Rose George: Inside the secret shipping industry

譯者: Chingwen Kao 審譯者: Coco Shen

A couple of years ago,

幾年前，

Harvard Business School chose

哈佛商學院把該年度

the best business model of that year.

最佳商業模式

It chose Somali piracy.

選給了索馬利亞海盜。

Pretty much around the same time,

差不多在那時候，

I discovered that there were 544 seafarers

我看到544名船員

being held hostage on ships,

遭劫船做為人質，

often anchored just off the Somali coast

這些被挾持的船往往就大喇喇的

in plain sight.

停靠在索馬利亞海岸外。

And I learned these two facts, and I thought,

這兩件事讓我思考：

what's going on in shipping?

海運業出了什麼問題？

And I thought, would that happen in any other industry?

這種狀況有沒有可能發生在其它產業？

Would we see 544 airline pilots

我們有沒有可能看到

held captive in their jumbo jets

544名機師被挾持在飛機裡

on a runway for months, or a year?

遭囚禁長達數個月或一年？

Would we see 544 Greyhound bus drivers?

或者是544名灰狗巴士司機？

It wouldn't happen.

根本不可能！

So I started to get intrigued.

這問題讓我著迷。

And I discovered another fact,

隨後我發現另一個

which to me was more astonishing

更令我訝異的事實，

almost for the fact that I hadn't known it before

而我訝異的點在於竟然活到了42、43歲

at the age of 42, 43.

才得知這個事實：

That is how fundamentally we still depend on shipping.

我們仍極度依賴海運。

Because perhaps the general public

這也許是因為一般普羅大眾

thinks of shipping as an old-fashioned industry,

認為海運已經過時了，以為海運就是

something brought by sailboat

貨物透過亞哈(出自白鯨記)

with Moby Dicks and Jack Sparrows.

與史傑克(出自神鬼奇航)來做運輸。

But shipping isn't that.

事實並不然。

Shipping is as crucial to us as it has ever been.

海運對我們的重要性日益加深，

Shipping brings us 90 percent of world trade.

它包辦了全球百分之九十的貿易物流，

Shipping has quadrupled in size since 1970.

運輸量從1970年起成長了四倍，

We are more dependent on it now than ever.

我們對海運的依賴更甚以往。

And yet, for such an enormous industry --

但即便有十萬艘商船正在海上航行，

there are a 100,000 working vessels on the sea —

這麼龐大的產業

it's become pretty much invisible.

卻像隱形似的。

Now that sounds absurd in Singapore to say that,

當然在新加坡講這個聽起來很滑稽，

because here shipping is so present

因為海運在這裡相當有存在感，

that you stuck a ship on top of a hotel.

你們直接把船放在飯店頂樓(指金沙酒店)。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

But elsewhere in the world,

但若你在其它國家

if you ask the general public what they know

詢問一般民眾對海運

about shipping and how much trade is carried by sea,

及其物流量的了解有多少時，

you will get essentially a blank face.

你只會看到一副茫然的表情。

You will ask someone on the street

你隨便問一個路人

if they've heard of Microsoft.

有沒有聽過微軟，

I should think they'll say yes,

我認為你會得到肯定的答案，

because they'll know that they make software

因為大家都知道微軟研發

that goes on computers,

電腦軟體，

and occasionally works.

不是很好用的軟體。

But if you ask them if they've heard of Maersk,

但要是改問他們有沒有聽過快桅(Maersk)公司時，

I doubt you'd get the same response,

我不認為你還能得到肯定的答案。

even though Maersk,

儘管快桅

which is just one shipping company amongst many,

只是眾多海運公司裡的其中一間，

has revenues pretty much on a par with Microsoft.

它的營收卻幾乎和微軟相當─

[$60.2 billion]

602億。

Now why is this?

海運業怎麼了？

A few years ago,

幾年前，

the first sea lord of the British admiralty --

英國皇家海軍第一海務大臣─

he is called the first sea lord,

他雖被稱為第一海務大臣，

although the chief of the army is not called a land lord —

但不代表陸軍最高統帥就叫做房東 (land lord，音同房東)。

he said that we, and he meant

海務大臣認為我們

in the industrialized nations in the West,

這些西方工業化國家

that we suffer from sea blindness.

