Posted on January 18, 2026
By Ed Ballard
Any readers considering a life on the high seas can assess their career options at maritime-zone.com. It lists more than 30 openings for the position of wiper. You’d make about $1,500 a month.
“The job is to wipe oil that’s leaking out of an engine,” says marine engineer turned entrepreneur Steven Henderson. “Working on a ship in the middle of the ocean is brutal.”
Unromantic about what life is like for most seafarers, Henderson dreams of making automated battery-powered container ships with no crew at all. For now, his company makes big batteries. Fleetzero recently opened a factory in Houston and just raised $43 million from investors including shipping giant Maersk to expand its manufacturing capacity.
Any readers considering a life on the high seas can assess their career options at maritime-zone.com. It lists more than 30 openings for the position of wiper. You’d make about $1,500 a month.
“The job is to wipe oil that’s leaking out of an engine,” says marine engineer turned entrepreneur Steven Henderson. “Working on a ship in the middle of the ocean is brutal.”
Unromantic about what life is like for most seafarers, Henderson dreams of making automated battery-powered container ships with no crew at all. For now, his company makes big batteries. Fleetzero recently opened a factory in Houston and just raised $43 million from investors including shipping giant Maersk to expand its manufacturing capacity.
Reading the rest of this article will require a subscription to the Wall Street Journal
