Summary: After sending off the third batch of Chinese crew members, Wang Qiang was one of the six Chinese who remained on the “ORIENTAL DRAGON” passenger ship. As the second officer, he sat in the wheelhouse in the morning and in the evening to ensure the normal operation of the ship, which had been suspended for 13 months. In the afternoon, he will spend one to two hours reading professional books, then going for a walk on the boat and going to the gym. Abandoned at sea for a year, these common habits are his way to ensure that he can survive the long days.
This Hong Kong passenger ship was originally a gambling ship. It started sailing at the end of 2019 to attract tourists along the route in Southeast Asia. After the outbreak of the epidemic, it did not operate well. It broke down in Penang, Malaysia in March 2020. More than 200 crew members have been trapped on the ship for more than a year, including 64 Chinese crew members.
These crew members went to the sea for a seemingly good income, but in the end, they were trapped in a jail for wages. After the fuel ran out, the crew endured the darkest hours, long nights without air conditioning, eating food with bugs, and missing their relatives. After a long period of confinement at sea, some people suffered from depression.
From March 25th to April 9th this year, the Chinese crew members were sent back to China in three batches, but labor disputes continued. Whether the wages owed can be recovered or whether they can be worth a year of life in prison at sea is unknown. . The other 6 drivers will continue to be stranded, and the return date is undetermined.
Text| Gu Xin intern Xu Qiaoli
Edit| Mao Yijun
A help video taken by the crew in February this year.Photo by Wang Qiang
furnace
At 5.41 degrees north latitude, every inch of the deck is hot.
A 171.5-meter-long, 30-meter-high medium-sized passenger ship is quietly anchored in the blue, calm sea, facing the waterfront of Penang, Malaysia, 3000 meters away. It is close to the equator, with less wind and waves, and the sun shines throughout the year. In the evening, the sky is full of clouds.
There seemed to be no one on the ship, no sound, no roar of the cabin engine. Some are just silent heat. On the edge of the pool, a yellow lifebuoy floated quietly.
People hid in the room, like moles in the hole, never coming out unless necessary. On this big ship, where the heat waves are everywhere, the air-conditioned dormitory of less than ten square meters on the third floor has become a refuge cell.
The meal was set at 11:20, and they walked from the small “holes” to the hot ground. The crew dining room is on the second floor near the bow of the ship. In order to reach the place to eat, Li Tingting tiptoed downstairs, carefully wading through the sewage. The sewer was broken and overflowing water was everywhere. Li Tingting frowned, trying to ignore the smell of shit and urine.
Leaking staff restaurant on board.Picture source video screenshot
In this restaurant, lunch is served in a rectangular utensil with a rice scoop on each side, crowded with people beside it. Li Tingting, who is small, can’t squeeze others, sometimes can’t grab the food, and will be severely stepped on her toes.
Pushes and quarrels happen every day. She is numb.
Worse things are behind. After the central air conditioner broke down eight times, it couldn’t be repaired completely. The air-conditioning crew dormitory was turned off, and the chest and back were soaked after five minutes. The crew was forced to move from the third floor to the sixth floor on the top floor. This floor was originally an exclusive area for VIPs, but now it has only an independent air-conditioning system on the ship, squeezing out 200 crew members, grouped together in luxurious casinos and Chinese restaurants.
They slept crampedly on the Chase bunk, between the mattress and the mattress just before they could get their feet off. They couldn’t wash the sheets due to lack of water. The restaurants and nightclubs are covered with thick carpets and perennial mold. After sleeping for a long time, gray-green raised bacteria particles grow on the skin. It is a kind of ringworm, which is extremely itchy.
The crew huddled together to sleep.Picture source video screenshot
People’s nerves are tense, because an inexplicable word can entangle each other for a month.
Once at noon, everyone was chatting and resting in the casino. A girl asked everyone if they had an electric rice cooker, and they all shook their heads. Later, a boy said, thinking about it, I know where it is. The girl thinks that the boy is deliberately teasing her, embarrassing her, is so angry, and threatens to get a knife.
There was also a girl who went to the cockpit every day to smash the door to ask for explanation, and smashed the cockpit telescope.
They looked for all the ways to pass the time, killing the Three Kingdoms, fighting the landlords, killing the werewolves, playing mahjong, and got bored after playing a few times.
The most depressed time is when many people are together, and everyone is talking about their own affairs. “I felt a little dissociated. No one thought the same as myself, everyone was talking about their own words.” Li Tingting recalled.
During the blockade, there were five or six more couples on the ship, and several couples were separated before the seal was unblocked. Although the takeaway can be delivered, the delivery fee is 200 MYR (400 yuan off). Many novice crew members ask for money from their families, but they also conceal their own situation.