得到了"海盲症"。

We are blind to the sea

我們看不見

as a place of industry or of work.

海洋相關產業與工作，

It's just something we fly over,

海洋之於我們只是搭機時

a patch of blue on an airline map.

呈現在飛航路線圖上的一片藍色色塊，

Nothing to see, move along.

沒什麼好看的，我們直接飛過。

So I wanted to open my own eyes

也因此，我渴望張開我的雙眼

to my own sea blindness,

來正視我的"海盲症"，

so I ran away to sea.

於是我投向海洋。

A couple of years ago, I took a passage

多年前，我參與了一段

on the Maersk Kendal,

馬士基肯德號的航程，

a mid-sized container ship

這是一艘中型貨櫃船，

carrying nearly 7,000 boxes,

搭載了近7000個箱子。

and I departed from Felixstowe,

我從英格蘭南部的

on the south coast of England,

菲力克斯托港口出發，

and I ended up right here in Singapore

五個星期後正好抵達

five weeks later,

新加坡，

considerably less jet-lagged than I am right now.

那次的旅程跟這次比，比較沒有時差問題。

And it was a revelation.

我徹底開了眼界。

We traveled through five seas,

我們航行過五個海、

two oceans, nine ports,

兩大洋及九個港口，

and I learned a lot about shipping.

而我從中學到很多海運業的知識。

And one of the first things that surprised me

第一件讓我驚訝的事情

when I got on board Kendal

就發生在我剛登上肯德號時。

was, where are all the people?

人都跑去哪了？

I have friends in the Navy who tell me

我在海軍服役的朋友們跟我說，

they sail with 1,000 sailors at a time,

他們每次出航都會搭載1000名水兵，

but on Kendal there were only 21 crew.

但在肯德號上總共只有21名船員。

Now that's because shipping is very efficient.

那是因為當代海運非常有效率。

Containerization has made it very efficient.

貨櫃運輸大大提升了效率，

Ships have automation now.

船隻配備自動化操作系統，

They can operate with small crews.

因此小團隊即可勝任。

But it also means that, in the words

但這也意味著─

of a port chaplain I once met,

套用一個港口牧師跟我講的─

the average seafarer you're going to find

你會發現貨櫃船上的船員，

on a container ship is either tired or exhausted,

不是疲累就是過勞，

because the pace of modern shipping

因為當代海運的工作步調

is quite punishing for what the shipping calls

對他們所謂的"人性要素"來講

its human element,

是相當繁重緊湊的，

a strange phrase which they don't seem to realize

他們似乎沒注意到"人性要素"這詞

sounds a little bit inhuman.

在這情境下聽起來並不太人道。

So most seafarers now working on container ships

因此大部分在貨櫃船上工作的船員，

often have less than two hours in port at a time.

很少能一次在港口待上兩個小時。

They don't have time to relax.

他們一刻也不能鬆懈。

They're at sea for months at a time,

他們出海時間長達數個月，

and even when they're on board,

即便在船上，

they don't have access to what

也沒有五歲小孩視為理所當然的

a five-year-old would take for granted, the Internet.

網路可用。

And another thing that surprised me when I got on board Kendal

另一件讓我訝異的事是，登上肯德號後，

was who I was sitting next to --

坐在我身邊的人

Not the queen; I can't imagine why they put me underneath her portrait --

並不是女王； 但我不能理解怎麼會被安排坐在她的肖像下面。

But around that dining table in the officer's saloon,

但在高級船員交誼廳裡的餐桌上，

I was sitting next to a Burmese guy,

我坐在緬甸人旁邊，

I was opposite a Romanian, a Moldavian, an Indian.

與羅馬尼亞人、摩爾多瓦人及印度人對坐。

On the next table was a Chinese guy,

隔壁桌坐了個中國人，

and in the crew room, it was entirely Filipinos.

而船員室裡則清一色都是菲律賓人。

So that was a normal working ship.

就是一般作業中船隻的樣子。

Now how is that possible?

但這怎麼可能呢？

Because the biggest dramatic change

原因在於過去60年間，

in shipping over the last 60 years,

當民眾不再留意海運業發展的同時，

when most of the general public stopped noticing it,

有一項重大變革問世，

was something called an open registry,

那就是所謂的開放登記

or a flag of convenience.

