Sunk but Not Silenced

Earlier this year, the Red Quill Society was off the coast of Ecuador, investigating illegal fishing operations. Our work was making waves – apparently too many for some people’s liking.

One evening, as most of our crew was having dinner aboard a chartered yacht, multiple illegal fishing vessels launched an attack. As we attempted to escape boarding, they tried to ram us. Our fibreglass catamaran held up surprisingly well against the repeated impacts from much larger steel vessels – but eventually both engines failed from water ingress.

They boarded us.

Our captain, thinking fast, negotiated: they could take whatever they wanted so long as they left the crew unharmed and the life rafts intact. The rafts had already been slashed, but the attackers believed his bluff – that the American Navy had been alerted and killing a crew of Americans, Canadians, and Europeans would put them on the run from a military response. They towed us 10 miles to a deserted atoll – the refuge we had been heading for – and ran us aground before fleeing.

We had paid extra insurance specifically to avoid liability for the deductible, but the charter company accused us of “misrepresenting our purpose” – essentially punishing us for investigating environmental crime.

We fought it in court.
We lost.

Why? We suspect the same thing you’re probably thinking: influence, money, and the kind of “justice” you get when corruption runs the show. The judge ruled in favour of the charter company, leaving us on the hook for:

$50,000 deductible
$5,000 in fines
$25,000 in legal fees and costs

That’s $80,000 we don’t have – stolen from our mission. And that’s on top of the $200,000 in electronics, cameras, and research gear looted from our vessel during the attack.

But we’re not going to let this sink us.

This fundraiser will help us recover from the financial hit and get back to what we do best: exposing environmental crime, holding offenders accountable, and protecting our oceans. Every dollar helps us get back on the water, in the field, and in the fight.

They thought sinking a boat would sink us. They were wrong.

👉 Donate today. Share our story. Help prove you can’t bribe your way out of justice forever.

The Pirate Payback Fund