Ghost Fleet

Friday, June 7 - Thursday, June 20, 2019

The sneak preview screening on Thu Jun 6 at 7:30pm and the Q&A on Fri Jun 7 at 7:45pm will each be followed by Q&As with Shannon Service (director & producer), Jon Bowermaster (producer/Seahorse), Nobel Peace Prize nominee Patima Tungpuchayakul (subject/co-founder Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation), Tun Lin (subject/LPN organizer), and Chairat Rachpaksi (subject).

Hauntingly beautiful and driven by a strong-willed heroine, GHOST FLEET takes viewers on a sweeping search of remote Indonesian islands looking for escaped men who seek out survival.


Much of the seafood in our daily lives — sushi, frozen fish, shrimp cocktail, and the vast amount that goes into pet food — was caught by slaves. Thailand is one of the world’s largest seafood exporters with a huge fishing fleet that needs thousands of fishermen. Decades of overfishing has decimated fish stocks in the region and today the Gulf of Thailand is one of the most barren parts of the ocean. Thai captains now scramble to find crew willing to travel thousands of miles to find fish. Human traffickers have started to fill the labor shortage by selling men from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and other impoverished nations to fishing companies for as little as a few hundred dollars each. Once at sea, these captive men go months, even years, without setting foot on land, earning little to no pay — becoming slaves at sea.

GHOST FLEET follows a small group of activists who risk their lives to find justice and freedom for the enslaved fishermen. Bangkok-based Patima Tungpuchayakul, a Thai abolitionist, has committed her life to helping these “lost” men return home. Facing illness, death threats, corruption, and complacency, Patima’s fearless determination for justice inspires her nation and the world.


  • Running Time 90 minutes
  • Distributor Abramorama
  • Director Shannon Service, Jeffrey Waldron
  • Cast Tun Lin, Patima Tungpuchayakul

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.