ghost-ship
Explanation
The Joke
Sailors on a ship at night spot a ghost ship in the Atlantic. One describes it in classic maritime horror fashion: "It's a ghost ship! They say she'll appear off the coast of Halifax, Liverpool, towns and cities along Neptune's cold bosom!" The spectral vessel is presented as terrifying and supernatural. Another sailor exclaims "Cursed!" and they react with fear.
The comic then cuts to a newspaper headline that reframes the entire encounter: "ZERO-EMISSIONS TRANSPORT METHOD DISCOVERED." Below it, a subheadline reads: "Customs officials: 'Moody cargo will be cursed, I tells ye.'" The ghost ship, it turns out, is not a horror story -- it is an environmental breakthrough. A ship that runs on supernatural energy produces no carbon emissions, making it the ultimate green transportation technology.
The Humor
The joke works by taking a classic horror/maritime trope -- the ghost ship -- and recontextualizing it through a modern lens. In an era obsessed with carbon emissions and climate change, a supernatural vessel that moves without burning any fuel is not terrifying; it is the holy grail of sustainable shipping. The contrast between the sailors' gothic terror and the newspaper's matter-of-fact environmental reporting is the core of the comedy. The subheadline about customs officials complaining about "moody cargo" being "cursed" adds a wonderful bureaucratic touch -- even supernatural maritime phenomena have to deal with paperwork.
References
The comic touches on the real-world challenge of decarbonizing maritime shipping, which accounts for roughly 2-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The ghost ship legend is a longstanding nautical tradition, with famous examples including the Flying Dutchman and the Mary Celeste.