Until March of this year, the Chinese Embassy stepped in and chartered a flight to send the crew home. After getting off the boat, the feeling of fear and fear did not stop. Li Tingting found that she had become irritable and insecure. After landing in Xiamen and being arranged for an expensive hotel as a quarantine point, Li Tingting was full of doubts, “Why not arrange a cheaper one?” She didn’t trust many people and sat downstairs in the hotel for 20 hours, but in the end it didn’t help.
Gambling post
The second mate Wang Qiang never expected that he would stay on the boat for so long. The predecessor of this passenger ship was the “Vostok Dragon”, which was registered under the name of Hong Kong shipowner, Du Wenlong, to run international routes. The veteran employees who have worked on the ship for more than ten years once recalled to him that the boss was very strong, and at the peak of 2004, he earned tens of millions a day.
Wang Qiang worked on the ship for four years. When he boarded the ship again in March 2019, the business on the ship was already beyond his means, but his wages were paid fairly promptly, and he was in arrears for two or three months by accident and was quickly settled. His wife persuaded him to go home and give up that little profit. He is not reconciled. Although he has heard that business has declined in the past two years, he is more at ease on the ship after several years of cooperation.
The cruise ship was a gambling ship at first. In the past two years, Hong Kong’s tourism industry has been bleak. The shipowner has changed the route from Malaysia to Thailand. Tourists have also changed from Hong Kong and mainland tourists to people from Southeast Asian countries. The street light poles on the seashore are filled with posters to solicit customers.
In November 2019, Wang Qiang received the last instruction before his vacation, asking him to ship the “ORIENTAL DRAGON” to Penang, Malaysia: Due to poor operation, the owner leased the ship to a company in Malaysia for a two-year charter period. year.
Before sailing to Malaysia, the shipowner recruited a group of new crew interns, who graduated from a junior college or bachelor degree in navigation, and were assigned to the ship through an intermediary company contacted by the school. 60% of them come to work as waiters, and many will see the sea for the first time and go abroad for the first time.
“ORIENTAL DRAGON” is indeed a very suitable ship for novices. Li Tingting, 20, had just completed school courses. She recalled that the recruitment requirements on board were “relatively wide”, and there was no need for a cruise ship major or experience requirements. Chen Wangdong had worked in sales for several years before. At the age of 25, he hoped to go out and make a fortune. At the beginning of his career as a seaman, he planned to accumulate a little experience.
After Li Wei worked as a soldier in Gansu for five years, he changed his job. The local Social Security Bureau introduced the job and received a pamphlet that included auxiliary police, seamen, and his family. The environment of the army was relatively closed. After five years of service, he was afraid that he would transfer. The local work is not experienced enough, and he is deliberately asked to “experience” outside. After boarding this boat, Li Wei, who was from an ordinary family, became the first person of the three generations to go abroad.
There are still remnants of luxury on the ship, soft burgundy carpets, round light bulbs in nightclubs, and abstract art paintings hung on the walls. The cold light from the tall buildings along the coast of Tsim Sha Tsui is enough to excite them and dizzy. Now, 300 yuan a day can be enjoyed by elderly passengers in some tour groups.
Except for seasickness, Li Wei lives well. He lives in a double room on the third floor, each room has its own bathroom, can take a shower, and has an electric water heater to boil water.
The life of the waiter is regular, with two shifts, morning and evening-from 11:30 to 6 pm, and from the evening to 6 o’clock the next day. On the way back to the dormitory after the night shift, you can see the weak sun, like a tender egg yolk emerging from the sea level. He always couldn’t help holding up his phone to take pictures of this scene, the layers of red and hot sunlight seemed to have weight, overwhelming the sea level.
Seafarers have their own lives, and ships will dock once or twice a week. They have three hours of free time on the shore. Most crew members eat and shop together. Li Wei will take his girlfriend ashore to eat Haidilao and go to the night market to eat barbecue, burritos, flying cakes, and ice cream.
In March 2020, they received news that the Malaysian government requested that the route be suspended, and the flight will resume when the situation is better. At that time, the epidemic was sweeping the world, and news of the suspension of cruise ships broke out every day.
After the suspension, everyone began to have fun. At that time, there were Chinese, Burmese and Ukrainians stranded on the boat. Because of language problems, everyone only socialized in their own circles. The Burmese played football on the deck, and Chen Wangdong and his friends played mahjong around the table.
