How stupid was that captain to think "ah yes, alone on a boat in the middle of nowhere with 30 men, let's piss them all off"... Zero survival instincts whatsoever huh.

The chef that screamed murdur had one hell of a final destination premonition.

That contract loophole is one of the sneakiest, rat-bastard things I've ever heard in my life.

To anybody who's curious, the ship's name is Lurongyu 2682 and the company that owns the ship is Rongcheng Xinfa Aquatic Product

"It's not a crime to kill someone on international waters." When I tell you the CHILLS that ran down my spine holy shit

The most terrifying thing I recently learned about the ocean, or more like what happens over there, is the fact that cargo ships sometimes lose containers and they don’t retrieve them. It’s too expensive for the companies to pay for the containers to be retrieved. So some independent people go out there to retrieve them and the companies are willing to pay to get them back. But that’s not the scary part. The scary part is that a lot of the human trafficking industry is made by the sea. So some of these containers have humans inside…and they never get retrieved…

My ex is working as an offshore. he told me once, they're in a ship from land to their platform, the journey took around 24hours because the ship is quite old. everything's fine at the beginning and at 2.30am, someone started screaming and they thought he got nightmare or something before they realised the scream came from outside of their "dorm". apparently the ship's captain kidnapped a fisherman a day before they sail and kept him in the bottom of the boat, idk the name of that specific place. apparently he managed to release himself from the rope and screamed for help. the most lucky thing was, the marine police was very close by and all of them ran out to scream to the policemen on their boat for help and some of them brought flashlight hoping the police sees it, lucky enough the missing fisherman has been reported by his wife and the captain was the the member of the gang that technically been giving information to pirate. they've been saved. excuse my broken english.

Your attention to detail is some of the best that I’ve heard and im 61 years old. In the beginning, you were describing the time and process of docking a large ship. The lighting contrasting with the darkness, the heat from the bulbs…….. you literally bring the listener right into the story. Bravo 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

damn, the most horrific thing about this story is how poorly squid fishing crews are treated/how severely exploitative the industry is.

This is basically the real life Lord of the Flies. It's scary to think people can lose their sense of society and humanity just from being isolated and stressed.

When he said “it’s kind of like squid games” I then sort of realized why squid games is called squid games

you'd assume at some point, humanity would be like "nah, this isn't worth it for some squid". And yet, here we are...

The captain admitted that the men would not be compensated for their labor. From that moment a bad situation was bound to escalate.

The fact the company still exists and no one involved (except the manager team) was punished for their crimes make my blood boil . They clearly tried to trick , abused and exploited the crews! Just paid some fines. What a joke!

THE SQUID HISSING sent literal shivers up my spine, and I do not shudder easily o_o

They kidnapped those people they wanted to come back home. What a nightmare!

The most terrifying fact is that the food company Shandong Xinfa seafood corp. which is the root of this whole cruel bloodbath went away scot-free as if none of it were their fault. Liu and his allies were sentenced to death while others got prison time but why did the authorities and court ignored how the company was abusing its workers and doing all sorts of illegal things?

I’m Argentinean, I must mention that if you take a flight that goes along the coast of the country at night, you can see in the horizon all the Chinese boats with their powerful lights. Some of these boats enter iligally our marine space to fish and is actually a big problem since they are not regulated and can end up overfishing the waters

What a scam. They work so hard and rough conditions. You would think they would be compensated but it was the other way around. Thank you for shedding light on this bloodbath.

You tell us the most incomprehensibly horrifying stories but your style is so engrossing that i have to hear every detail . Although they are all unbelievably upsetting but I believe that hearing & knowing makes me wiser & stronger. These are cautionary tales that I provide us with insights on what to look out for to protect ourselves. Knowledge is Power. Thank you, Sister.❤🎉

Hi Mango, I hesitate to say that I enjoyed your video that's because I was a commercial fisherman for almost 30 years. I fished for squid in the Atlantic Ocean, but it was just for squid season. What I mean by that is from April to June, and then we would fish for a different species during the other months of the year. Being a commercial fisherman is the number one dangerous job on the planet, I have lost many friends who have been lost at sea , a friend who had his son,the dog, and the deck hands never came home. The first time I went out to sea, I was 14 years old . For someone like you, who has never been out to sea, most of what you say is absolutely true and horrible work, to say the least . Thank you for sharing this with all ,sheds a lite on the struggles fisherman endure.

