Life suspended between ports: Max Lancaster photographs the life and work of a shipping container crew

In January, the photographer Max Lancaster found himself touring a decommissioned submarine, the SAS Assegaai, in Simon’s Town, South Africa. Guided by a former crew member who had served on the watercraft in the 1980s, Max was struck by how the guide described life on the boat as “both isolating and full of camaraderie”, and when he left the boat he told his girlfriend that life at sea appealed to him. “She thought I was mad,” Max says.

A few weeks later, Max was rewatching Wes Anderson’s quirky 2004 flick The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and while he was very aware that it was “stylised and romantic” he couldn’t help that it further fuelled his newfound interest with life at sea, and “the idea of living and working on the water with a mix of personalities really resonated”, he says. He began reaching out to scientific vessels and shipping companies about possible trips to facilitate a photographic project, but to no avail. Until, by chance, he met a man called Nick at a pub in London, whose family chartered large boats. “I followed up with an email, and four months later I was on the Panda 006, a 270m container ship,” Max says, and the series Life Suspended Between Ports was born.

Outside their strangely aesthetic appearance of stacked colourful metal boxes and the fact they carry large amounts of goods across the sea, not much is actually known about the inner workings of container ships, and when stepping on board, one of the first things that interested Max was a key point of contrast – “the sheer scale of the ship versus the small crew of 25”, he says. “It felt like the perfect setting to explore themes of isolation, routine, and human connection.” Faced with such vastness and 25 new people to engage with, Max set himself a strict routine, mirroring that of the workers. Waking up at the same time each morning and then having curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner with the crew at the same time everyday: “Thankfully, I love Indian food – it was made really well on board,” says Max.

In between these moments of rest and refuel, Max was taken on tours of the deck and engine room, which were key chances to “connect, ask questions and quietly observe”. However, other shots happened more serendipitously when Max was on solo wanderings of the ship, like his picture of the onboard trainee, Mohammed. “I hadn’t noticed he was behind me, and when I turned around, I saw him struggling a bit in his oversized yellow overalls – it made each step look clumsy in an endearing way, so I quickly captured the moment,” Max says. In his early twenties and his first time at sea, Mohammed told Max about how much he missed his family, and how he wasn’t sure if the seafaring life was for him. “The crew spends six months on and six months off, with only around 2GB of slow data per month to stay in touch – just enough for a short call home in the evenings,” Max continues. “That balance of isolation and connection really stuck with me, and I think it comes through in that photo.”

The images throughout Life Suspended Between Ports do have a quiet, reflective feeling about them; individuals are mainly photographed alone, or at most in groups of two. “Being at sea taught me how to enjoy my own company – something I hadn’t really experienced growing up in London, where you’re always surrounded by people and noise,” says Max. Interior shots of the massive space also translate this isolation, as well as sense of the past. The metal walls are full of old-school mechanics, peeling paint, but the lighting that bathes the ship – unfiltered and bouncing off the sea – adds a warmth not too far from Max’s Wes Anderson inspirations.

Since taking the trip, there’s one conversation with third officer Ajjay that’s stayed with Max. “He told me what keeps him going during the hard days is thinking about the joy on his wife and kids’ faces when he takes them on holiday around India during his time off,” says Max. “That kind of perspective – sacrificing so much for the people you love – really grounded the project for me.”