The good news for the crew of a Hanjin ship left stranded by the company’s abrupt bankruptcy is that it has plenty of food and water, something that their union worried about. Crew members even have local prepaid cell phone cards so they can stay in touch with their families. They would prefer to be at home with their families, and to know whether they’ll still have jobs or be able to find jobs once they’re finally allowed off the ship.

Their ship, if you’re wondering, is full of a variety of cargo, including frozen meat. The Wall Street Journal explains that they’ve been stuck in place since the shipping company Hanjin filed for bankruptcy, as local ports don’t want to unload ships that could be seized and that belong to a bankrupt owner that may not be able to pay.

On the ship now, their lives sound a little bit like prison with Internet access. They watch movies, they work out, they play games (card games, not video games) and they miss their families a lot.

A company based in Hamburg, Germany has started proceedings to seize the ship, which is why it can’t unload or leave. The crew members aren’t allowed to leave the ship, but they can get supplies. There are security guards posted to the ship to make sure it doesn’t take off while courts around the world sort out whether it’s been seized or not.

The crew consists of 13 Indonesians and 11 South Koreans, including the captain. It’s a holiday in South Korea this week, the same harvest festival that made exchanges of the defective Galaxy 7 Note extra urgent in Samsung’s home country.

The captain told the Wall Street Journal that he hopes the situation is resolved before the fuel runs out, sometime in November.

Stuck on Ship, One Gloomy Hanjin Crew Waits to Learn Its Fate [Wall Street Journal]

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