Chapter 1035 Being a Crew Member is Not Easy
On the screen in the live broadcast room, two ROVs were carefully reinforcing the figurehead. This was a very demanding job for the ROV operators, and no mistakes could be made. Therefore, it took a long time, and the live broadcast was unusually boring.
Xiao Peng took this opportunity to tell everyone the story of the "Oriental Glad".
Xiao Peng took a puff of his cigarette and sighed, "Do you still remember the global pandemic? The cruise industry basically suffered a devastating blow during that period. Do you still remember the 'Diamond Princess' at the beginning of the epidemic? It was the one that docked in Japan! More than 700 people on board were confirmed to be infected with the epidemic and were trapped in Japan, which also caused the virus to spread there. At that time, people discovered a problem: cruise ships are isolated islands. As long as someone on board is infected, the entire ship is basically doomed. So the cruise ships of that period were looking for ports to dock and let tourists disembark. But basically all ports at that time did not allow cruise ships to dock, so a large number of cruise ships drifted on the sea until more than a year after the outbreak. Only then could the last passengers of the last cruise ship all go ashore! That was a cruise ship! It was the kind with swimming pools, gyms, cinemas, and dance halls, but after those passengers got ashore, they basically said one thing: they don't want to get on a ship again in this life!"
"Compared to them, the crews of those cruise ships suffered even worse. Passengers could disembark, but the crew had no chance! They could only drift at sea! At that time, over 100,000 crew members were stranded at sea worldwide, and the Vostok Glad was one of them."
Xiao Peng dusted off his cigarette ash and said, "Most of these cruise ships belong to multinational corporations, so their contract management is quite chaotic. Since those cruise companies don't make any profits, the crew members don't get paid either. During that period, many crew members were trapped on the ships. There are many reasons for being trapped here. Some crew members can't get their passports back from the crew company; some can't afford the exorbitant airfare; some are due to different immigration policies in different countries. And some are due to problems with the cruise companies. The contracts signed by these crew members and the cruise companies are generally for a year, so a large number of crew members need to apply to the headquarters for departure and wait for the approval results, and so on and so forth."
"Why do I mention this ship? The reason is simple. The 'Orient Glad' is a cruise ship that specializes in Southeast Asia. Because that ship mainly targets tourists from our country, many of the crew members are from our country. The crew on that ship is very representative."
"In fact, at the beginning of the epidemic, the ship had no passengers, but the crew were trapped on board because they were waiting for their wages. Someone just said that the ship was near Malaysia. It was anchored there for 16 months, and nearly 200 crew members were trapped on board. The people on board did not receive their wages, and the shipowner refused to provide basic necessities such as fuel, fresh water, and food. In the end, it was the consulate and the International Transport Workers' Federation that provided them with help and provided them with daily necessities."
"In reality, these people weren't willing to 'cut their losses.' Why? Some crew members had already paid their own way back home, but that's a cost not everyone could afford. Regulations stipulate that if a shipowner abandons ship, the insurance company is obligated to pay the crew four months' wages and send them home. The crew of the Vostok Glad were simply waiting for a response from the insurance company, but there was a problem. Although the shipowner's actions constituted abandonment, he refused to admit to abandoning the ship, effectively declaring it a 'truth'. How cunning of an insurance company? Negotiations dragged on, dragging on for longer and longer, and ultimately, the crew remained aboard for sixteen months."
The barrage started to brush up:
"Are these people stupid?"
"Just spend the money and come back?"
“The miserable fate of not knowing how to stop loss!”
Xiao Peng shook his head. "Stop making sarcastic remarks. We have so many crew members on board. Just ask any one of them, who likes being a crew member? Well, there are those who truly love the ocean, like my captain of the Calypso, who's a complete idiot. The rest are just in it for the money. What do those crew members toil at sea for a month? Just for a monthly salary of $2,800. Can they get their money back if they don't pay them? Besides, they still have contracts. How can they just leave? If they leave before the contract expires, it will be considered a breach of contract and they will have to pay compensation. And air tickets are so expensive. Not everyone can afford it."
"How did they survive those sixteen months? With no fuel, no water, and no electricity, the ship was anchored in Malaysia. The entire ship was a living hell. Without air conditioning, the cabins were uninhabitable and everyone had to sleep on the floor in the common areas. Due to damp carpets and other issues, almost everyone developed eczema. The ship's sewage system was blocked, and the entire bottom of the ship was filled with sewage, making it impossible for anyone to stay. Being trapped on board is extremely devastating. According to the International Maritime Convention, seafarers must not work on board for more than twelve consecutive months, which can easily lead to psychological problems. During the epidemic, many trapped crew members committed suicide. The suicide rate for trapped crew members is six times that of the general population! Later, they sought help from the embassy, which provided them with daily necessities and psychological counseling. By the time the embassy helped bring them back home, they had been on board for sixteen consecutive months. Those crew members will never want to work on a ship again."
"Even worse off are the officers and crew members, similar to captains and first mates. According to regulations, to ensure the ship's basic operation, these people cannot leave the ship without a replacement! The replacement process is extremely complicated and requires a large fee! Unless the shipowner agrees to abandon the ship, the officers and crew members will have to stay on board! What do you think? Do you still think being a crew member is a good job?"
After Xiao Peng finished speaking, he looked at the barrage of comments. What he wanted to see was the barrage of comments agreeing with what he said, but the barrage of comments in the live broadcast room turned out to be very distorted.
"So many men and women trapped in such a small space for such a long time, tsk tsk, the relationships must be very complicated!"
"Oh my god, if that happens, the woman won't even know whose baby it is if she gets pregnant."
"The two people above have really dirty minds. Who says there's no pure friendship between men and women?"
"That's right, they are 'comrades-in-arms' who have shared weal and woe. Don't think about everything in that way!"
Xiao Peng coughed dryly twice. "I hope everyone watching my livestream has some manners, okay? What's the point of talking about children or not? Listen carefully, even though what you're guessing has happened to quite a few people, there aren't any children involved. The cruise ship is short of everything except umbrellas..."
Before he could finish his words, Chen Cheng's voice suddenly came from the intercom; "Boss! Come up to the deck quickly! Something is not right!"
"Huh?" Xiao Peng was stunned. On deck? They weren't the Calypso. Why would they let him on deck?
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