The Hanjin Geneva, a 68,000-ton ship stranded 24 nautical miles off the coast of Japan, is carrying thousands of cargo containers, a roughly 20-man crew, and absurdist British filmmaker Rebecca Moss.

Ms. Moss, 25 years old, boarded the vessel late last month in Vancouver, bound for Shanghai, as part of a program called “23 Days at Sea” which puts artists in residence on cargo ships. Now it’s unclear just how long her stint will be.

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