Barred from help

摘要

Jonah went to sea to avoid God. In modern times a worrying trend has emerged where being at sea can now lead to being in jail. In some cases the circumstances that lead to a seafarer being charged with a criminal act are not difficult to understand or justify, even if he (or she) is not solely culpable, as with the tragic case of the Korean ferry MV Sewol on which more than 300 people drowned - most of them schoolchildren. Capt Lee Joon-seok is serving a 36-year prison sentence and 14 other crew members are serving sentences of up to 30 years. Overloading was one of the causes of the disaster and although the vessel owners have also had to face criminal charges, an executive office is often a more effective shield from the long arm of the law than is a ship's bridge.