the ocean is scary enough as it is, i cannot imagine much scarier than being outside at the ocean with no help or other people in sight and then something this horrible happens

It's not about squid companies, it's about Chinese squid companies. Every part of Chinese industry is same story, unethical, brutal, enslave workers... Just you need to pay attention of big company in China where they hold their workers in dormitory with restrictions of movement and contact. Thousands years of slavery as normal working environment still has deep roots in China and it's normal thing that your company own your life and you need to be happy because of it. I spent 7 years there and still I can't accept what I saw with my eyes, but for locals is completely regular way of life. Probably same thing is in all over East and South East Asia, but China is extremely...

Zach is a survivor he did what ever to survive

That chef just had a final destination premonition

Jesus Christ, I didn't know how cruel the squid industry was. I can't imagine being beaten or even KILLED over fish. I already respect fishermen for their work, but squid catchers are on another level it seems.

to give our story teller zach the benefit of the doubt, if you want to stay safe in a dangerous situation make yourself both unthreatening and valuable. being the new cook may have been the thing that saved his life

I’m new to your channel and I’ve never really been invested in these things or podcasts, but your voice is so calm and relaxing even with these stories. Some are so horrible I cried my eyes out and even had a panic attack. But I learn something new EVERY TIME. And it’s just the way you cover as many details and information with a team to give the most accurate information. I genuinely enjoy your channel so thank you.

As a marine biologist, this kind of stories keep me awake at night. Slavery on a ship, mutiny, and murder, these are basically a cluster of problems stacked into one after another. Guess what, with isolation these could turn into a horror B-movie. Who knows, this maybe happened elsewhere. You know, there is a reason why I like sleeping near the engine room. The sound of engine keep me asleep, better than music. Why? Because when the engine stop, the ship is dead.

i love how respectful she is in these videos but also how the way she tells the stories is so interesting; she goes into so much detail and explains so many details so well, i've managed to binge watch nearly all of her videos in a month

I’d like to add that specific ocean where you describe the squid fishing to take place is THE most remote and isolated ocean. The southern pacific is extremely vast and empty. With few unmapped islands dotting the abyss. Sailing that Deep South Pacific is probably the closest we get to deep space sailing. That’s how isolated these ships are

You have such a nice voice with really good inflection and emotion coming through. I enjoy listening while i go to sleep. Please keep the videos coming!

One thing....the superstition about whistling at sea isnt because it would bring on a storm its because whistling was how sailors communicated to one another on board. You dont whistle a tune because it would interfere with the line of communication. Its the same reason you dont whistle in a theatre, because the people who controlled the stage rigging also communicated in the same way (and some of them were also dockhands/sailors).

the original cook who always freak out at night and screamed 'murder' before the voyage even started must have some 'clairvoyant' ability. after all the bloody killings at sea, maybe he's now claiming 'see i told', 'my visions we're right'. but whatever made him freak out...saved his life.

ive watched this 3 times now… it’s one of most interesting stories stephanie’s put out. i can’t get over it!!

So the first chef survived, daamn the instinct and premonition

This would make an amazing horror/psychological movie. The more you revealed I couldn’t believe what was happening. This level of hysteria should be studied for years to come.

My brother-in-law worked for an oil company and was in a ship for a couple of months. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), he was sent home because of some minor heart problem. The company paid for his flight back home, hotels and hospital fees. Anyway, he mentioned some stories of his life at sea. Some stuff that stood out was in a common area, all the workers were just watching p*rn when they're not working (this was before the advent of smartphones and downloading videos so they had stacks of vcds). Also, he heard tales of crew members who just suddenly disappear. Apparently, they just get pushed or thrown into the vast ocean. These are the members of the crew who, unsurprisingly, were the most hated. No one ever found out who did it cos the investiagtion yielded nothing.

