughing. The attacks stopped in 1928, and no one is sure of what actually happened to this day.
asadykov / iStock
In 1915 in Niagara, North Dakota, six bludgeoned bodies were found in the crawl space of a home belonging Eugene Butler. Butler, a recluse, had died previously in 1911, a few years after being committed to a mental hospital.
Here’s the strange part: While the town had less than 100 residents, no one knew who the six victims were. Their identities remain a mystery to this day.
Ethen Dell / iStock
In 2016, the sleepy town of Forest Grove, Oregon, received several reports of shrieking sounds that would fill the air but whose source remained unclear. While the shrieks sounded a bit like a train on metal tracks, there isn’t a train near Forest Grove. Shortly after the shrieks appeared, they stopped and the cause of the paranormal sounding noises remains a mystery.
Related: 15 creepy ghost tours across America
Nektarstock / iStock
In 1957, a young boy’s body was found in a cardboard box in a wooded area just outside Philadelphia. Authorities could not identify the boy, and no one had reported a missing boy matching his description. While there were no clues, a psychic in 1960 took police to a foster home where they believed the boy had lived. However, police were unable to connect the boy to the foster home and his identity remains unknown.
panida wijitpanya / iStock
In the summer of 1988, Browntown, South Carolina, residents reported seeing a “lizard man” who was seven-feet tall with red eyes and superhuman strength. Someone reported seeing the lizard man maul a car. Sightings of the lizard man have occurred as recently as 2015.
SerrNovik / iStock
Glastenbury Mountain in Southern Vermont is famous for being haunted, particularly the area known as the Bennington Triangle. It got its name after a trail guide vanished there 1945, followed by a college student disappearing there while hiking a year later, and then another person vanishing a year after that. The disappearances stopped after the 1940s. Many believe it was either a serial killer or some paranormal presence.
The disappearances led to the formation of the Vermont State Police, and hiking trails there are sought out by those hoping for a paranormal experience.
Tetiana Strilchuk / iStock
In 1987, the Tallman family bought a used bunk bed for their home in Horicon, Wisconsin. For the nine months they had the bunk bed, the family reported strange hauntings, including clock radios turning themselves on, a paintbrush that dipped itself in paint, their children becoming sick, and even an unexplained fire. The family destroyed the bed, and the spooky incidents stopped.
Dennis Diatel Photography / iStock
In 1982, an $850,000 fishing boat, The Investor, burned off the coast of Craig, Alaska. Eight bodies, including the owner, his pregnant wife, their two daughters, and four crew members, were found shot on the boat. One suspect was tried and acquitted, but the case remains unsolved.
Related:
- 10 ways Halloween has changed since you were a kid
- 15 electrifying true-crime podcasts to binge right now
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Mayehem / iStock
Vladislav Zolotov / istockphoto
Featured Image Credit: The Outlaw Ocean.