“At the age of more than 20 years old, living a life of more than 60 years.” They teased themselves, apparently a group of young people who have just entered the society, but they have lived a life of early retirement. While walking on the deck, Chen Wangdong looked at the shore 3,000 meters away, and began to miss those non-authentic Chinese dishes. He and his friends will disembark every day to visit Penang. He always eats Chinese food, sometimes with a cup of iced coffee.
At first, they were not very worried, the world was paralyzed, they were just paralyzed at sea. At that time, there was a weekly supply of fuel and fresh water, which would be provided at the port of Ben Thanh as usual. The small boats were loaded with fresh vegetables and the meat sailed from Penang to the cruise ship. The agent of the Malaysian company that operates the route will board the ship for regular inspections every other week.
Tenant representatives in their 50s promised them that all problems would be resolved, and also “reminded” them that they are not allowed to go home before the signed contract expires.
Sea duckweed
Until August 2020, nearly half a year later, the ship still has not resumed sailing. They had hoped many times, but they failed one by one.
The crew has not received wages since April. The shipowner comforted them, the business was not good, let them understand, and the wages would be paid in two months after the capital turnover. Gradually, the types of their food are reduced, the cakes and fruits are gone, and they are curry chicken every day.
At that time, the epidemic eased, and the crew may have to resume sailing after receiving news. But hope failed again. The representative of the Malaysian operating company informed the crew that they and the Hong Kong shipowner’s company were in a lawsuit. For the crew, they have two plans, either take one month’s salary and go home at their own expense, or continue to wait on board for the outcome of the lawsuit. At that time, at least RMB 23,000 was required to return home at his own expense.
Hope again and again, disappointment again and again. Li Tingting counted, similar repetitions “no less than 8 times.” The heart of the crew was lifted high and thrown down again. Various rumors began on the boat, and people were panicked. Chen Wangdong heard that the Burmese threw the things on the boat into the sea; there was an emotional girl who was said to be jumping into the sea.
The harsh environment made Li Tingting’s mood worse. She started quarreling frequently, “I have never had so many quarrels in my life.” In the fiercest time, she quarreled with her friend until she was close to her body, and almost got into a fight because her friend was too arrogant to borrow her cosmetics. “It doesn’t matter much if I think about it now,” Li Tingting said, everyone tried to vent their inner emotions through quarrels, and there were constant quarrels and small quarrels.
The crew was crowded indoors.Picture source video screenshot
On September 4, a Ukrainian captain boarded the ship. Prior to this, the former captain negotiated with the owner and charterer, reached an agreement, and disembarked alone with the arrears of wages and air tickets. The new captain is 1.8 meters tall, in his 50s, and his blond hair has turned white. He continued to appease the turbulent crew for the charterer.
Wang Qiang and the first officer organized a sailor’s strike. After reaching the shore, they returned to their rooms and did not leave the port or work. Then the Ukrainian captain accused them, “You are illegal.” Then a meeting of sailors was urgently called to keep them on duty.
At that time, Wang Qiang decided that as soon as the renter’s representative came, he would negotiate with him, “request for payment of the wages we owe, as well as a shift plan, and book us a return flight ticket. These must be implemented.” The renter’s representative said, They can only pay them one month’s salary. When the negotiations broke down, Wang Qiang said to the Ukrainian captain, “Our today is likely to be your tomorrow.” The other party ignored it.
After entering the litigation period, the court sealed the ship. After the stalemate, Chuan Dongfang came forward. First persuade the crew to “it is more difficult now, understand it”, then make a promise “the money will arrive in a few days, not so fast”, and finally give a specific time “you wait another week”. Wang Qiang was moved.
Everyone spent a week in hopes, and the shipowner told them that the ship would not dock and the wages would not be paid. “We were quite surprised at the time.” Wang Qiang said. Since then, the opportunity to land once a week has been deprived, and they have become a helpless duckweed on the sea.
The bad news came on November 18 that Li Tingting’s grandma passed away. On this day of the previous year, Li Tingting asked her grandma to wait for her for a year, “I told her to come back in one year.”
Grandma is Li Tingting’s closest family. Growing up in a rural area in Hebei, Li Tingting grew up with her grandparents. The old lady was diligent and planted a lot of fruits in her yard, such as watermelon, sugar cane, lotus, corn… because Li Tingting envied other people’s fruits. Li Tingting has always hoped that when she grows up, she will work hard to earn money and let her grandma live a good life.
Li Tingting broke down when she heard the news of her grandma’s death. She started to call, the mayor’s hotline, labor and social security hotline, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs… the crew all called for help in October, and this time, the voices were the same as usual, and the answers were the same as before: “To you We have been paying attention to this matter, and now we are in an economic dispute, and we can’t get in.”
