In the early hours of 6 October 2023, Elena Albokhari was woken by a text message from her husband. Ali Albokhari, 42, a Finnish-Syrian with dark hair and cherubic(面容稚气的) features, was chief mate(大副) on a cargo ship named the Phoenician M and had been at sea since June. The 180-metre bulk carrier(散货船) had docked at Ereğli in the Turkish Black Sea a few days earlier and Ali was due to return home to Helsinki soon, but instead of feeling excitement, Elena was growing increasingly worried about his welfare(安危；福祉).
2023年10月6日凌晨，叶莲娜·阿尔博哈里被丈夫的一条短信吵醒。42岁的阿里·阿尔博哈里是芬兰籍叙利亚人，黑发，面容稚气，在一艘名为“腓尼基M号”的货轮上担任大副，自6月起一直在海上。这艘180米长的散货船几天前停靠在土耳其黑海沿岸的埃雷利，阿里很快就要回赫尔辛基的家了。但叶莲娜非但没有兴奋，反而越来越担心他的安危。
She’d had a similar feeling of unease(不安) a month earlier, when the ship had arrived at Barranquilla, Colombia. Ali had called in a panic to report that drugs had been found; Armada Nacional officers had marched onboard and uncovered holdall(旅行袋)s stuffed with 137kg cocaine. Labels on the packages – the crest(队徽；纹章) of Turkish football club Kayserispor – hinted at their destination: Turkey was the next port of call(停靠港). “I never want to work as a seaman again,” Ali told Elena. “We are having big problems.”
一个月前，当船抵达哥伦比亚巴兰基亚时，她就有过类似的不安。阿里曾惊慌地打电话告诉她，船上发现了毒品；哥伦比亚海军军官登船，查获了塞满137公斤可卡因的旅行袋。包裹上的标签——土耳其足球俱乐部凯塞里体育的队徽——暗示了目的地：下一站正是土耳其。“我再也不想当海员了，”阿里对叶莲娜说，“我们遇到大麻烦了。”
For two days, the ship was held at the port. Elena, 39, a tour guide from Russia, was so anxious, she could barely sleep. Then she received a photo from Ali of the crew happily drinking beer in a restaurant – the drugs had been removed and, after a meeting with the harbourmaster(港务长), the ship cleared to depart(获准离港). “So will you go on working as a seaman?” Elena asked. “Yeah,” Ali said. “Sometimes it happens … so it’s OK.”
船在港口被扣留了两天。39岁的叶莲娜来自俄罗斯，是一名导游，她焦虑得几乎无法入睡。后来她收到阿里发来的一张照片：船员们在餐厅里开心地喝着啤酒——毒品已被卸下，在与港务长会面后，船获准离港。“那你还要继续当海员吗？”叶莲娜问。“嗯，”阿里说，“这种事偶尔会发生……所以没事。”