I think that Zach is a survivor, because he did what he had to do to survive

I just came across your channel and watched this video. I have to say that you are very intelligent and a very good story teller. I was impressed on how well you covered this true, unfortunate, horrific event that happened and that it's still taking place in the squid industry to this day. That is very troubling. Thank you for the great coverage.😊

This is one of the more terrifying events you’ve covered… something about the psychology of this is absolutely fascinating. My heart goes out to the victims… I can’t imagine how terrifying the ones stabbed and thrown overboard for the sharks felt.

i’m mongolian and my mouth dropped when you mentioned that a lot of them were mongolian. the treatment of workers, especially from different nationalities, in china are especially terrible. this is the scariest situation to be in and literally sent chills up my spine.

This would be a good movie. You did great with the detail and telling the story. It was very vivid, and i felt like I could see what happened just by the way you explained it and told the story. Kudos to you, ma'am.

Maybe this was just in my specific profession, but I worked in a maritime field and in my job you would never have heard someone working a ship or boat as a "passenger". Passenger was only used to denote someone (typically paying) whom the crew is responsible for keeping safe. Crew was the most common term for the workers of the boat if you're not referring to them by specific position titles. Perhaps this is different internationally or in different industries though. Also random fun fact, I operated a boat in a predominantly Asian area which is where I learned that there have actually been studies done showing there may be hypersensitivity to motion sickness among the Asian community which I can imagine makes a ship full of untrained crew from Asia even more prone to the sickness you describe. Just a tidbit I was surprised by when I learned

I really love the asian stories. I actually learned about many cases from China, South korea from her and It's a great deal. Most of the channels cover only American or a little bit of European crime stories. Please don't stop doing this. You're amazing.

FYI, you can definitely be charged with a murder or any crime in international waters. Youll be under the jurisdiction of whatever country your ship is registered in

Thank you for bringing up these beautiful souls to be heard their stories and the torture they have suffered 😢

They don't even come home to fuel up. There is a fleet of tankers and support vessels that refuel and resupply them at sea. There are freezer ships that collect the squid from all the squidders. They usually spend 2 years at sea. A job on a Chinese squidder is about the worst fishing job you can have. The entire industry is full of barbarism so it is no wonder this happened.

As soon as you described the conditions of the squid fishing industry, I immediately understood why it happened.

A few years ago I circumnavigated the globe on a ship. It took four months but for most of it we were stopping at ports every week. The longest we went without land was 19 days and during that time, things got weird. It was near the end of the voyage so we were all pretty familiar with each other. That also means you start getting tired of people. But soon you realize theres no where you can go to be alone. We're alone from the rest of the world but surrounded by each other. We're sharing small, cramped cabins, the same dining hall, the same decks. Everywhere you go there's someone. Not to mention you're never holding still. You're always moving. Constantly there's that rocking motion from the waves. And if you focus on that, and how you can't find stillness for just a second, it could freak you out. You can't be alone or find quiet. Wherever you go there's noise from either people or the engine. There's nothing to see as long as you look. The food is repetitive, the routine repetitive. If you don't like someone, you can't just go home and get away from them. Towards the end people started fighting, even with (or especially with) their best friends. And I mean physical fights. Everyone was irritable and tense. We didn't really have internet (we were allotted 2 hours for the whole trip) no tv, and no phones. Just verrrry slow email, text only. You kind of begin to wonder if the rest of the world was ever even real, or if they're still out there at all. You feel like this is all that will ever be, just endless ocean. At night I would lie there and think about the water just outside the wall beyond my bed, and the miles of water beneath me. I would think about all the things and creatures that were in there, swimming beside my wall even now there could be a monster. And most of us weren't even working, and not hard like those fisherman. We were mostly studying. And it was only 19 days as well. I cannot imagine the state a human mind could get into over 2 years like that. To me it's more incredible that every voyage doesn't end like this squid ship.

I just love the way she presents these stories, her mannerisms, the verbiage... Very professional and engaging. She was born for this.

I am new to your channel. All I can say is wow! Absolutely captivating! You are an amazing storyteller. A real work of art in this oversaturated landscape of armchair narrators. Thank you.