Every crew member missed a lot. Chen Wangdong’s grandmother also passed away during the epidemic. The local government demanded that everything be kept simple, but Chen Wangdong could not keep up with his grandmother’s funeral. Wang Qiang’s wife spent her birthday and the Spring Festival alone, and survived her mother’s hospital stay alone.
The days on the boat turned into a hazy waiting.
The last straw
After the Spring Festival this year, a girl sat down to the stern every day, looking at the sea. Wang Qiang found someone to look at her, fearing that she would fall. Later, the girl fought with a boy and chased each other in a full boat with a fruit knife, threatening “If you don’t arrange for me (returning to China), I will kill him.” The boy was so scared that he only dared to sleep next to the bridge and stay there. Next to Wang Qiang. After that, the girls began to “do not leave their hands”, wanting to exchange for a chance to go home.
Wang Qiang arranged a VIP guest room for the girl. He asked the manager of the housekeeping department to find a small air conditioner to slowly ease the girl’s emotions. He also negotiated with the insurance company. He paid the girl four months’ salary and arranged for her to go home at her own expense.
Then another girl came to the bridge to sit for one night because of her mother’s hospitalization. Wang Qiang went to the insurance company again and paid four months’ salary as well. Subsequently, ten, twenty…a large number of crew members began to “occupy” the bridge, at most there were more than fifty.
Wang Qiang took the video at that time, and the insurance company finally arranged an agent to board the ship to understand the situation. The agent was immediately surrounded by the crew, and a girl hugged the agent’s thigh tightly, as if holding the last straw.
After being not allowed to dock, Wang Qiang, the chief mate, and a security officer began to take turns to take over the crew’s major and minor matters, soothe everyone’s emotions, and contact various organizations for help at the same time. At the end of October, the captain issued a call for help to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). In November, Wang Qiang issued a notice of abandonment to the Penang Maritime Department.
Finally, the Japanese ITF organization replied to them. Under its leadership, their abandonment insurance took effect, and the insurance company in London began to distribute supplies to the crew.
In fact, crew members were abandoned by the shipowner from time to time. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), there will be as many as 45 shipowners abandoning ships in 2020. In the absence of supplies for months or even years, no salary, or even full of security risks, survival becomes the only goal.
It was not until this time, on March 20, that Wang Qiang received an arrangement from the insurance company to organize repatriation.
The repatriated crew bid farewell to the “ORIENTAL DRAGON”.Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Two days later, the first officer and the second officer organized a meeting in the tourist restaurant on the sixth floor. Hearing the news of the deportation, everyone cheered briefly. Some people stood up and more people lowered their hair. Chen Wangdong felt a lot better for the first time. Before that, he hadn’t had the desire to exercise for a long time, because his nutrition couldn’t keep up, he felt that his body became poor.
As if she had a premonition, Li Tingting had a dream. She dreamed that she was going home. Her mother cooked several dishes, and she ate one bowl after another. Now, she tells her mother about the repatriation, and her mother returns to her: “About when will I be able to go home? The family also keeps a lot of vegetables for you, raises a lot of crucian carp, and your favorite shrimp.”
On March 25, 18 girls including Li Tingting left the ship in the first batch. They arrived in Kuala Lumpur by boat, and then flew to Xiamen where they were quarantined in a hotel for 14 days.
On the day of return, Li Tingting went to the bridge to give the first officer and Wang Qiang some snacks to thank them for their efforts. Wang Qiang watched them get on the boat from the bridge, took a video and put it in the circle of friends, with the text “No one can understand how hard they have gone through and want to cry without tears!”
The first group of repatriated crew members disembarked.Picture source video screenshot
The batch of repatriation was decided by the first officer and Wang Qiang. Chen Wangdong was given the opportunity to return in the third batch, and his friends got the second batch, and they could only say “goodbye by destiny” to each other. After this time, Chen Wangdong said that he would not consider being a seaman again.
On April 8, Chen Wangdong returned to Penang by boat. He posted seven or eight circles of friends, one of which said, “Since you can’t be the One Piece, then go home and be the king of passersby.” However, a year of drifting at sea, in Li Tingting. A shadow was cast in his heart, unable to heal. Li Tingting’s greatest wish is to go home and “see grandma”, but she decided to bury this experience in her heart because she was afraid that grandma in the sky would worry, “I think she wants me to live well.”
As the pilot, Wang Qiang needs to maintain the daily operation of the “ORIENTAL DRAGON” and cannot leave until the lawsuit between the owner and the charterer is over. The insurance company has a promise that when the repatriation of the third group of crew members is completed, it will start arranging the return journey of the six Chinese pilots, but Wang Qiang is not sure whether this will also be a bad check.
(The characters in the text are all pseudonyms)
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