Sailors' low pay is taking luster off seafaring life

When Liu Xing returned home and embraced his toddler son after a 10-month voyage across the Pacific Ocean, the boy ran to his mother.

Liu, chief engineer with the China Shipping Company's bulk fleet in Shanghai, couldn't complain - it was only the second time he had seen his 15-month-old son following a brief stay three months after the boy was born.

"In the eyes of my shipmates, I am a master in the engine room worthy of envy. But I know that when I'm at home, I can seem like an incompetent father and husband," Liu, 31, said at a recent media event in Shanghai to celebrate Seafarers Day, which falls on Wednesday.