The MV Unique Carrier, with a crew from India, will be leaving today with 185,000 tonnes of coal for a power plant in Israel. The voyage will take about 50 days.
On board the ship I met the second mate's wife. Because she does not have a Canadian visa she is not allowed to leave the ship - not even to visit the seafarers center. At home the couple have a one and a half year old daughter that they had to leave behind with her parents. She was desperate to talk to her parents and hear about the well being of their daughter, whom she missed very much. I offered to come on board the ship that evening with my cell phone. What I thought would take half an hour turned into more than 2 1/2 hours of conversations with their family and a host of other friends. But I understood; she will not be able to talk to their family and friends for the next 50 days.
On board the ship I met the second mate's wife. Because she does not have a Canadian visa she is not allowed to leave the ship - not even to visit the seafarers center. At home the couple have a one and a half year old daughter that they had to leave behind with her parents. She was desperate to talk to her parents and hear about the well being of their daughter, whom she missed very much. I offered to come on board the ship that evening with my cell phone. What I thought would take half an hour turned into more than 2 1/2 hours of conversations with their family and a host of other friends. But I understood; she will not be able to talk to their family and friends for the next 50 days.
