Opulent cruise ships and ferries ply Caribbean and European waters. Great Britain, a global sea power during Johnson's lifetime, has been knocked back to second-tier status by nations such as Japan and Greece. Some things, however, have not changed. Tens of thousands of seafarers from poor countries continue to endure miserable, life-threatening conditions on decrepit vessels flying the flags of Honduras or Romania or Antigua. Wages are astonishingly low, if they are paid at all.
Food is scarce, spoiled and frequently roach-infested.
And yet when you suffer from piercing abdominal pain, as Feng did, you may be refused medical treatment by the captain, whose primary and perhaps sole concern is his cargo. You will frequently meet with indifference, if not hostility. Buy your own plane ticket home from Rotterdam. A hundred other young men from the shantytowns of Manila will line up to take your place. Expect little or no compensation if you shatter a leg or lose a hand.