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Comment by mrb | Hacker News Reader

His ship has been sitting still for so long that you can see it on Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/%D8%B3%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%86%D...

Edit: a few more story details here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/19/ever-giv... When he rows to shore to get supplies he can only stay for two hours at most as the area is a restricted military zone. Other crew members were repatriated in September 2019, so Mohammad was not alone for 2 years but only for 7 months (which is no less unacceptable). The only reason Mohammad was allowed to leave was thanks to a local union representative who agreed to take his place as the ship’s guardian.

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Man these details are important.

The BBC article makes it feel like he was alone for 4 years and somehow was able to stay alive with no food/water for 3 of them before the ship drifted closer to shore where he could now 'buy food and water'.

The BBC is sadly only a semi-reliable source and has rather low journalistic standards.

If you click on the ship, you can see a picture of him starting his swim back to the ship with provisions. Or at least I assume it's him.

The article says he swam ashore to buy supplies. Why can’t he simply walk away and not return to the ship. The article does not clarify that point. Anyone knows?

I assume he'd be arrested as a fugitive

I believe they took his passport.

> the area is a restricted military zone

I wouldn’t try my luck in a foreign restricted military zone.

Where do you think he is getting supplies from?

While true, he is getting them there while abiding by the 2 hour limit which is allowed. He isn't seen as a lawbreaker.

He'll probably get arrested. It's very hard, also, to smuggle himself. The options are Libya and Israel/Gaza.

Because they took his passport away and because he said in a YT video a while back that he still wants to work at sea if/when this is over which would be impossible if he is a “fugitive”

this is 2021 is it not? He was alone for 19 months.

Err, you are right.

I think a lot of us have cancelled out 12 months recently

And Google Maps lists it as a "Shopping Mall"

it's where i go to buy despair.

Speaking of the shopping, it actually makes me curious how he has funded buying the food/essentials he needs to survive. I wish that was covered in the story. 4 years is quite a long time, I am not sure how he would be affording it all. Makes me wonder if some kind of charity was helping him out or some local residences maybe. That also makes me wonder if he stayed on the ship all the time or if he also spent some nights with locals.

appears to be a capsized boat in the same area

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.9322048,32.5328029,607m/data...

3 (?!) more seemingly sunken ones nearby: https://www.google.com/maps/@29.9236252,32.5269919,427m/data...

Or is this just some weird imaging artifact?

Hard to tell if all of these are actual sunken ships or imaging artifacts :(

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.8726136,32.521419,622m/data=...

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.8785189,32.5055481,472m/data...

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.8477291,32.5178057,452m/data...

Wow, 90+ reviews with the "hashtag"/slogan Free Mohammed.

so he had a free home at the beach for 4 years?

what is this circle, anyways: https://www.google.com/maps/place/%D8%B3%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%86%D...

The circle is centered around Green Island. Several more circles can be seen further south near Ras Abu Rudeis. It seems that water only seems to be displayed near land and is replaced with simulated blue otherwise.

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