With the world in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the shipping industry is already feeling the impact as the global economy heads into a deep recession.

Hundreds of ship sailings have been cancelled as first ports in China, and then across the globe, have seen trade fall away – with millions of workers and consumers in lockdown.

Caught in the centre of this have been the world’s 1.6 million seafarers, on 50,000 tankers and cargo carriers. Many of them are unable to leave their ships, or find themselves stuck in hotels without pay and unable to get flights home.