The complete lack of empathy in his [Lou] mother’s cold hearted statement tells us everything we need to know about how her son was capable of such wickedness. Also, can we all agree that his girlfriend dodged a bullet?

When I first read the title I thought it was going to be an old pirate ship story. But to realize this was just over a decade ago was crazy. The worst part is knowing that that there were no consequences for the company. I would love to hear from that first chef. I wonder if he had a dream, a vision, a warning from GOD. Im really curious to know what happened there

You are such an excellent orator, so easy to understand. It’s a pleasure to watch you sitting there with your Mic. So animated and articulate. I believe you have a very exciting career ahead of you.

I've been loving the podcast. It helps me get through work. Thank you.

I do think Zac was innocent in this, to some degree. He told the story of what happened and since he got the least sentence, it could possibly mean that his story checked out. If he had done more than he let on, I'm sure the others would of gone crazy and exposed him too.

I used to work for a Thai fishing company. How the crew is treated depends on the company that runs the operations. The company i worked for treated their crew well and banned gambling and alcohol onboard. How the Captain treats the crew is also very important.

this video did NOT feel like it was an hour and a half long lol you do a great job of being able to tell a story and keeping attention !

I strongly believe Zack was not in control of the situation because Lu made that gun gesture at him knowing he snitched as Zack was leaving ""ALIVE" much earlier.

I love when Stephanie’s husband chimes in to clarify something that I’m confused about. 🤭 Never fails… Edit: Why is there drama in this thread? lol Sometimes I miss certain details b/c I wasn’t paying attention or I fell asleep b/c I usually watch her videos when I’m cleaning or getting ready for bed. It’s not that serious. Let’s all go outside and get some fresh air. Luv you. 🥰❤️

I can’t even imagine how absolutely draining being at sea for 2 years would be like. I just can’t wrap my head around being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in the dark, with loud music playing knowing someone is being tortured to death and thrown overboard paired with the fear that I could be next and can’t escape without dying in the process anyways. Absolutely insane to think about.

Just found your channel. I love it! Thanks for making these videos!

First time seeing your channel. You are an awesome story teller! Lovely!

My fiance wanted to go on a ship for just half a year for a lot of money... I begged and pleaded with him not to go telling him the stories and the possibilities... Luckily he didn't go.. but these stories are what always make me say no to him doing ANY work on a ship, being a fisherman or a mechanic... It's terrifying

I would argue the most famous case of shared psychosis is probably the Dancing Plague in France in the 1500s. I heard about them dancing until they died all the time growing up and it's forever stuck with me.

Your voice is PERFECT for this! lol. Love your work!

Came across this podcast by accident much respect to the host who puts so much research into every story ❤

Something about this woman's storytelling ability is almost supernatural. She is one HELL of a good storyteller. This has all the elements of a great sea story: Suspense, terror, murder, a mutiny. Masterfully told.

I don't know if I can eat squid anymore, because I'm always going to think about the horrors that happened just to catch it. I knew deep sea fishing was hard and dangerous, but this is truly unhinged.

I love this podcast & what you do this is an unbelievable story the ocean is a terrifying place & I feel like you can definitely go insane & it can be contagious

This was honestly riveting. You did an excellent job telling the story. Horrifying but riveting.

Just to clarify a minor fact after reading the original Chinese articles: That guy, Bo, who sold out the Management Team (Wen), and later got killed by Liu? Liu did not kill him because he sold out the Management Team and thought he would also one day spill his secrets out. If that was the case, then he would have killed the 19 year old boy based on the same thought process. Bo tried to speak up for the Management Team and that’s why Liu felt like he couldn’t trust him fully and killed him

I'm a commercial fisherman and the squid fishing information is only accurate as it relates to Chinese and South East Asian countries. We have much stricter regulations in the US and use mostly nets and have short trips 1 to 5 days.

You find the damnest stories! Always riveting. Hats off to all the amazing researchers and translators as well as the marvelous face of Rotten Mango who is born for this.

You have 2.5mil subs, you make my favorite type of content, and your style is unique and good. How have I not found you sooner?

