Oh, he is not the only one.
https://www.reuters.com/article/emirates-oil-tanker-int-idUS...
Now, whose hell is hotter?
This world is definitly a ship of damned and fools.
Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
321–330 of 426 posts
Re: Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
#322I started to write a comment about why international law doesn’t require ship owners to post a bond superior to other debt blah blah blah. Then I realized I am out of my element. I am like a child walking into the middle of a movie and wants to know what’s going on.
Re: Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
#323Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The shipping company's CEO is 100% responsible for not dealing with the situation properly because they absolutely did not do that in any way, shape or form. And if the company went bankrupt or the CEO suddenly died/disappeared? Then what? There could be any number of reasons why a company might be unable to do what they need to do. The guy is still stuck there then, because it all rests on the shipping company rat…
Running and hiding when insolvency hits is illegal in most places. But sure, it's certainly possible that this has happened to his employer while that company who employ him is still providing quotes about it being impossible to find anyone who would take his place but not paying him either. So in insolvency that is deemed bankruptcy the assets of the company are traditionally used to deal with as much of the liabili…
I'm not talking about this specific instance. I'm saying that companies can fail to do something due to myriad reasons. You shouldn't tie a third party's freedom (the ship's "legal guardian") to a company behaving correctly. If the company doesn't deal with the jeopardy a person is in then governments should try to resolve it in a reasonable timeframe or at least create reasonable accommodations until the situation is resolved.
Re: Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
#324Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given the excessive "compensation" demand that Egypt is making for the ship that blocked the canal, I'm going to assume the fault lies with Egypt.
Let's get more specific. What is reasonable compensation that should Egypt demand?
The canal was blocked for 6 days and revenue is $15 million per day, so that's $90 million. But many of the ships that were held up eventually transited anyway, so $90 million is an absolute upper bound. Then there is the cost of the operation to free the ship, which I don't know. But Egypt is asking for $1 billion, so the rescue operation would have had to cost at minimum $900 million for the price to be justified. And I know it didn't cost $900 million, because if split evenly over 6 days that would be $150 million per day, which would be > 50% of Egypt's entire government spending over the time period. So I can say with confidence that the rescue was at least an order of magnitude less than that, so another $90 million (and that's still a massive over estimate).
So absolute upper bound for losses is $180 million. If I were making odds I would guess that only 1/3 of the ships diverted around Africa, so $30 million, and that the rescue cost another $15 million, so over/under $45 million.
And that's without even bringing up that there was a canal pilot on the ship at the time who may share some portion of the responsibility for the accident. So, yeah, it's extortion.
Re: Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
#325Earlier quoted context omitted.
Err here in the United States you have people pissing in bottles and bags because they can't take a break without missing targets. The West is not immune to predatory hiring and employment practices.
It seems fairly easy to get a union if a workplace wants one...
Right, ask Amazon workers about that.
Re: Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
#326Earlier quoted context omitted.
Err here in the United States you have people pissing in bottles and bags because they can't take a break without missing targets. The West is not immune to predatory hiring and employment practices.
Ever been enslaved on a Thai fishing boat? I know a few people who have, including a neighbor that was missing for 3 years. The US has its own problems, but places like Dubai, Southeast Asia, etc. have a much more severe problem with mistreatment and abuse of workers. Last year a building collapsed here during construction and killed about 60 people. Stuff like that happens all the time.
I lived in Gulf countries for 12 years; I'm well aware of the shitty and life-threatening work conditions for migrant labourers.
I've also lived in the US for 9 years; I'm also well aware of the mistreatment of workers here, such as workers who are undocumented migrants, workers who are prisoners, workers who work gig companies, Amazon workers, and many others.
Re: Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
#327I hope he is able to profit from his story with book and/or movie rights. It's a fascinating story and I bet would make a great movie a la Captain Phillips or 127 Hours.
The movie Life of Pi also comes to mind in regards to being stuck on a boat and retelling the story but Mohammed’s experience would make a great survival movie no doubt. Maybe Netflix will make a deal with him
Re: Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
#328Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given the excessive "compensation" demand that Egypt is making for the ship that blocked the canal, I'm going to assume the fault lies with Egypt.
Let's get more specific. What is reasonable compensation that should Egypt demand?
A pilot from the canal was on board, how is it not their fault? (Zero compensation)
Re: Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
#329Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same. I help put deals together with some experience in SE Asia. The ability to enforce contract and property rights in the US, with ready access to the courts and relatively clear rules, sets the US apart in terms of business efficiency and predictability. In my assessment, it's a large part of what's made the US so prosperous. In contrast, dealing with corrupt officials in smaller countries in SE Asia is just wild.
Not once, but multiple times I've had police simply steal cash from me in the states. Not civil forfeiture, but the cash in a wallet disappears on it's way to where it's held temporarily, no crimes involved. And from rich areas like Boulder, CO. I have not seen the lack of low level corruption in the states compared to other countries. Like in other countries they simply confine their corruption to those powerless to…
Strange. The only time I've had law enforcement take my money was in Mexico.
Re: Stranded sailor allowed to leave abandoned ship after four years
#330Earlier quoted context omitted.
Egypt definitely has fault here, but the company that owns the ship could have gotten the ship out of there if they cared about him at all. Yes, it might have been expensive, but I would expect a US based company to have rescued him within weeks of this situation starting, not years.
The article says the parent company is in financial difficulties, and the individual in question was basically being held for ransom (along with the ship). Depending on the ordering of debts (for the company), they may not have been able to compensate the Egyptians. All of that being said, I agree an American company likely would have had this sorted out faster, because the USA tends to deal with bankruptcies and the…
There is also back channeling. I also believe that if the shipping company and the sailor were from a different country (not necessarily the US but not failed states either), he would have gone home a long time ago.