或稱權宜船。

Ships can now fly the flag of any nation

船隻可懸掛任何一個有提供

that provides a flag registry.

船舶國籍登記的國家國旗。

You can get a flag from the landlocked nation

你可以取得一些內陸國家的國旗，

of Bolivia, or Mongolia,

如玻利維亞、蒙古國

or North Korea, though that's not very popular.

或北韓，不過北韓籍並不流行。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

So we have these very multinational,

因此船上才能由多國籍、

global, mobile crews on ships.

全球化且機動性強的船員所組成，

And that was a surprise to me.

這也是令我訝異的地方。

And when we got to pirate waters,

而當靠近海盜猖獗的水域，

down the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and into the Indian Ocean,

也就是曼德海峽與印度洋之間時，

the ship changed.

船做了些改變。

And that was also shocking, because suddenly,

這場景相當震撼，

I realized, as the captain said to me,

因為我突然想起船長曾跟我說的：

that I had been crazy to choose to go

我一定是瘋了才會選擇

through pirate waters on a container ship.

搭貨櫃船航經海盜猖獗的水域。

We were no longer allowed on deck.

我們不准上甲板，

There were double pirate watches.

另佈署雙層警戒以監測海盜。

And at that time, there were those 544 seafarers being held hostage,

那時正值544名船員被挾持的期間，

and some of them were held hostage for years

其中有些船員早被挾持了好幾年，

because of the nature of shipping and the flag of convenience.

這導因於海運業的本質及權宜船制度。

Not all of them, but some of them were,

這當中有些船

because for the minority of unscrupulous ship owners,

是因為少數不肖船東，

it can be easy to hide behind

將船隻登記在特定國籍下

the anonymity offered by some flags of convenience.

好隱藏船隻的真實資料。

What else does our sea blindness mask?

"海盲症"還有哪些症狀？

Well, if you go out to sea on a ship

嗯，若你搭船出海

or on a cruise ship, and look up to the funnel,

或來趟郵輪之旅時，抬頭看看煙囪，

you'll see very black smoke.

你會看到非常黑的濃煙。

And that's because shipping

那是因為海運業的

has very tight margins, and they want cheap fuel,

利潤被壓縮得很緊， 因此需要便宜的燃油，

so they use something called bunker fuel,

他們用的油叫做釜底燃料油，

which was described to me by someone in the tanker industry

依據某油輪業者的說法，

as the dregs of the refinery,

這燃油形同煉油後的渣滓，

or just one step up from asphalt.

或僅比瀝青再高一階而已。

And shipping is the greenest method of transport.

海運是最環保的運輸方式，

In terms of carbon emissions per ton per mile,

海運每公噸每公里所產生的碳排放量

it emits about a thousandth of aviation

是空運的千分之一，

and about a tenth of trucking.

陸運的十分之一。

But it's not benign, because there's so much of it.

但這不代表它對環境無害，因為有太多艘船隻了，

So shipping emissions are about three to four percent,

因此海運碳排放量佔全球總量的3%到4%左右，

almost the same as aviation's.

幾乎跟航空業一樣。

And if you put shipping emissions

若將全國碳排放量做排行，

on a list of the countries' carbon emissions,

海運業

it would come in about sixth,

大概位於第六名。

somewhere near Germany.

在2009年德國外海某處，

It was calculated in 2009 that the 15 largest ships

有項針對該處15艘大型船隻所做的汙染報告指出，

pollute in terms of particles and soot

其懸浮微粒、煤煙

and noxious gases

及有毒氣體，

as much as all the cars in the world.

與全球汽車總排放量相當。

And the good news is that

好消息是

people are now talking about sustainable shipping.

人們開始重視海運業的永續發展，

There are interesting initiatives going on.

一些富巧思的創舉也正實行中。

But why has it taken so long?

但這歷程為何如此緩慢？

When are we going to start talking and thinking

我們何時才能對海運業有更深一步的思考，

about shipping miles as well as air miles?

