Stowaways and Crimes Aboard a Scofflaw ShipThis gives the reader a look inside a world of which most will have no notion. It's the world of aging tramp ships wandering the world seeking a cargo needing a lift to somewhere else and the people who crew or stow away on them.
In the 1800s we understood a ship captain was nearly a god, with the power of life and death, marriage and burial. He was a judge and jury, who tended to delegate "executioner." To a degree you'll find hard to credit, it turns out many captains still exercise great power.
Ship captains have power because nobody enforces the few laws that exist beyond countries' 12 mile limits. In the deep ocean pretty much anything goes and it can be ugly business - dumping oily waste and sludge, jettisoning stowaways, failing to pay crew, carrying contraband and refugees. I expect every year murders happen afloat which are never reported or investigated.
Those of us who cruise think we know life afloat. We see only the cream of the crop, and even that life isn't easy for many of the crew. Cruise crew work 7 day weeks back-to-back, for perhaps 8-10 months at a stretch, then get a couple of months "off" before their next contract begins.
In older cargo ships crew life is much less attractive, : bad food, irregular pay, arbitrary bosses, being dumped "on the beach" far from home, etc. Poor people from third world countries sign on in spite of the risks.
