Similar things happen without covid involved. Lack of pay and upkeep for fuel can strand ship and crew in a foreign harbour. Back in 2002 a Russian transport s

Similar things happen without covid involved. Lack of pay and upkeep for fuel can strand ship and crew in a foreign harbour. Back in 2002 a Russian transport ship and crew spend the summer moored by my birth town without being able to leave the ship. The crew hadn't received any pay for 9 months, lacked provisions, and refused to keep working. The shipping company send some goons to ruff them up, but ended getting arrested and deported. Eventually they sailed on, though I don't know the outcome of the conflict. At the end of the 10's I attended a party on a large Russian freightship (in another city). The crew and ship had apparently been abandoned by their company without any communication, and they had been stuck on the ship for half a year. Never got it confirmed but I think they had made a deal with the party organisers to host parties to cover food cost and tickets home. Shipping is a hard business.