Hapag-Lloyd watch officer Kim Jes Nagies had no reason to suspect he would miss one of life's great moments when he boarded his ship in South Korea on 10 January.
The 31-year-old seafarer had learned just weeks before that his wife, Ann-Christin, was pregnant.
But by the time Covid-19 had spread around the world trapping crews on vessels, seven months had elapsed and Nagies had missed the birth of baby Hanna.
Nagies, who lives in the north-western German coastal city of Brunsbuttel, has worked at Hapag-Lloyd as a watch officer since 2018.
Before boarding the 13,200-teu Ulsan Express (built 2014), he made plans to spend eight weeks on board and then take a short holiday to renovate the couple's apartment.
Then he would depart on a voyage on the 11,519-teu Valparaiso Express (built 2016) that would get him back right in time for the birth of his first child.
In late February, Nagies went ashore in Israel. But, by the beginning of March, it was becoming clearer that ports across the world would impose massive restrictions in response to the outbreak and rapid spread of the coronavirus, Hapag-Lloyd revealed on its website.
Window closing
The closer Nagies got to his planned vacation, the more restrictive these regulations became.
There was no way to leave the ship in South Korea, China, Turkey or Israel this time.
Nagies phoned home and told Ann-Christin: "I can’t come to make the renovations. But I will be there right in time for the birth."
Then he made the same round voyage again, which took him back to China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Once again, there were not any shore leaves or crew changes.
In June, the ship lay at anchor off South Korea, where the crew spent four long weeks just looking at the port in the distance.
Then, on another call with his wife, he said: "It will work out by the end of June."
To which she responded: "I won’t believe it until you're actually on the plane."
Singapore hopes dashed
An apprentice on board was allowed to disembark in South Korea, but that was it.
On 14 July, the crew were told they would be permitted to make a change in Singapore.
But, shortly after, Singapore withdrew its permission.
On 19 July, Nagies celebrated his 31st birthday somewhere out on the Indian Ocean soon after sailing past Sri Lanka. His internet connection then died.
That same evening, when he came back online, 20 new WhatsApp messages arrived at once.
The first of them read: "We are driving to the hospital now." The last one said: "Congratulations! You're a father! Hanna has arrived — and as healthy as a horse!"
That night, the entire crew celebrated two birthdays in the bar.
In the days to follow, the ship stopped in Italy, France and Greece. On 31 July in Piraeus, after exactly 203 days on board, Nagies was allowed to disembark.
Tears were shed on his arrival home.
"It's crazy," Nagies said. "I never saw my wife when she was visibly pregnant. But now I come home — and a baby is there. It’s strange somehow."
Bonding on board
The officer said the crew grew very close on board.
"We did a lot of things together, such as watching movies and playing music and games. It was important to feel a sense of cohesion, which kept people from starting to become broody."
He added that one colleague had to postpone his wedding several times; another lost his mother and could not attend the funeral.
"It was hard," Nagies said. "But that's our job — and we love it."
As for when he will go back to work, he said January is likely.
"Right now, though, I can’t free my mind up enough to even think about work again," he said.