正如我們面對航運業的問題一樣？

I also traveled to Cape Cod to look

我曾走訪鱈魚角以了解

at the plight of the North Atlantic right whale,

北大西洋露脊鯨所面臨的困境，

because this to me was one of the most surprising things

因為在我的海洋之旅裡，

about my time at sea,

這是最令我感驚奇的事情之一，

and what it made me think about.

也引發我的思考。

We know about man's impact on the ocean

我們知道漁業、過度濫捕等人為因素

in terms of fishing and overfishing,

對海洋所造成的衝擊，

but we don't really know much about

卻鮮少知道

what's happening underneath the water.

水面下發生了什麼事，

And in fact, shipping has a role to play here,

事實上，海運正對此造成了影響，

because shipping noise has contributed

因為輪船的噪音已對

to damaging the acoustic habitats of ocean creatures.

仰賴聽覺的海洋生物構成了傷害。

Light doesn't penetrate beneath the surface of the water,

光無法徹底穿透海洋，

so ocean creatures like whales and dolphins

因此海洋生物如鯨、豚

and even 800 species of fish

及多達800種的魚類等，

communicate by sound.

都是透過聲音來溝通。

And a North Atlantic right whale

北大西洋露脊鯨的聲音

can transmit across hundreds of miles.

能傳達數百哩，

A humpback can transmit a sound

座頭鯨的聲音甚至能

across a whole ocean.

傳遍整個海洋，

But a supertanker can also be heard

但超大型油輪的聲音

coming across a whole ocean,

也能傳遍整片海洋。

and because the noise that propellers make underwater

而船螺旋槳在水裡

is sometimes at the same frequency that whales use,

所產生的噪音頻率有時和鯨魚一模一樣，

then it can damage their acoustic habitat,

這侵害了鯨魚的"聽覺棲地"，

and they need this for breeding,

鯨魚相當仰賴聽覺來繁殖、

for finding feeding grounds,

覓食

for finding mates.

及找尋配偶。

And the acoustic habitat of the North Atlantic right whale

而北大西洋露脊鯨的"聽覺棲地"

has been reduced by up to 90 percent.

已減少了90%，

But there are no laws governing acoustic pollution yet.

但目前仍未有法令針對噪音汙染做規範。

And when I arrived in Singapore,

當年在我抵達新加坡後，

and I apologize for this, but I didn't want to get off my ship.

我得為此道歉，但我並不想下船。

I'd really loved being on board Kendal.

我真的很享受待在肯德號上的日子，

I'd been well treated by the crew,

團員們對我很照顧，

I'd had a garrulous and entertaining captain,

又有個多話且幽默的船長，

and I would happily have signed up for another five weeks,

我原本很樂意再另外待上五個禮拜，

something that the captain also said

船長也說過

I was crazy to think about.

我一定是瘋了才會這樣想。

But I wasn't there for nine months at a time

我畢竟不像那些菲律賓籍船員

like the Filipino seafarers,

一待就是九個月，

who, when I asked them to describe their job to me,

當被問及到他們的工作內容時，

called it "dollar for homesickness."

他們說那是「金錢換想家」。

They had good salaries,

他們的收入不錯，

but theirs is still an isolating and difficult life

但得在危險且艱困的海上環境裡

in a dangerous and often difficult element.

時時面對生活的孤寂與磨練。

But when I get to this part, I'm in two minds,

而講到這裡，我思緒分成了兩個部分，

because I want to salute those seafarers

我要向那些船員們致敬，

who bring us 90 percent of everything

他們默默的替我們

and get very little thanks or recognition for it.

帶來了生活中90%的物品；

I want to salute the 100,000 ships

我也要向那正在海上航行的

that are at sea

十萬艘船致敬，

that are doing that work, coming in and out

他們每天起卸貨物、進出海港，

every day, bringing us what we need.

以供給我們所需。

But I also want to see shipping,

除此之外，我也希望海運業

and us, the general public, who know so little about it,

及對這產業所知甚少的我們

to have a bit more scrutiny,

能進一步審視這產業，

to be a bit more transparent,

讓海運業更透明化，

to have 90 percent transparency.

以窺知其90%的面貌。

Because I think we could all benefit

我認為一個簡單的行動

from doing something very simple,

就能讓我們從中獲益，

which is learning to see the sea.

那就是開始認識海洋。

Thank you.

謝謝各位。

(Applause)

(掌聲)