The chef had a premonition! They should have listened to him. He knew something was coming. People need to listen no matter how crazy it sounds

I just read a story about this, I Googled it. The ship is all lit up with bright lights. And the crew have reported being chained up when not working, they're passports being taken, and being beaten. They work 15 hours a day and are malnourished. And your right this one guy was transported and let on another boat to go to the hospital, He was Indonesian. He was beaten, bruised, and his feet were swollen from malnutrition, he died 7 hours after he arrived. Pretty wild stuff, hard telling the illegal stuff that goes on out of view in the abyss. Thank you for this.

I’m so happy I stumbled across your channel! How have I missed you this long? I can see why you have over 2 million subscribers! You explain these tragic cases, incredibly! Thank you for all your hard work! New Subscriber and happy to be here❤️🙏❤️ Found your channel while researching the tragic, horrific Junko Furuta case

I've never heard this story before. You tell it so well too. I'm now subscribed!

We latin americans have a... troubled relationship with Chinese vessels and squids in our waters, but even then, this is just horrific. I feel for them and their families. It certainly puts things into perspective.

47:19 wow, that’s sneaky. “Yes you would have gotten that much a month if you DIDN’T catch and squid, but since you’ve caught squid the contracts void.

Really nice podcast i get all the under standing really cool keep it up❤

At the start of the story I was eager to hear some story situated in Asia, but you then mentioned Peru (I'm Peruvian) and I can't imagine that happening that close to home, right in the horizon line I see when I'm at the beach or when I hear that some Chinese ships are taking our resources, truly a shocking story. Good content as always

Never catch me on a cruise!! So many women have disappeared on cruises, tons of human trafficking, and it never gets investigated properly due to jurisdiction issues (international waters). No thank youuuu!

After hearing this story.... I dont think I can ever, with a good conscious mind, eat squid/calamari again, or at least the same. This was very distressing to hear, but im so genuinely grateful for your enlightenment. It makes me so angry all of those men were done so dirty by the fishing company. If the company wouldve been honest and fair from the start, none of this wouldve happened. So heartbreaking at the loss of life to those 22 men. This was absolutely, heartbreakingly tragic.

I love the way you tell a story. Quite captivating.

I am glad I found your channel. You are amazing women that explains everything with details band different perspective ect... THANK YOU for the video Miss❤

Can you imagine her telling scary stories at night around a camp fire😂 even the adults would be shittin their pants , looking over their shoulders and screaming like they are being chased by a axe murderer 😂😂😂 absolutely love how she is so suspenful and her facial expressions are so animated. Im steady holding my breath waiting for the end of some of her sentences 😊 Best story teller ive ever come across!!!!

She tells these story’s like she’s not even reading a script it’s absolutely flawless. Love her story telling unlike all these other story tellers. Love you mango 😊

Absolutely TRAGIC. These chain of events began with the Company, the Contract and the Captain. Justice was served but the Company should also have shared the same fate as the Captain.

This was a good one !!! Never knew about squid ships wow

She's such an incredible storyteller

Mr. Ballen and Stephanie are the king and queen of storytelling. Sometimes, I put on podcasts as background noise, but those two have my whole attention every video!

just recently found this channel and i’ve been binge watching while doing chores around the house i love it

Your story telling reminds me of Mr. Ballen. You both tell stories so well!! And so detailed and easy to follow!

Initial reaction concerning the lucky chef who was originally assigned to the trip....that guy must be clairvoyant or straight out a shaman with some strong spiritual connections or something. His psychotic episode of "bloody murder" and jumping over the deck to escape the ship before it embarked is nothing short of prophetic considering the first victim was his replacement.

I don't think the people on that ship were having mass hysteria/hallucinations, but then it wouldn't be too hard for such a thing to occur when you're in the middle of nowhere for months. Also, no one felt bad for what happened to the captain and his management crew at the beginning considering how terrible they were and the company they were working for. But then Liu and his minions just went full psycho and started murdering random people on the ship

You are absolutely facinating! The stories are presented so well, thank you. If you ever wanna get married give me a holler!😂

Excellently told..can't imagine being in this situation must of been terrifying.