For centuries, container ships have sailed and motored their way across the world's oceans and yet little thought is given to the men who, today, cross seas for a living. Their cargo is everything that is essential to the world on dry land, and the story of how the things we need get to where we need them is anything but simple. Teams of men take on physically taxing tasks, face battering waves, endure administrative deadlocks, and brave pirate-infested waters. And all around the sea remains an unknowable, unassailable force, its vastness instantly dwarfing even the largest container vessel. Horatio Clare climbed aboard as writer-in-residence to a large shipping company - and was taken in by Cpatain and crew as a temporary seafarer. In this book, Clare provides a beautiful and terrifying portrait of the ocean and a study of big business afloat.