Perched atop a bamboo couch next to a warehouse, La Pei sits in stunned silence. His reddened eyes stare distantly over three motorboats tethered at Wanci port, just tens of meters away. This 29-year-old then reaches for a bottle of alcohol. He swallows the fluid in gulps. "I'm sick of seeing those boats stranded," La Pei mutters.

La Pei is justifiably depressed. His boat had become his best source of income. He used to carry a wide range of g