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We are in Sungit, a Malaysian city located in the Malacca Strait
For centuries, fishermen here have watched cargo ships transporting goods
However, since 2008 many of these huge ships have been left stranded at sea
Victims of the international crisis and consequent reduced levels of global commerce
have left these iron giants unemployed
and despite signs that economies around the world are beginning to recover
the outlook for maritime shipping remains pessimistic
A small fishing boat takes us up to the "ghost fleet"
Around us are hundreds of cargo ships, nearly all of them empty and without crew
Around us are hundreds of cargo ships, nearly all of them empty and without crew
The only people left here are the armed guards contracted to protect the ships
against piracy attacks
Something relatively common in this area
The Malacca Strait is one of the oldest and most important maritime routes in the world
For centuries all kinds of goods and commodities have passed through here
on route between Europe and the Far East
The oil consumed by Shanghai, Japanese cameras, T-shirts and shoes made in China...
. these and thousands of other products travel across this 800 kilometer stretch of water
bordering on Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and surrounded by jungle
Years ago, before the Aden Gulf became the center of the international piracy
the Malacca Strait was the most heavily attacked route in the world
But action taken by the nearby countries has improved the situation
The captain asks to see our identification before letting us jump aboard
He agrees to explain what his crew is doing in the middle of the ocean
with no destination in sight
We have been here for at least three or four months
The crisis gets worse day by day and I´m worried because I don´t see any improvement
We are not doing anything. Just waiting. We only do maintenance work in the engine rooms
Exports from many Asian countries are now increasing with some countries already exporting
the same volume as before the crisis
However, around 90 per cent of international commerce travels by sea
Basically there is no enough trade to justify having the number of ships that we have
So without having enough trade it is cheaper for the ship owner to have the ship stopped
in places like the Malacca Strait
During the boom years everyone wanted to buy new ships and wanted to have more ships
Everyone put orders on ships that now no one knows what to do with
Although there are some ships with Japanese and South Korean flags, most are from Europe
and for this reason maritime transport forecasts remain worrying
They prefer to stay here because it’s cheaper than anchoring up in their own countries
The ship owner must pay a lot of money when the ship is in the port. That´s why we are here
Is it free of charge to stay here?
Yes, it is free
Everyone is reporting losses or much less profit than made in previous years
and a few companies went bankrupt
I think that this year will still be very, very hard in all segments of shipping
After the sunset, thousands of lights appear on the Sungit coast
The ghost fleet is like a city which appears on no map
and it will be there until international commerce rises once again