the Thunder’s ownership remained a mystery, shrouded by shell companies in the Seychelles, Nigeria, and Panama. Most of all, these companies were protected by distance and transience as their ships stayed in motion and far away from easy inspection. Still, the poachers had an Achilles’ heel. Try as they might to stay at sea, the operators of these ships knew as well that their lives were inextricably tied to land. Their financial resources were always moored to land-based institutions and transactions. Their crews had families to see and debts to pay off. These were inescapable facts of life,
...more
