‘Until Death Us Do Part’: Seafaring as a Lifelong Occupation?

My research project involved occasional sailing with merchant navy ships. During one of those voyages, I captured a photo of Arrys, a 67-year-old officer, who had spent most of his life at sea. Despite several attempts of shifting ashore, Arrys was pushed back to sea due to different circumstances.
Seafaring is considered a difficult line of work, with long hours and constant isolation from life ashore. For these and other reasons, many seafarers expressed their intentions to leave seafaring after a short time to seek employment elsewhere. In the context of my research, despite the intention of many seafarers to leave the sea and continue their employment ashore, they are hindered from doing so for various reasons, including difficulties to adjust to life ashore. As a result, even if seafaring is initially intended to be a short-term job, for many, it is liable to become a lifelong occupation.