Not how I expected seasteading to be kicked off en masse, but okay...
"From engineers on cargo ships to waiters on luxury cruise liners, ocean-based workers around the world have been caught up in what the United Nations warns is a growing humanitarian crisis that has been blamed for several suicides.
Many have been trapped on vessels for months after their tours were supposed to end as travel restrictions disrupted normal crew rotations.
"Mentally, I am just done with it... but I'm still holding up because I have no other option," Duseja, 27, told AFP via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger in late June as the Indian-owned cargo vessel he works on floated near Malaysia.
Duseja, one of roughly 30,000 Indian workers unable to leave their ships, had extended his seven-month contract a few months before the pandemic struck.
"The last time I stepped off from this 200m ship was in February," he said.
Seafarers typically work for six to eight months at a stretch before disembarking and flying back to their home countries, with new crews taking their place.
But as the deadly virus whipped around the world and paralysed international travel, that was suddenly impossible.
Underscoring the growing urgency of the situation, more than a dozen countries at a UK-hosted International Maritime Summit this month vowed to recognise seafarers as "key workers" to help them get home."
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/seafarers-stranded-on-ships-covid-19-limbo-12944646?cid=FBcna
"From engineers on cargo ships to waiters on luxury cruise liners, ocean-based workers around the world have been caught up in what the United Nations warns is a growing humanitarian crisis that has been blamed for several suicides.
Many have been trapped on vessels for months after their tours were supposed to end as travel restrictions disrupted normal crew rotations.
"Mentally, I am just done with it... but I'm still holding up because I have no other option," Duseja, 27, told AFP via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger in late June as the Indian-owned cargo vessel he works on floated near Malaysia.
Duseja, one of roughly 30,000 Indian workers unable to leave their ships, had extended his seven-month contract a few months before the pandemic struck.
"The last time I stepped off from this 200m ship was in February," he said.
Seafarers typically work for six to eight months at a stretch before disembarking and flying back to their home countries, with new crews taking their place.
But as the deadly virus whipped around the world and paralysed international travel, that was suddenly impossible.
Underscoring the growing urgency of the situation, more than a dozen countries at a UK-hosted International Maritime Summit this month vowed to recognise seafarers as "key workers" to help them get home."
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/seafarers-stranded-on-ships-covid-19-limbo-12944646?cid=FBcna