I believe that capturing important moments in our daily lives will be a significant testimony to the history of our human histories. The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed human lives around the world and poses an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the workplace. The pandemic has also had a serious impact on mariners, resulting in serious health issues and even fatalities on board. This is a very important record onboard the ship during the pandemic. A sailor wearing a PPE suit performs disinfection on board departing from a port. Sailors were having a hard time accessing medical care because of COVID-19 restrictions. They were also at risk of being infected with COVID-19 and protecting themselves with all available COVID-19 protection measures when they arrived or departed from ports. Seafarers work away from their homes, love, and family life for months. They suffer loneliness, homesickness, stress, depression, and anxiety. They must have the resilience to cope and work effectively at sea. In recent years, the timely repatriation of mariners has been delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic had a significant impact on seafarers as it has increased their workload and stress on board. They had to take extra precautions to protect themselves from the coronavirus and followed the company's strict rules and guidelines by port authorities when entering or leaving ports. This shot is a part of split-screen series and taken after 7 years of the first shot.

*Published on National Geographic YS Instagram page. *Awarded Runner-Up in SanDisk “Share Your World” Category of American Photography Open 2022. *Finalist in HIPA - Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award 2021-2022.

Location - Japan Sea Edition - 1/1 Dimension - 7634 x 5453

About Artist: Zay Yar Lin is an award-winning National Geographic YS photographer. He is a very accomplished travel and documentary photographer from Myanmar. He is also a ship captain by profession. He began his photography since 2013 after being fascinated by the works of National Geographic photographers. He mainly focuses on daily life, portraits and culture; images that tell stories of people and sense of the places. He always seeks the moment and the light in the capture of travel pictures and tries to use his photographic instinct to transform ordinary into extraordinary. He creates narrative images that convey emotion, mood, narrative, ideas and messages. In 2016, one of his photos was first published in National Geographic printed Magazine, which was published in July. He has been named Grand Prize Winner in many prestigious photography competitions including American Photography Open, Travel Photography Competition UK, CGAP Photo Contest and Chang Fine Art Photo Contest. He is a lifetime member of the Myanmar photographic Society. He was awarded Best Photographer of the Year in Myanmar twice. He has been recognized in published, recognized and awarded in the prestigious photography competitions such as National Geographic, NIKON, SONY, HIPA, SIENA, IPA, Xposure International Photography Festival and American Photography Open, etc. He achieved EFIAP distinction by FIAP organization. He serves as a jury member in some international photography competitions. He also does photo tours in Myanmar and overseas. He believes photography can capture a powerful story telling images. His purpose is to document human stories as much as he can and to share those stories to bring positive change to the world.

License: Primary NFT holder is free to use in display privately and in groups, including virtual galleries, documentaries, and essays by the holder of the NFT, as long as the creator is credited. Provides no rights to create commercial merchandise, commercial distribution, or derivative works. Copyright remains with the creator.