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Stranded in Shanghai

A Vashon Island woman is about to spend her 160th day aboard a ship going nowhere. #k5evening

SHANGHAI, China — For Madeleine Wolczko, life is at a standstill.

"It's like the Apocalypse," she said.

Stuck. Stranded.

"The boredom is killing us."

The cargo ship second mate and her crewmates have been confined to their vessel, the M/V President Wilson, for nearly half a year now.

"And you do not touch land," Wolczko said.

They arrived in port here outside Shanghai, China, just before the city went into a complete and controversially harsh COVID lockdown. The local dockworkers needed to complete necessary repairs simply disappeared.

"They went to lunch one day, never came back," Wolczko said. "That was the beginning of our lockdown."

The crew's one-month stop has now lasted well over two months, with no end in sight.

"Steelwork needs to be done. The main engine needs to be worked on. We only have one working generator right now."

But the Vashon Island native is making the best of a bad situation, capturing life in limbo in a new web series called "Restricted to Ship." From crewmate-supplied haircuts to late-night karaoke sessions, it's a rare look at an already strange world growing stranger by the day. Wolczko captures the intense camaraderie and overbearing loneliness in the lives of her fellow merchant mariners.

Her own life story is reflected in the series and other clips she shares. She's a woman thriving in an overwhelmingly male profession, inspecting equipment in one video, composing music in her quarters in another.

"This industry is two percent women, so seeing women out here, that's huge."

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Wolczko is a cigar-smoking sailor.

"It's one of my favorite ways to have a conversation and tell sea stories. I also really enjoy cigars," she laughs.

She posts visual poetry, wistful words paired with breathtaking video she's taken at sea. Another video captures her acoustic performance of Radiohead's "Creep" while standing alone in a vast, empty cargo hold, her surprisingly angelic voice echoing off the cold steel.

Now all she wants — all anyone on this ship wants — is the freedom that drew them to this profession in the first place. Wide-open seas, new horizons, and adventures yet to come. If only they can get out of here.

"We've been through a lot. Our situation sucks. People need to know about it."

KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.

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